Superclásico


The Superclásico is the football match in Argentina between Buenos Aires rivals River Plate and Boca Juniors. 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 command 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.

History

Origins and 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, 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". By contrast, River Plate became known by the nickname, Los Millonarios, with a supposedly upper-class support base. Both clubs, however, have supporters from all social classes.
By 1913, both clubs 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. 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. River Plate's nickname was Darseneros. 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 and Marcos Meyer.
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" of both sides or with the police.
Boca fans refer to River supporters as "gallinas" 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" because they claim their stadium, located in the less affluent La Boca area, smells most of the time, as well as "bosteros", 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

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.

River's 2011 relegation to 2018 Greater Final

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 Round of 16, River Plate players were attacked at half time by a Boca fan that used pepper spray as the players were entering the dressing rooms. As a result, the game was suspended and CONMEBOL opened disciplinary proceedings on Boca. At the time of the attack, River was winning the series 1–0. As a result of the incident, Boca were disqualified from competition in the tournament and were faced with sanctions imposed by from CONMEBOL. River Plate, on the other hand, advanced to the quarterfinals and would later go on to win the Copa Libertadores.
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. 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

Overall record

. Only official matches are included.
;Notes

Primera División matches

Includes only matches in the Primera División since their first official game in 1913.
#SeasonDateVenueWinnerScoreGoals Goals
1191324 AugRacingRiver2–1Mayer C. García, Ameal Pereyra
2191425 OctFerro0–0
3191520 JunBocaRiver2–0Penney
4191610 DecRacingRiver2–1Risso, Chiappe Reppeto
5191724 JunRacing2–2Taggino Amores
6191818 SepRacingBoca1–0Brichetto
191927 JulBoca0–0
719274 DecBocaBoca1–0Cherro
8192823 DecBocaBoca6–0Tarasconi, Kuko, Cherro
919304 MayRiverRiver3–2Ganduglia, Locassio Tarasconi
10193120 SepBoca1–1Varallo Peucelle
1119326 JanRiverBoca3–0Alberino, Muttis, Varallo
12193219 JunRiver1–1Ferreyra Mariani
13193230 OctBocaBoca2–1Benítez Cáceres Ferreyra
1419332 JulBoca1–1Nardini Luna
15193319 NovRiverRiver3–1Ferreyra Cuello
16193417 JunBocaBoca4–1Cusatti, Cherro, Sánchez Ferreyra
17193416 SepRiverBoca1–0Cherro
1819344 NovBocaBoca2–0Varallo, B. Cáceres
19193521 AprBocaBoca1–0Cherro
2019351 SepRiver1–1Rongo Varallo
211936 19 AprBocaRiver3–2Cherro, B. Cáceres Peucelle, Ferreyra
221936 30 AugRiverRiver2–1Rongo, Moreno A. González
2319378 AugSan LorenzoBoca2–1Gonzales, Cherro Rongo
24193712 DecSan LorenzoRiver3–2Deambrosi, Vaschetto, Ferreyra Fatecchi, Careri
25193810 AprBocaRiver1–2Careri Vaschetto, Moreno
2619384 SeptRiver2–2Rongo Benítez
27193911 FebSan LorenzoRiver3–5Lizhterman Rongo, Vaschetto, Pedernera
28193911 JunRiverBoca2–0Picaro, Varallo
2919395 NovSan LorenzoRiver2–1Varallo Blanco, Labruna
30194030 JunBocaBoca3–1Rosell, Sarlanga, Alarcón D'Alessandro
31194017 NovRiver1–1Labruna Tenorio
32194129 JunBocaBoca2–1Emeal, Valsecchi D'Alessandro
33194119 OctRiverRiver5–1Labruna, Moreno, Deambrosi, Pedernera Boyé
34194219 JulRiverRiver4–0Deambrosi, Moreno, Labruna
3519428 NovBoca2–2Gandulla Pedernera
36194316 MayRiverRiver3–1Labruna, Muñoz Varela
37194326 SepBocaBoca2–1Varela Loustau
38194414 MayBoca1–1Varela Pedernera
3919443 SepRiverBoca0–1Varela
40194529 JulRiverRiver1–0Loustau
41194518 NovBocaBoca4–1Corcuera, Boyé, Sarlanga Ramos
42194630 JunRiverRiver2–0Loustau
43194627 OctBocaBoca2–0Sosa, Boyé
44194727 AprBocaBoca2–0Boyé, Ricagni
45194724 AugRiverRiver2–1Labruna, Reyes Ricagni
4619481 AugBocaRiver2–1Sánchez Labruna, Reyes
4719488 DecRiver1–1Latanzio Garfagnoli
48194931 JulRiverRiver1–0Labruna
49194913 NovBocaBoca2–0Benitez, Busico
50195011 JunRiverRiver1–0Barbeito
51195012 OctBocaRiver2–1Campana Labruna, W. Gómez
52195115 JulRiverRiver1–0Labruna
5319511 NovBocaRiver3–0W. Gómez, Vernazza
5419528 JunBocaBoca2–1Pérez, González Acosta
5519528 NovRiverRiver3–1Loustau, W. Gómez Borello
56195319 JulRiverBoca3–2Mouriño, Loustau Montaño, Navarro, Rolando
5719531 NovBocaBoca1–0Marcarián
58195418 JulBocaRiver1–0Prado
59195431 OctRiverRiver3–0Labruna, W. Gómez
60195517 AugRacingBoca4–0Pizzuti Navarro, Cucchiaroni
6119558 DecBocaRiver2–1Etcheverry Labruna, Zárate
62195622 AprRiverRiver2–1Zárate, Labruna Angelillo
6319569 SepBocaBoca2–1Zubeldía, Senes Vernazza
64195721 JulBoca2–2Senes, Mansilla Menéndez, Bourgoing
65195724 NovRiverRiver5–3Menéndez, Zárate, Rodríguez Biaggio, Rodríguez
66195828 SepRiver2–2E. Onega, Menéndez Nardiello, Ambrois
67195820 DecHuracán2–2Mansilla, Rodríguez Nuín, Menéndez
68195919 MayBocaBoca5–1Nardiello, Yúdica, Rodríguez, Mansilla Rodríguez
6919596 SepRiverBoca3–2Melón, Nuín Yúdica, Rodríguez, Nardiello
70196017 AprRiver1–1Paulinho Mansilla
71196011 SepBocaBoca3–1Valentim, Yúdica Menéndez
7219616 AugRiver2–2Moacir, Pepillo Benítez, Valentim
73196112 NovBocaBoca3–1Valentim Delém
74196226 AugRiverRiver3–1Artime, Delem Valentim
7519629 DecBocaBoca1–0Valentim
76196328 JulBocaBoca2–0Valentim
77196317 NovRiverBoca1–0Sanfilippo
78196416 AugRiver0–0
79196429 NovBoca1–1Menéndez Artime
8019654 JulyRiverBoca2–1Cubilla Moraes, Pianetti
8119658 DecBocaBoca2–1Pianetti, Menéndez Artime
8219663 AprBocaRiver3–1A.H. Rojas Mas, E. Onega
83196621 AugRiverRiver2–0Mas, D. Onega
841967 Met23 AprBoca0–0
851967 Met8 JulRiverRiver1–0Bayo
861967 Nac26 NovRiverBoca1–0Novello
871968 Met7 AprBoca1–1Pardo Matosas
881968 Met23 JunRiver0–0
891968 Nac27 OctBocaBoca3–1A.H. Rojas, Pianetti Mas
901969 Met2 MarBoca1–1Cabrera Recio
911969 Met4 MayRiverRiver2–0D. Onega, Más
921969 Met3 JulRacing0–0
931969 Nac14 DecRiver2–2Mas, Marchetti Madurga
941970 Met14 JunBocaBoca1–0Suñé
951970 Nac27 SepRiverRiver2–1Mas Pena
961970 Nac14 NovBoca0–0
971971 Met10 MarRacingRiver1–2Madurga J.J. López, Marchetti
981971 Met10 JunRacing3–3J.J. López, Mas, D. Onega Tarabini, A.C. Rojas
991971 Nac27 NovRacingRiver1–3Ponce Martínez, J.J. López, Morete
1001972 Met12 MarRiverBoca4–0Ponce, Curioni
1011972 Met18 JunBoca2–2Curioni, Potente Martínez, Scotta
1021972 Nac15 OctVélezRiver5–4Curioni, Ponce, Potente Mastrángelo, Mas, Morete
1031972 Nac13 DecVélezRiver3–2Mastrángelo, Mouzo, Morete Rogel, Curioni
1041973 Met4 MarRiverRiver2–1Alonso, Mastrángelo Curioni
1051973 Met27 JunBocaBoca5–2Guerini, Curioni, Potente, Ponce, Bertolotti Ghiso, J.J. López
1061973 Nac11 NovVélezRiver1–0Morete
1071974 Met3 FebBocaBoca5–2García Cambón, Ferrero Ghiso, Wolff
1081974 Met31 MarRiverRiver3–1Morete Potente
1091974 Nac25 AugBocaBoca1–0García Cambón
1101974 Nac3 NovRiver1–1Mastrángelo Potente
1111975 Met17 AprBocaRiver2–1Trobbiani Morete, Alonso
1121975 Met27 JulRiverBoca1–0Potente
1131975 Nac21 SepBocaRiver2–1Sánchez P.A. González, Luque
1141975 Nac26 OctRiverBoca2–1Más Sánchez, Alves
1151976 Met18 FebRiver0–0
1161976 Met18 AprBocaRiver1–0Perfumo
1171976 Met25 JulHuracán1–1Felman Coudannes
1181976 Nac26 SepBoca1–1Mastrángelo Passarella
1191976 Nac14 NovRiverBoca2–0Mastrángelo, Felman
1201976 Nac22 DecRacingBoca1–0Suñé
1211977 Met14 AugHuracán1–1P.A. González Veglio
1221977 Met9 NovBocaRiver1–2Pernía Passarella, P.A. González
1231978 Met12 JulBocaBoca1–0Husillos
1241978 Met15 OctRiverRiver1–0O. Labruna
1251979 Nac23 SepRiver1–1Passarella Randazzo
1261979 Nac11 NovBoca1–1Husillos J.J. López
1271980 Met2 MarBocaRiver5–2Randazzo, Perotti R. Díaz, Carrasco, Ortiz
1281980 Met15 JunRiverRiver2–1Passarella, Luque Salinas
1291980 Nac28 SepRiver2–2R. Díaz, Ortíz Outes, Pernía
1301980 Nac6 NovBocaBoca1–0Perotti
1311981 Met10 AprBocaBoca3–0Brindisi, Maradona
1321981 Met5 JulRiver1–1Kempes Maradona
1331981 Nac27 SepBocaRiver3–2Maradona, Gareca Kempes, Passarella, J. García
1341981 Nac1 NovRiver2–2J.J. López, Vieta Maradona
1351982 Nac7 MarRiverBoca5–1Tevez Ruggeri, Gareca, Córdoba
1361982 Nac25 AprBoca0–0
1371982 Met19 SepRiver1–1Mouzo Gareca
1381982 Met22 DecBocaRiver2–0Vieta, Messina
1391983 Met5 OctRiverBoca2–1Tapia Passucci, Stocco
1401983 Met19 OctVélezBoca1–0Berta
1411984 Met24 JunRiver1–1Krasouski Stafuza
1421984 Met11 NovRiverRiver4–1Alonso, Francescoli Herrera
1431985–8627 OctRiverRiver1–0A. Montenegro
1441985–866 AprBocaRiver2–0Alonso
1451986–872 NovBocaBoca1–0Comas
1461986–8713 AprRiver1–1Alzamendi J. Rinaldi
1471987–8822 NovRiverRiver3–2J. Da Silva, Corti, Palma J. Rinaldi
1481987–8830 AprBoca2–2Graciani Alzamendi, Ruggeri
1491988–8918 SepRiverBoca2–0Perazzo, Graciani
1501988–895 FebBocaRiver0–0
1511988–89 L19 JulRiver0–0
1521988–89 L24 JulyBoca0–0
1531988–89 L27 JulyVélezRiver2–1Marangoni Serrizuela, R. Centurión
1541989–906 SepBocaBoca1–0Cuciuffo
1551989–902 FebRiver1–1Zamora Latorre
1561990 Ap23 SepRiverRiver2–0J. Higuaín, R. Da Silva
1571991 Cl31 MarBocaBoca1–0Latorre
1581991 Ap10 NovBoca0–0
1591992 Cl3 MayRiver2–2S. Berti, H. Díaz Latorre
1601992 Ap11 OctBocaBoca1–0S. Martínez
1611993 Cl11 AprRiverBoca2–0S. Martínez, A. Acosta
1621993 Ap17 OctRiverBoca1–0A. Acosta
1631994 Cl30 AprBocaRiver2–0Ortega, Crespo
1641994 Ap11 DecBocaRiver3–0Francescoli, Ortega, Gallardo
1651995 Cl18 JunRiverBoca4–2Gamboa, Francescoli Saldaña, Márcico, Tchami, R. Da Silva
1661995 Ap26 NovRiver0–0
1671996 Cl14 JulBocaBoca4–1J. Basualdo, Caniggia Amato
1681996 Ap29 SepBocaBoca3–2Pompei, Cedrés, Guerra Salas, Sorín
1691997 Cl23 MarRiver3–3S. Berti, Villalba, C. Ayala Cedrés, S. Martínez
1701997 Ap25 OctRiverBoca2–1S. Berti Toresani, Palermo
1711998 Cl17 AprBocaBoca3–2Caniggia, Palermo, Arruabarrena Solari, Salas
1721998 Ap25 OctRiver0–0
1731999 Cl9 MayBocaBoca2–1Bermúdez, Palermo Netto
1741999 Ap17 OctRiverRiver2–0Aimar, Ángel
1752000 Cl14 MayBoca1–1Gmo. B. Schelotto Nelson Cuevas
1762000 Ap15 OctRiver1–1Saviola Palermo
1772001 Cl8 AprBocaBoca3–0Ibarra, Riquelme, Gmo. B. Schelotto
1782001 Ap16 SepRiver1–1Cambiasso Gaitán
1792002 Cl10 MarBocaRiver0–3Cambiasso, Coudet, R. Rojas
1802002 Ap27 OctRiverBoca2–1Fuertes Delgado
1812003 Cl1 JunBoca2–2Gmo. B. Schelotto D'Alessandro, Cavenaghi
1822003 Ap9 NovRiverBoca2–0Battaglia, Iarley
1832004 Cl16 MayBocaRiver1–0Cavenaghi
1842004 Ap7 NovRiverRiver2–0G. Fernández, Cuevas
1852005 Cl22 MayBocaBoca2–1Gmo. B. Schelotto, Delgado L. González
1862005 Ap16 OctRiver0–0
1872006 Cl26 MarBoca1–1Palermo Farías
1882006 Ap8 OctRiverRiver3–1Higuaín, Farías Palacio
1892007 Cl15 AprBoca1–1Ledesma Rosales
1902007 Ap7 OctRiverRiver2–0Falcao, Ortega
1912008 Cl4 MayBocaBoca1–0Battaglia
1922008 Ap19 OctRiverBoca1–0Viatri
1932009 Cl19 AprBoca1–1Palermo Gallardo
1942009 Ap25 OctRiver1–1Gallardo Palermo
1952010 Cl25 MarBocaBoca2–0Medel
1962010 Ap16 NovRiverRiver1–0Maidana
1972011 Cl15 MayBocaBoca2–0J.P. Carrizo, Palermo
1982012 In28 OctRiver2–2Ponzio, Mora Silva, Erviti
1992013 Fi5 MayBoca1–1Silva Lanzini
2002013 In6 OctRiverBoca1–0Gigliotti -
2012014 Fi30 MarBocaRiver1–2Riquelme Lanzini, R. Funes Mori
20220145 OctRiver1–1Pezzella Magallán
20320153 MayBocaBoca2–0Pavón, P. Pérez
204201513 SepRiverBoca0–1Lodeiro -
20520166 MarRiver0–0
206201624 AprBoca0–0
2072016–1711 DecRiverBoca4–2Driussi, Alario Bou, Tévez, Centurión
2082016–1714 MayBocaRiver3–1Gago G. Martínez Alario, Driussi
2092017–185 NovRiverBoca2–1Ponzio Cardona, Nandez
2102018–1923 SepBocaRiver0–2G. Martínez, Scocco
2112019–201 SepRiver0–0
21220213 OctRiverRiver2–1J. Álvarez Zambrano
213202211 SepBocaBoca1–0Benedetto
21420237 MayRiverRiver1–0Borja
215202421 SepBocaRiver1–0Lanzini
216202527 AprRiverRiver2–1Mastantuono, Driussi Merentiel
21720259 NovBocaBoca2–0Zeballos, Merentiel

;Notes
;Keys