El Superclásico

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The two clubs Boca and River Plate both have origins in La Boca, the working class dockland area of Buenos Aires, with River being founded in 1901 and Boca in 1905. River moved to the affluent district of Núñez in the north of the city in 1925. Since then, Boca Juniors has been known as the club of Argentina's working class or the people's club, with many Boca fans coming from the local Italian immigrant community. Boca fans are actually known as 'Xeneizes' ('Genoese'). By contrast, River Plate became known by the nickname, Los Millonarios (The Millionaires), with a supposedly upper-class support base. Both clubs, however, have supporters from all social classes. The first official match of the rivalry, the 1913 Superclásico, was played on August 24, 1913 at Racing Club Stadium, with River winning 2–1. The Superclásico is particularly noted for the passion of the fans, with what the BBC describe as 'a sea of colourful flowing banners, screams and roars, chanting, dancing and never-ending fireworks'. Both sets of supporters sing passionate chants aimed at their rivals, often based on popular Argentine rock band tunes. Each stadium, Boca's La Bombonera and River's El Monumental are known to bounce with the simultaneous jumping of the fans. At times, the matches have been known to end in fights between the 'barra brava' (violent factions) of both sides or with the police. Boca fans refer to River supporters as 'gallinas' ('chickens') claiming the lack of guts of River players. River fans refer to their Boca rivals as 'los chanchitos' ('little pigs') because they claim their stadium, located in the less affluent La Boca area, smells most of the time, as well as 'bosteros' ('manure collectors'), a reference to the smell of a polluted river in La Boca. Another infamous slur, coined in the late 1990s over remarks of Boca's forward Diego Latorre, is to brand Boca Juniors as 'The Cabaret', due to the alleged aspiration of some players to steal the limelight.

In Their Own Story

On March 21, during the Clausura 2010 tournament at La Bombonera, history was made when a match became the first Superclásico ever suspended due to heavy rainfall. By the ninth minute, the pitch was flooded, yet referee Héctor Baldassi insisted play continue despite the ball bogging down repeatedly. The game restarted four days later on March 25, played in two halves of 41 minutes each. In international clashes, violence has escalated: during the 2015 Copa Libertadores Round of 16, a Boca fan attacked River players with pepper spray at halftime, leading to Boca's disqualification and River advancing to win the trophy. The tension peaked in the 2018 Copa Libertadores Finals when River fans threw large objects at Boca's bus as police withdrew from the zone. After drawing 2–2 at La Bombonera, the final was moved to Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Despite being ahead until extra time, Boca lost 3–1 (5–3 on aggregate), a heartbreaking end to a series where they held the lead throughout regular play.

Reader's Guide

The rivalry between the two clubs can also affect players, particularly those who are transferred between the two clubs. Cataldo Spitale was the first to make the change, when he left Boca to sign for River in 1933. Oscar Ruggeri, who moved to River from Boca in 1985 said, 'It's not easy I can tell you. One side looks on you as a traitor and the other doesn't really trust you. You need time to adapt and a lot of character to win people over.' Some players have gone so far as to state that they would not play for the other club such as River's Uruguayan player Enzo Francescoli while Diego Maradona during his time playing for Argentinos Juniors, refused to even consider a move to El Monumental, stating that his dream was to play for Boca. In 1992, José Luis Villarreal won the league title with Boca, and left the following year to River. Although he was received very well by River fans, and won the 1993 and 1994 league titles there, Boca fans never forgave him, and he says he hasn't been to La Bombonera since then to avoid problems. Recently, on March 21 in the Clausura 2010 tournament, the two teams started playing in La Bombonera. In the ninth minute of play, the match was suspended because of heavy rainfall in Buenos Aires. The pitch was practically flooded, but in spite of this, referee Héctor Baldassi stated that the match could be played. In the course of the match, the two teams were unable to keep possession because the ball became repeatedly bogged down. The match restarted four days later, on March 25, and was played with two halves of 41 minutes. This was the first Superclásico suspended in history.

Did You Know?

• In April 2004, the English newspaper The Observer put the Superclásico at the top of their list of '50 sporting things you must do before you die'.
• In 2016 the British football magazine FourFourTwo considered it the 'biggest derby in the world'.
• On June 23, 1968, in El Monumental, after a 0–0 match between the two teams, 71 fans were killed in a crush at gate 12, with 150 fans left injured.
• River was relegated for the first time in its history in June 2011.