Both teams were far from their homeland, under different circumstances. One, the very modest Atlético Corrales, from Asunción, was at the top of the First Division of Paraguayan football when they embarked on their craziest journey in April 1939, from Argentina and Chile to Mexico, recruiting Argentine players along the way, and then returning downhill towards Paraguay. The other team, the Basque Country national team, which is part of Spain, had been doing the same thing since 1937, heading from the North, going down to Argentina and Chile, and then returning to Mexico to play their last game of their tour as Republican exiles of the Spanish Civil War, precisely against Corrales.
The best-known case of a South American club founded on the origins of an electricity supply company is undoubtedly that of Emelec from Guayaquil.
One lesser-known and perhaps more surprising case is that of Atlético Corrales. In the early 20th century, Corrales found its roots in the Sport Mecánico, which was founded by workers of the Argentine electricity company that provided electricity and tram services in Asunción, the CALT. Later, they directly took the name of the company. Under this name, the footballers who essentially worked for the Asunción transport system participated for the first time in the Intermedia tournament in 1929. They were champions that year, even though the title was taken away from them because they did not have a stadium.
With the momentum of success, and with the name permanently changed out of necessity in 1936, Corrales embarked from Buenos Aires on a journey that included 53 matches in 11 countries. In the ninth game and third country, they crossed paths with the Basque team.
Formed in its backbone by players from Athletic Bilbao, reinforced by great players from the era of the Spanish League, such as Isidro Lángara and Pedro Areso, the Basque team had been touring Europe and America since 1937, that is, since the beginning of the war in Spain. The footballers and clubs from Euskadi were unable to participate in tournaments in territories occupied by Francoist forces, so they played football outside their country to raise charitable funds.
In connivance with the regime of Francisco Franco, the Argentine association and FIFA prohibited the Basque team from playing the five games they had scheduled there, as well as from participating in the Mexican tournament. In the latter case, the Basques and the Mexicans ignored FIFA's orders. On June 18, 1939, the match between Atlético Corrales and the Basque team ended in a 4-4 draw. It also ended in a notorious brawl.
The Basque player Iraragorri (who later played for San Lorenzo de Almagro) was expelled with police intervention after throwing a left hook at the Argentine reinforcement player Seguel, who had kicked him. The game continued, but this time the Paraguayan player Mendoza started another round of a pitched battle. He was expelled and the match ended minutes later as if nothing had happened.
For Corrales, the matches continued until their return to Asunción in April 1940. The club disappeared a year after the writer Natalicio González, President of Paraguay, began the nationalization of the CALT to transform it into ANDE, in 1948. The Basque team, on the other hand, already knew about the toughest setback: the Republic no longer existed.