The Superclásico

Lore & Background

The two clubs 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 1925. Since then, Boca Juniors has been known as the club of Argentina's working class, with many Boca fans coming from the local Italian immigrant community; Boca fans are known as "Xeneizes" ("Genoese"). River Plate became known as Los Millonarios (The Millionaires), with a supposedly upper-class support base. 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 known worldwide as one of the fiercest and most important derbies.

Reader's Guide

The Superclásico is particularly noted for the passion of the fans, with a sea of colorful 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.

Did You Know?

• In April 2004, The Observer put the Superclásico at the top of their list of '50 sporting things you must do before you die'.
• In 2016, FourFourTwo considered it the 'biggest derby in the world'.
• The worst incident in Argentine football history occurred at a Superclásico on June 23, 1968, when 71 fans were killed in a crush at gate 12 of El Monumental.
• River Plate was relegated for the first time in its history in June 2011.