Riestra: Dreaming — Terrace Edition

Words: Groundspotters

Images: Groundspotters

No one would have bet a penny on Deportivo Riestra when the club was started in 1931, in the Nueva Pompeya neighbourhood, surrounded by wasteland, tenements and factories.

The club was born out of the drive of a group of young locals with nothing more than a dream.

Time shaped them. Sometimes stumbling, other times with faith. They knew about borrowed pitches, afternoons without light and Saturdays with more silence than applause.

But they also knew the stubbornness of those who never give up. Those who paint the walls, mow the grass and sell raffle tickets to buy a new net.

In that spirit, in that very Argentine stubbornness, Riestra forged its identity.

©Groundspotters/Terrace Edition. Deportivo Riestra.

For decades, it inhabited the labyrinths of promotion, mixing years of joy with periods of painful insignificance.

It was a seemingly endless rollercoaster ride. But something began to change in recent years: decisive leadership, a serious project, players who believed, and a neighbourhood that began to beat differently.

The Guillermo Laza, that humble stadium, began to transform. What was once a pitch with a few steps of stands now looks like a modern home, with renovated stands behind the goals, LED lights, and immaculate turf.

The change is noticeable, it can be felt. Riestra didn’t just grow in terms of infrastructure. It grew in respect.

And it began to grow through the divisions of Argentine football until, in 2023, it finally reached the First Division, and many thought it would be a passing visit.

But the Blanquinegro stayed. And not only that: it began to win, to play without complexes, to look the big teams in the eye.

Today, the team has an impressive streak of 27 unbeaten games at Guillermo Laza, a true fortress in Bajo Flores.

At home, time seems to stand still: Opponents come and go, but Riestra does not fall. It does not let up.

At a time when everything in Argentine football is under scrutiny — from the organisation and format of tournaments to the eternal dilemma of whether or not to accept private capital contributions in clubs — Riestra is moving steadily forward with a firm idea in mind: to grow, compete and transcend.

It has a style, an identity and a goal. Riestra is pursuing its dream without asking for permission.

And so, as the new stadium lights illuminate the nights of Bajo Flores, the fans allow themselves to dream big.

Because now the dream is not just to stay in the First Division: it is higher, further away.

In 2026, if fate continues on its course, Riestra could play in an international cup for the first time in its histor.

And saying that sounds crazy, like a fairy tale, like a fan’s fantasy. But it’s real.

Riestra is experiencing what seemed impossible: They are living the dream. And perhaps that is what it is all about: dreaming, but above all, daring to make dreams come true.

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