5 reasons to watch a truly classic derby
When Boca Juniors hosts River Plate on Monday, decades of hatred between the clubs will play out on and off the field in a city derby that has captured the imagination of the football world.
If attending a Superclasico between River Plate and Boca Juniors is not parked at the top of your world sport bucket list, it should be. If getting to Argentina in time for Monday morning's (AEST) clash is asking a bit much, beIN SPORTS has you covered with the next-best thing: live coverage of a derby considered among the very best the game has to offer.
Here we provide five reasons to tune in and a whole bunch of 'Superclasico' trivia to arm yourself with in the lead-up to the grudge match that stops Argentina, at least for 90 heated minutes anyway.
1. That legendary Bombanera atmosphere
2. Discovering why PSG thinks this young striker is worth $18 million
3 Spying Maradona hanging out in his personal box
4. Understanding why Tottenham is reportedly keen to sign this bloke
5. Those legendary 'physical' contests
Everything else you need to know about the Superclasico:
1. 70% of Argentina supports either Boca or River
2. Both clubs exist in the crowded Buenos Aires market - the city with the most dense concentration of football clubs in the world.
3. While the narrative of the Superclasico is the ‘haves’ (River) v the ‘have nots’ (BOCA), both clubs were formed by the son of immigrants in the working class suburb of La Boca. In 1925 River moved from La Boca to the affluent suburb of Nunez, giving the rivalry its rich v poor context.
4. Geographically, the clubs are only 16ks away from each other:
5. Boca won the first ever competitive clash 2-1, in 1913
6. Boca’s stadium is nicknamed ‘la Bombanera’ – the chocolate box - due to its incredible stacked rectangular stand - a symbol of the cramped space in the working class suburb. River’s Stadium, El monumental, denotes grandeur and space:
7. Legend has it Boca adopted the colours of the flag of the first boat to sail into the port, - a Swedish vessel. Hence the blue and yellow strip
8. Both clubs incorporated English words into their title to attract a wider group of fans
9. River’s nickname is Los Millionaires – the millionaires.
10. The fans of each club famously hate each other, and are notorious for making fun of each other in the lead-up to the games
11. River fans are nicknamed ‘las gallinas’ – the chickens - a mocking reference to their team choking at crucial moments. River, in turn, has a nickname for BOCA's fans: “los bosteros” – the pieces of sh*t.
12. A Boca favourite, Carlos Tevez, once celebrated a goal with a chicken dance and was red carded for inciting fan violence.
13. The rival fan groups are renowned for chanting against each other at the games of other teams.
14. The honour roll of football stars to have come from each club is long, and impressive:
BOCA: Diego Maradona, Juan Roman Riquelme, Carlos Tevez, Gabriel Batistuta, Walter Samuel, Fernando Gago, Ever Banega
RIVER: Alfredo Di Stefano, Hernan Crespo, Javier Mascherano, Radamel Falcao, Ariel Ortega, Javier Saviola, Gonzalo Higuain
