When the British were in Argentina building the railways that would enable beef to be raised in the interior and then transported to Buenos Aires for export, they also brought with them football, Rugby, polo and cricket. Tango dances were organised to raise funds to build football stadia. While there are many tangos referencing football, none name-check as many legendary players or reference as many of the top football teams of the 1930s as “Cero a Cero."
[Conception, translation, research and notes by Paul Bottomer and Tango Decoder. Illustration by Paul Bottomer. Thanks, Paul! It's been grand!]
Cero a Cero (Nil Nil)
Music: Roberto Firpo
Lyrics: Venancio Clauso
Artist: Orquesta Roberto Firpo, singer Carlos A. Varela
Recorded: 22 March 1935
Label: Buenos Aires Odeon 3079 8033
Che Victoria, te pido perdón
si todavía el “escore” no abrí,
hice “fau", y aunque no hubo intención
si querés me pateás el “friquic”.
Hey, Victoria1, please forgive me
If there hasn’t been any goals yet
I committed a foul, and though it was unintentional,
if you want, you can have the free kick (against me).
Pero juro que hablé con tu viejo,
que de entrada nomás me marcó,
¡y es un Bossio! De cerca y de lejos
siempre al corner mis tiros sacó.
But I swear I had a talk with your guy,
Who, right from the start, was marking2 just me,
and he’s a Bossio!3 From near and far, my shots (at goal)
only ever ended up as a corner.4
¿De qué sirve gastarse en gambetas
si tu viejo es como una paréd?
¡Qué Corazzo querida pebeta!
¡No lo burla ni Don Bernabé!
What’s the use of dribbling5
if your guy’s like a wall?
What a Corazzo6, dear girl!7
And don’t tease us about it, Don Bernabé!8
Cuantas veces en rápido “rush”
como Cherro me quise filtrar,
y él, canchero y veloz como luz
se adelanta y me deja en “ofsai”.
How many times in an attack
Did I want to get past the defence, like Cherro9,
And he, skillful and quick as lightning,
Moves up and leaves me offside.10
¡Che Victoria, no sé ya qué hacer,
si hasta con Lauri y con viento a favor
estoy viendo que voy a perder
este espléndido lance de amor!
Hey, Victoria, I don’t know what to do now,
if even with Lauri11 and a favourable wind
I see that I’m going to lose
this splendid love affair!12
Pero yo te aseguro—aunque es feo—
que hasta voy a forzar un penal...
Yo pa’ casa me llevo el trofeo
aunque silben los de la oficial...
But I assure you – and although it’s not pretty –
That even if I have to take a dive for a penalty13…
I’ll take home that trophy
Though the referee may blow his whistle…
He jurado que en esta porfía
me impondré como cuadra a un campeón
y tu mano al final “Serrá mía”
que no en vano me llaman “Ciclón”.
I’ve sworn that in this battle
I’ll prevail as befits a champion
and in the end, your hand will be mine14
so that not for nothing do they call me “Cyclone.”15
Yo de Massa, no envidio el tapón...
Ni el bordao primoroso ‘e Pichín
hoy me corto al estilo Naón,
¡y esta noche conquisto el Fortín!...
I’m a Massa16 lad, I’m not bothered about Pichín’s17
studded boots18 and "dainty embroidery."19
Today, I’m getting my hair cut like Naón,20
And tonight I conquer el Fortín!21
NOTES:
1. Victoria – home of Club Atlético Tigre, also a woman’s name.
2. Marking – the practice of assigning one, or more, defenders to a strong opposing player, as opposed to zone defence.
3. Angel Bossio – goalkeeper of River Plate, known as ‘The Elastic Wonder’
4. ended up as a corner - When the goalkeeper deflects a shot at goal, if the ball goes out of play as a result, then a corner kick is awarded to the attacking team.
5. Dribbling – running with the ball using skillful feints and changes of direction to evade opposing defenders.
6. Corazzo – Juan Carlos Corazzo, midfielder, Racing Club 1931-32 and Independiente in 1932-37.
7. Dear girl - The narrator addresses the opposing team as if it were a female.
8. Bernabé Ferreyra – played centre-forward for Tigre in the 1931 season and for River Plate 1932-39. Nicknamed El Mortero de Rufino, the Mortar from Rufino, for the explosive power of his kicks and La Fiera, the Beast, for his competitive spirit. One of the highest scoring players of the 1930s, his transfer fee of 35,000 pesos stood as an Argentine record for twenty years. Ferreyra was also a good tango dancer and a close friend of Aníbal Troilo, who idolized him.
9. Roberto Cherro – nicknamed ‘Golden Head’ because of his capacity to head the ball. The top goal scorer of Boca Juniors until 2010, when his record was beaten by Martin Palermo.
10. Offside - a rule governing the number of defenders that must be between the recipient of a pass and the goal. If a defender tactically moves forward before an attacker receives the ball, then the attack fails under the ‘offside’ rule.
11. Miguel Angel Lauri – nicknamed “The Golden Arrow”. Played forward for Estudiantes de la Plata 1928-36.
12. Lance de amor – love affair.
13. Take a dive for a penalty - To cheat by diving to the ground as if fouled. If the referee believes a foul is committed in the penalty area, a penalty kick, (an easier, set piece, static shot from a predefined spot by one attacker against only the goalkeeper), will be awarded to the fouled team. These more often than not result in a goal.
14. The phrase ‘will be mine’ (será mía) is written “Serrá mía”. The punctuation and unusual spelling suggests a play on words. It may be a reference to Silvio J. Serra, president of the Asociación De Football Amateurs Y Profesionales during the 1932 and '33 seasons. The meaning is unclear.
15. ‘El Ciclón’ - Cyclone was one of the nicknames of San Lorenzo de Almagro football club. Their archrival was a club call Club Atlético Huracán (Hurricane) and a cyclone is stronger than a hurricane. However, the lyric may be a veiled reference to the famous 1931 match between San Lorenzo de Almagro (El Ciclón) and Tigre (of Victoria) in which Tigre’s Bernabé Ferreyra (see 8) scored three goals in the final 15 minutes of the game, turning a 2-0 defeat into a 3-2 victory.
16. Lorenzo Massa, a catholic priest who was instrumental in the creation of San Lorenzo de Almagro football club in the poor Almagro district of Buenos Aires, 1908, to keep boys off the street and bring them closer to religion. The team was to become one of the Five Great Teams (Los Cinco Grandes) of Buenos Aires.
17. ‘el tapón’ – studded football boots
18. Pichín – “Shorty." Vicente "Pichín" del Giudice played on the left wing for Racing Club and the national team in the early 1930s.
19. ‘bordao primoroso’ – lit. fine embroidery. ‘strip’ – the football club’s team shirt or jersey. This is a facetious reference to Pichín's slim build, which meant that the standard team shirt was always too big for him.
20. Naón – Arturo Naón played forward for Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata 1927-33 and Tigre 1934-37.
21. Fortín – nickname of Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield and its stadium.
The notes of this tango are saying: forget, girl, laugh and dance, for love invites you....You may meet this very night one who fills your life with faithful love."
