Experiences Football

Boca Juniors is the club traditionally associated with the working classes. It was founded in 1905 in La Boca, Buenos Aires’ port district. Fiercely proud of its roots, the club never moved. Boca stadium, known as “La Bombonera” (because it is shaped like a chocolate box), has been home to some of the world’s biggest football stars, such as the legendary Diego Armando Maradona and Manchester United’s current forward, Carlos Tévez. The Boca Juniors shirt is blue with a yellow diagonal stripe. Boca fans are known as “xeneizes” -meaning “people of Genova” in dialect– because they were the first Italian immigrants to settle in this part of the city. 

River Plate, even though it is hard to believe today, was also founded in La Boca in 1901. The club then moved to the wealthy northern residential area of Núñez, where the “el Monumental” River stadium was built.  This, Argentina’s largest stadium, is where the 1978 World Cup was played and which Argentina won. River’s shirt is white with a red diagonal stripe across it.  Famous River players include Gabriel Batistuta and Hernán Crespo. River fans are given the nickname “los millonarios” (the millionaires).

The main national football tournaments are “el Clausura” (Closing Tournament) and “el Apertura” (Opening Tournament) but it is the national qualifiers and the derbies that bring the country to a halt. As well as the Boca vs River derby (“el súper clásico”), the most exciting matches are: Racing vs. Independiente, Huracán vs. San Lorenzo, Gimnasia vs. Estudiantes (La Plata), and Newell’s Old Boys –where Lionel Messi started his career– vs. Rosario Central (Rosario).