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Superclásico is the football match in Argentina between Buenos Aires rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate. It derives from the Spanish usage of "clásico" to mean derby, with the prefix "super" used as the two clubs are the most popular and successful clubs in Argentine football. In fact, the term 'Clásico' originated in Argentina, particularly with this match up and it was later exported to other countries such as Spain and Mexico. According to some statistics, they commandeer more than 70% of all Argentine football fans between them.

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", saying that "Derby day in Buenos Aires makes the Old Firm game look like a primary school kick-about", and 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.

Origins and background[edit]

Boca Juniors starting line-up for the first official Superclásico, 1913

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, however, 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.

By 1913, both club had their fields in La Boca and had not won any league, being also far away from the popularity that would come after. The most known Argentine football rivalry until then had been Alumni–Belgrano A.C. (both clubs from Belgrano) until Alumni disbanded in 1911 and Belgrano disaffiliated from the AFA. Racing Club de Avellaneda became the first of the Big Five when that same year won the first of their seven consecutive league titles.

Before their first official match, Boca and River had played two friendlies (1908 and 1912). River Plate's nickname was Darseneros (the most popular Millonarios came in 1931). The match 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". 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. Despite the fact that their club traces back its roots to La Boca, 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.

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.

Puerta 12 tragedy[edit]

Gate 12, under custody, the day after the tragedy

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 and the majority of the dead were teenagers and young adults; the average age of the victims was 19. There are various claims as to what exactly happened that day. Some claim that the disaster happened after Boca Juniors fans threw burning River flags from the upper tiers of the stadium, causing a stampede of their own fans in the lower tier.

Others claim that it happened after River fans arrived at the Boca section, causing the stampede of the visiting fans. Yet others claim that gate 12 was locked, or would not open at the time, and that the fans at the back did not hear the ones at the front telling them to stop coming in. William Kent, River's former president, claimed that the police were the culprits, as they began repressing Boca fans after they had thrown urine at them from the stands. Some witnesses claim that the turnstiles to the exit were blocked by a huge iron pole.

After three years of investigation, a government inquiry found no one guilty, much to the disappointment of the families of the victims. Since the tragedy, the gates at El Monumental have been identified by letters instead of numbers.

At the end of the 1968 season, the 68 football clubs in the Argentine Football Association collected 100,000 pesos for the families of the deceased.

From River's relegation to the 2018 Copa Libertadores Finals[edit]

Since the turn of the century, the rivalry has intensified to different levels. A series of fierce meetings and violent events rekindled international attention to the derby.

Boca eliminated River in the 2000 Copa Libertadores and 2004 Copa Libertadores, winning the title in 2000, 2001 and 2003, and reaching the finals in 2004. Moreover, in June 2011, River was relegated for the first time in its history.

Since its promotion in 2012, River eliminated Boca in the 2014 Copa Sudamericana, 2015 Copa Libertadores, 2017 Supercopa Argentina, 2018 Copa Libertadores, and the 2019 Copa Libertadores, lifting the trophy on all of those occasions, except the 2019 Copa Libertadores.

During the 2015 Copa Libertadores, River Plate players were attacked at half time by a Boca fan that spread pepper spray as the players were entering the dressing rooms. As a result, the game was suspended and River were awarded the qualification. Boca, on the other hand, were disqualified from competition in the tournament and were faced with sanctions imposed by from CONMEBOL. At the time of the attack, River was winning the series 1–0.

In the 2018 Copa Libertadores Finals, the bus carrying Boca's players to the El Monumental was attacked by River fans who threw large objects after the police withdrew from the zone. The game was suspended and despite Boca's requests to have River disqualified, the game was moved to Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. After drawing 2–2 at La Bombonera and losing its home field advantage, River famously won the game 3–1 after extra time (5–3 on aggregate). Through the series, Boca was always ahead until the extra time of the return leg. Given the rivalry and the stage, and the fact of having been played in Europe, the 2018 Copa Libertadores Finals gathered unusual attention outside South America.

Statistics[edit]

Overall record[edit]

As of 11 September 2022. Only official matches are included.

1. Both clubs only played a semifinal in the 1942 edition. After the match ended 0–0, River qualified to the finals by corner kicks awarded, according to the competition rules.
2. In the 2004 edition, River won the second leg 2–1 (so it was listed as a won game). After the series ended 2–2 in goals, Boca qualified to play the finals after a penalty shoot-out.
3. In the 1994 edition and after the series ended 0–0 in goals, Boca qualified by penalty shoot-out.

Primera División matches[edit]

Includes only matches in the Primera División since their first official game in 1913.

1. ^ River was the home team.
2. Some historians do not include this match due to the championship was annulled, prior the creation of dissident Asociación Amateurs de Football, with River Plate being one of the teams that joined the new league (while Boca Juniors remained in the official body). As a result, the Superclásico would not be played until 1927 after both, official and dissident associations, merged.
3. ^ Boca was the home team.

Head-to-head statistics in Primera División[edit]

National cups[edit]

These are only matches in national cup competitions. The club name in bold indicates a win. The score is given at full-time, in the goals columns the goal scorer and time when goal was scored is noted.

1. River won 3–2 on most corner kicks awarded, qualifying to the next round.
2. Boca as home team.
3. River as home team.
4. ^ Neutral venue.
5. ^ Boca Juniors advanced to the next stage after penalty shoot-out.

Head-to-head statistics in national cups[edit]

Copa Libertadores[edit]

These are only matches in the Copa Libertadores, club name in bold indicate win. The score is given at full-time, in the goals columns the goal scorer and time when goal was scored is noted.

1. River Plate as home team.
2. After the series ended 2–2 on aggregate, Boca won after a penalty shoot-out.
3. Game ruled forfeit by CONMEBOL Article 22 after it was suspended at 0–0 at half-time because of an attack on River Plate players in the tunnel with tear gas as they came out for the second half in Estadio Alberto J. Armando. CONMEBOL disqualified Boca Juniors from the tournament, with severe future CONMEBOL sanctions.
4. Because of an attack by River Plate fans towards the Boca Juniors bus at River Plate's home ground, injuring players on 24 November 2018, CONMEBOL moved the match to Madrid, Spain, at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, home of Real Madrid C.F. The venue change was for both security and convenience for the winner

Head-to-head statistics in the Copa Libertadores[edit]

Other international cups[edit]

These are only matches in other international cups. The club name in bold indicates a win. The score is given at full-time, in the goals columns the goal scorer and time when goal was scored is noted.

Head-to-head statistics in other international cups[edit]

Friendly matches[edit]

List of all the non-official games played since their first match ever in 1908:

1. Located in Mar del Plata, was the main stadium of the city until the Estadio José María Minella was inaugurated in 1978.
2. suspended after the 4th goal for incidents by River supporters
3. Played in Miami, USA.
4. Played in Mexico DF.

Head-to-head statistics in Friendlies matches[edit]

Single eliminations between the two rivals[edit]

As of 2021, 20 single eliminations between Boca Juniors and River Plate had been played, three of them tournament's finals. River holds the upper hand, with 13 wins over Boca.

Match records[edit]

Largest margin of victory (4+ goals)DateHome teamScoreAway teamDecember 23, 1928Boca Juniors6–0River PlateOctober 19, 1941River Plate5–1Boca JuniorsJuly 19, 1942River Plate4–0Boca JuniorsAugust 17, 1955River Plate0–4Boca JuniorsMay 19, 1959Boca Juniors5–1River PlateMarch 7, 1982River Plate1–5Boca JuniorsHighest scoring matches (7+ goals)DateHome teamScoreAway teamOctober 15, 1972River Plate5–4Boca JuniorsNovember 24, 1957River Plate5–3Boca JuniorsJune 27, 1973Boca Juniors5–2River PlateFebruary 3, 1974Boca Juniors5–2River PlateMarch 2, 1980Boca Juniors2–5River PlateFebruary 27, 1991Boca Juniors4–3River Plate

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