Superclásico

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 known as 'Xeneizes' ('Genoese'). River Plate became known by the nickname Los Millonarios (The Millionaires), with a supposedly upper-class support base. Both clubs 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. 7,000 spectators attended the match, and goals were scored by Cándido García and Antonio Ameal Pereyra (River) and Marcos Meyer (Boca). 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'. 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 smells most of the time, as well as 'bosteros' ('manure collectors'). Another slur is to brand Boca Juniors as 'The Cabaret'. 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. The disaster was the worst incident in the history of Argentine football. After three years of investigation, a government inquiry found no one guilty.

In Their Own Story

The air in La Bombonera was thick with smoke and song. The blue and gold of Boca surged forward, a wave of noise from the stands shaking the concrete. On the other side, River's white and red band stood defiant, their fans a pocket of calm in the storm. The ball moved like a living thing, and when the goal came—a thunderous strike from a Boca legend—the stadium erupted in a primal roar that seemed to shake the very earth. For ninety minutes, the city held its breath, and then, as always, the story was written in the hearts of millions.

Reader's Guide

The Superclásico is known worldwide as one of the fiercest and most important derbies. 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'. That same year The Daily Telegraph ranked this match as the 'biggest club rivalry in world football', and the Daily Mirror placed it number one in the top 50 football derbies in the world, above El Clásico between Barcelona and Real Madrid, in 2017. 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.

Did You Know?

• The term 'Clásico' originated in Argentina with this match up and was later exported to other countries such as Spain and Mexico.
• The first official Superclásico was played on August 24, 1913, with River winning 2–1.
• On June 23, 1968, 71 fans were killed in a crush at gate 12 of El Monumental, the worst incident in Argentine football history.
• River Plate was relegated for the first time in its history in June 2011.