Argentine’s Sport Idol I

Argentine post released the stamp series featured the Argentine’s sport Idol I on October 11, 2008. The athletes have featured are Juan Manuel Fangio, Hugo Porta,  Emanuel David "Manu" Ginóbili, Roberto De Vicenzo.

Juan Manuel Fangio is a racing car driver from Argentina, who dominated the first decade of Formula One racing. He won five Formula One World Driver's Championships — a record which stood for 46 years until eventually beaten by Michael Schumacher — with four different teams (Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Maserati), a feat that has not been repeated since. Many still consider him to be the greatest driver of all time. He has the highest winning percentage in Formula One (46.15%) compared to Michael Schumacher's 33.83%.

Juan Manuel Fangio was born on June 24, 1911 and has  nicknamed El Chueco ("knock-kneed") or El Maestro ("The Master").He is the only Argentine driver to have won the Argentine Grand Prix, having won it four times in his career.In his home country of Argentina, Fangio is revered as one of the greatest sportsmen the nation has ever produced. Argentines often refer to him as The Maestro

Following his retirement, Fangio was active in assembling automotive memorabilia associated with his racing career. This led to the creation of the Museo Juan Manuel Fangio, which opened in Balcarce in 1986. Juan Manuel Fangio died in Buenos Aires in 1995, at the age of 84. He was buried in his home town of Balcarce in Argentina.

Hugo Porta  is a former Argentine Rugby Union footballer, an inductee of both the International Rugby Hall of Fame and IRB Hall of Fame and one of the best fly-halves the sport has seen.

Porta was born on  September 11, 1951 in Buenos Aires. He played football (soccer) and almost signed for Boca Juniors but then changed to rugby union, joining Banco Nación. Porta made his debut for Argentina on 10 October 1971 against Chile in the starting line up. He earned another three caps that year in games against Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The following year Argentina played two games against the 'SA Gazelles' in Buenos Aires.

Porta made his international debut in 1971. His best performances came in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with 1977 draw with France, the Pumas' 1979 24-13 win against Australia, and a 21-21 tie with the All Blacks on 2 November 1985.

Porta played seven times for the national team the following season, including matches against Romania as well as Ireland and Scotland XVs (non-cap). Porta led Argentina to the 1987 World Cup, at the age of 36 and retired after the tournament.

In 1991 he was appointed Argentine Ambassador to South Africa by President Carlos Menem, and in 1994 became Argentina's Minister for Sport.

Emanuel David "Manu" Ginóbili  is an Argentine professional basketball player. He was born on   July 28,1977 in Bahía Blanca, Argentina.Coming from a family of professional basketball players, he is a member of the Argentine men's national basketball team and the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Ginóbili spent the early part of his basketball career in Argentina and Italy, where he won several individual and team honors. His stint with Italian side Kinder Bologna was particularly productive, earning two Lega A Most Valuable Player awards, the Euroleague Final Four MVP and the 2001 Euroleague and Triple Crown championships. The shooting guard was selected as the 57th overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft and is considered one of the biggest draft steals of all time.

Ginóbili returned to Italy and only joined the Spurs in 2002. He did not take long to establish himself as a key player for the Spurs, and has since earned three NBA championship rings as well as being named an All-Star in 2005. In the 2007–08 season, he was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year.

With the Argentina national team, Ginóbili has also enjoyed success. He made his debut with the national team in 1998, and was a member of the team which won the gold medal during the 2004 Olympics Basketball Tournament. Hailed as one of the finest European-based players to grace the NBA, he plays a high-tempo and intensive game. He is also one of only two players, along with Bill Bradley, to have won a Euroleague title, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal.

Roberto De Vicenzo  is a former professional golfer. De Vicenzo was born on April 14, 1923 in Villa Ballester, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He won more than 230 tournaments worldwide in his career, including six on the PGA Tour and the 1967 British Open.

In 1970, he was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.

De Vicenzo subsequently found great success in the early days of the Senior PGA Tour, winning the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf two times and the inaugural U.S. Senior Open in 1980. Also won the 1974 PGA Seniors' Championship, and represented Argentina 17 times in the Canada Cup/World Cup (leading Argentina to victory in 1953).

De Vicenzo was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1989, and officially retired on November 12, 2006 at age 83. He had 100 international victories.