Torneos de Verano (Spanish for "Summer Tournaments") are a series of short friendly football pre-season tournaments held during the southern summer in Argentina every year, usually in January and February. They serve as preparation for the teams for the season coming; however, as the years went by the competitiveness in the tournaments increased, and they are now considered as important competitions. This is clearly reflected in the high crowd attendance for the games. Since the first edition in 1968, the Torneos de Verano have been uninterruptedly played, then being expanded to other cities of Argentina such as Córdoba, Mendoza, Rosario and Tandil among others. History The first competition was established by then Boca Juniors president Alberto Armando, who had showed his interest in moving the main Primera División teams to the city of Mar del Plata, the biggest seaside beach resort in Argentina. As a result, two competitions were held in the city in 1968, with the games played at General San Martín Stadium, the main venue of the city by then. The first of them, "Copa Libertad" was held in January 1968, with San Lorenzo as winner of a tournament also contested by Boca Juniors, Rosario Central and Uruguayan side Peñarol. Another competition, "Copa Ciudad de Mar del Plata", was held in February. The Hungarian team Vasas – which the de facto government led by Juan Carlos Onganía did not want to allow to enter the country due to Hungary being under communist rule – was the winner after beating favorites Racing Club de Avellaneda (current Intercontinental champion) and River Plate (3–0 in the final). In 1969 the "Copa de Oro" had its inaugural season as a friendly tournament between Argentine and foreign clubs. In its first edition, Brazilian Palmeiras, Austrian SK Rapid Wien, Hungarian MTK Budapest and Czechoslovakian Slovan Bratislava participated of the tournament, together with Boca Juniors, Estudiantes L.P., and the Mar del Plata XI team. Later editions only had Brazilian, Uruguayan or Paraguayan teams, with occasional European clubs or national teams, mainly Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Since the 1980s it has only 3 to 5 Argentine teams, which varied from year to year, but included the Big Five (Boca Juniors, Independiente, Racing, River Plate and San Lorenzo) and sometimes Estudiantes and Vélez Sársfield. Even though they coexisted for several years, the "Copa Ciudad de Mar del Plata" eventually replaced the Copa de Oro as the most important