The Argentinian soccer club Estudiantes de La Plata sits in first place in the Liga Profesional de F\u00fatbol\u2019s Group A, tied with two other teams. The players are affectionately known as La Pincha. At games, fans chant an anthem putting down other teams: \u201cI’m not a Boca fan because I was born in Argentina, I’m not a River fan because I was never a chicken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
La Pincha holds the distinction as the first soccer club in Argentina to welcome foreign investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Foster Gillett, the son of George Gillett \u2014 former shareholder and part-owner of Liverpool Football Club in England \u2014 became a controversial investor in Estudiantes in October 2024. The sale was the first step in Argentine president Javier Milei\u2019s plan to turn his country\u2019s football clubs into private corporations<\/a>. His plans have been nicknamed the Sociedad Anonma Deportivo movement, or SAD movement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2023, Milei decreed that the Argentine Football Association must amend its bylaws and allow private corporations to invest in clubs. Argentine football clubs are deemed \u201cnon-profit civil associations<\/a>\u201d where fans pay a membership fee to attend matches and participate in club decisions on and off the pitch. Fans and clubs alike have had staunch support for the status quo<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe reaction to Gillett’s arrival in Argentine football has been largely negative,\u201d said Daniel Edwards, an expat football journalist covering South American football. \u201cEstudiantes are attempting to usher in private ownership through the back door with his involvement and bankrolling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the partnership was announced, the club\u2019s current president and former player Juan Sebastian Veron dubbed it a \u201crevolution<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The January transfer window \u2014 one of two periods in a calendar year when teams are allowed to buy and sell players to bolster their squads \u2014 started well. Gillett and Estudiantes paid an immediate $15 million release clause fee to local rival club Boca Juniors for midfielder Cristian Medina. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, towards the end of the window, Estudiantes attempted to sign defender Valent\u00edn Gomez from fellow Buenos Aires club Velez Sarsfield and Rodrigo Villagra from River Plate. Neither transfer went through, and both players remain playing for their respective clubs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n