El Xeneize

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

On 3 April 1905, a group of boys, who were the sons of Italian immigrants (more specifically from Genoa), met in order to find a club. The house where the meeting was arranged was Esteban Baglietto's and the other four people who attended were Alfredo Scarpatti, Santiago Sana and brothers Juan Farenga and Teodoro Farenga. Other important founding members include Arturo Penney, Marcelino Vergara, Luis Cerezo, Adolfo Taggio, Giovanelli, Donato Abbatángelo, and Bertolini. Before the club was officially established in the La Boca district of Buenos Aires in April 1905, Irish immigrant from Cashel, County Tipperary, Patrick McCarthy taught the fundamentals and rules of the game to young local youths, including future club founders like Esteban Baglietto, so when these boys founded the club they asked the Irishman to be its first manager. In 1913, Boca was promoted to Primera División after some previous failed attempts. This was possible when the Argentine Association decided to increase the number of teams in the league from 6 to 15. In 1925, Boca made its first trip to Europe to play in Spain, Germany and France. The squad played a total of 19 games, winning 15 of them. For that reason Boca was declared 'Campeón de Honor' (Champion of Honour) by the Association. During successive years, Boca consolidated as one of the most popular teams of Argentina, with a huge number of fans not only in the country but worldwide.

In Their Own Story

In 1925, the squad embarked on a historic tour of Europe, playing in Spain, Germany, and France. They won 15 of their 19 matches, earning the honorary title 'Campeón de Honor' from the Argentine Association. This success fueled their rise as one of Argentina's most popular teams with fans worldwide. The rivalry with River Plate became known as the Superclásico, recognized as the most heated in the country and one of the biggest globally. On May 25, 1940, the club opened its current concrete stadium on Brandsen and Del Crucero streets, later nicknamed La Bombonera after a third level was added in 1953. The vertical side of the stadium is famous for swaying as fans jump, leading to the phrase: 'La Bombonera no tiembla. Late' (The Bombonera does not tremble. It beats).

Reader's Guide

According to the club's official site, the original jersey colour was a white shirt with thin black vertical stripes, being then replaced by a light blue shirt and then another striped jersey before adopting the definitive blue and gold. Nevertheless, another version states that Boca Juniors' first jersey was pink, although it has been questioned by some journalists and historians who state that Boca, most probably, never wore a pink jersey, by pointing out the lack of any solid evidence and how this version stems from, and is only supported on, flawed testimonies. According to legend, when Boca played Nottingham de Almagro in 1906, both teams wore such similar shirts that the match was played to decide which team would get to keep it. Boca lost, and decided to adopt the colors of the flag of the first boat to sail into the port at La Boca. This proved to be a Swedish ship, therefore the yellow and blue of the Swedish flag were adopted as the new team colours. Reportedly, it was the dockworker Juan Bricchetto who saw the ship, which was named Drottning Sophia. The first version had a yellow diagonal band, which was later changed to a horizontal stripe. Through Boca Juniors history, the club has worn some alternate 'rare' models, such as the AC Milan shirt in a match versus Universidad de Chile (whose uniform was also blue) in the 1963 Copa Libertadores. When Nike became official kit provider in 1996, the first model by the company introduced two thin white stripes surrounding the gold band, causing some controversy. The brand also introduced a silver jersey designed exclusively for the 1998 Copa Mercosur. For the 100th anniversary of the club, Nike launched commemorative editions of several models worn by the club since its foundation, including a version of the 1907 shirt with the diagonal sash, which was worn in two matches during the 2005 Torneo de Verano (Summer Championship). Other models were a black and white striped jersey (similar to Juventus FC) and a purple model, worn in the 2012 and 2013 'Torneos de Verano', respectively. Nevertheless, no shirt caused more controversy than the pink model released as the away jersey for the 2013–14 season, which was widely rejected by the fans. Because of that, the introduction of this model (to be initially worn v. Rosario Central) was delayed until the last fixture when Boca played Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP). As a

Did You Know?

• Boca Juniors has won 74 official titles, the most by any Argentine club.
• As of January 2023, Boca Juniors ranked first among the clubs with the most members in Argentina, with 315,879.
• The club's first manager was Irish immigrant Patrick McCarthy, who taught the game to future founders.
• Boca's colors (yellow and blue) are said to come from the flag of a Swedish ship named Drottning Sophia.
• Boca was named by the IFFHS as the top South American club of the first decade of the 21st century (2001–2010).