10 Great Argentina vs. Brazil Clashes Ahead of 2014 Superclasico De Las Americas

On Saturday, Brazil will face Argentina in the Superclasico de las Americas, the third iteration of an annual single-game tournament between the fierce South American rivals.

Throughout history, the two world football foes have faced off a total of 95 times, the first of which took place in September 1914 (as per Goal.com). Hence, this is the 100-year anniversary of the fixture. And although it may be a friendly, there are no real friendlies between these two sides.   

To whet appetites ahead of the match in Beijing, here are 10 of the greatest encounters between the two sides. 

Argentina 3 Brazil 0, August 2008

The two sides have played one another in Beijing before, in the semi-finals of the 2008 Olympics. The game was billed as a face-off between Barcelona teammates Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi, but it was a young man named Sergio Aguero who stole the spotlight by scoring two goals and winning a penalty. 

This was a typically feisty affair, with Brazil finishing the game with nine men when Lucas Leiva and Thiago Neves received their marching orders. 

Argentina went on to win the tournament, the first ever team to do this in consecutive Olympiads. 

Argentina 3 Brazil 2, July 1991

Argentina secured their first Copa America title since 1959 in the summer of 1991, defeating Brazil 3-2 in a highly dramatic game in the process. 

Not only was this a five-goal thriller, with a goal apiece within the first five minutes, but it was a heated affair that saw five sendings off.

Brazilian striker Careca Bianchezi had the shortest experience of the game, earning a red card two minutes after entering the field as a substitute in the 80th minute. 

Brazil 4 Argentina 1, June 2005

Brazil were the reigning World Cup and Copa America champions when they met Argentina in the final of the 2005 Confederations Cup in Frankfurt.

The Selecao cruised to a 4-1 victory thanks to goals from Kaka, Ronaldinho and a brace from Adriano.

The comprehensive manner of the victory was surprising, considering that Argentina had beaten them in a World Cup qualifier the previous month. 

Brazil 2* Argentina 2, July 1995

The two rivals met in the quarter-finals of the 1995 Copa America, with Argentina leading the reigning World Cup-winners until the 81st minute, when Tulio Maravilha scored an equaliser that he appeared to control with his arm. 

Argentina—who had profited from a very dubious handball in the 1986 World Cup—were outraged, particularly as Brazil won the subsequent penalty shootout. 

Argentina 1 Brazil 0, June 1990

The two sides met for the third time on the world's biggest stage at Italia '90 in the Round of 16. 

The match was decided by a Claudio Caniggia strike from a sublime Diego Maradona pass in the 80th minute, however, the goal was mired in controversy. 

Brazilian defender Branco had been marking Maradona and keeping him out of the game. During a break in play, he was given a water bottle by the Argentinian medical staff while they tended to an injured player. Branco claimed he then became extremely drowsy and accused his rivals of doping him with tranquillisers.

It became known as the "Holy Water Scandal."

Argentina 0 Brazil 0, June 1978

Argentina famously lifted the World Cup on home soil in 1978, but they did so after a very hard-fought game with Brazil in the second group stage. 

The lively match finished 0-0, but its violent nature led to it being dubbed "The Battle of Rosario."

The events that followed, however, were highly controversial. Both teams went into the final group game on three points, with Brazil winning their final match 3-1 against Poland. Argentina were playing Peru later in the day and knew they needed to win by a four-goal margin to progress. The Peruvians absolutely collapsed in a 6-0 defeat, leading many to smell a whiff of match fixing.

However, nothing was proven and Argentina progressed at the expense of Brazil.  

Brazil 3 Argentina 0, July 2007

Both teams reached the final of the 2007 Copa America in Venezuela, but it was Argentina who were heavily tipped to win the title.

The Albiceleste boasted stars like Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Esteban Cambiasso and Juan Sebastian Veron, while Brazil had no real players of note except perhaps Robinho and Dani Alves.

However, Brazil defied their underdog billing and took the lead through Julio Baptista in the fourth minute. Substitute Alves scored the third goal to secure Brazil their eighth Copa America title. 

Argentina 4 Brazil 3, June 2012

The rivals' meeting at the Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey in 2012 might have been a friendly, but it was a fiercely contested thriller with plenty of controversial incidents.

Lionel Messi was the hero of the day, scoring a hat-trick that included a brilliant winner with five minutes to go.

Marcelo and Ezequiel Lavezzi, meanwhile, were sent off in injury time due to an altercation.   

Brazil 2* Argentina 2, July 2004

Brazil won their seventh Copa America title in Lima in 2004 after a dramatic 120 minutes and penalty shootout.

Argentina looked to have secured victory with a Cesar Delgado strike in the 87th minute to make it 2-1, but Adriano equalised four minutes into extra time.

In the resulting shootout, Julio Cesar saved Argentina's first penalty in spectacular style and an understrength Selecao secured a famous win. 

Brazil 3 Argentina 1, July 1982

At the second stage of the 1982 World Cup, a Group of Death came together in the form of Brazil, Argentina and Italy. 

A heated match took place between the South Americans in Barcelona, where Diego Maradona had recently committed his future. However, Diego was no saint, receiving a straight red card for kicking out at Joao Batista.

A Brazil side featuring Socrates and Zico—often referred to as the greatest Brazil team of all time—proved too strong for the Albiceleste in a 3-1 victory. 

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