Opinion: Nothing like Superclasico
Photo credit: Prensa TV Publica
Flags, flares, chopped paper, balloons, fireworks, trumpets, bass drums, smoke bombs and a variety of jerseys with plenty of different names on the back are some of the ingredients of a unique derby.
I use the word “unique” because there is not a match in the sports world that compares to Boca Juniors vs. River Plate. This game is not just a clasico. There are a countless number of derbies full of history and good football, but those matches don’t have the color, passion and madness of the Argentinean crowd.
Labeled as the Superclasico, Boca and River started their antagonism more than 100 years ago. Both founded in La Boca neighborhood in Buenos Aires, River Plate and Boca Juniors became the most popular teams in Argentina, and the greatest rivalry in soccer because of the level of passion demonstrated.
Jock Stein used to say that he had “never seen a fan score a goal.” Unfortunately, Stein never stood up in La Bombonera or El Monumental to confirm his words. Those stadiums intimidate because the fans don’t stop singing for 90 minutes; it’s a melting pot of emotions. They roar at a volume that can be heard five blocks away on a stormy night.
The stadiums are alive, and the players can feel it while walking out from the locker rooms to the tunnel that exits to the pitch, as left wing Cristian Pavon described in a video interview with BocaJuniors.com, translated from Spanish: “When you start walking, you feel how the tunnel rumbles. While we are having the prep talk you feel how the walls move.”
📌 Días y horarios confirmados para los dos cruces ante Boca Juniors por la final de la @Libertadores. #JuntosSomosMasGrandes #VamosRiver ⚪️🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/5xcdDmfvDU
— River Plate (@CARPoficial) November 5, 2018
However, the passion of both clubs doesn’t stay home. Records show that Boca and River mobilized thousands of fans around South America during the Copa Libertadores or Copa Sudamericana away matches. In the last appearances of both clubs in the FIFA Club World Cups, tens of thousands of fans made the trip to Asia to see their team play.
Football is linked to the identity of South American people, especially in a place like Argentina that is full of overcoming stories and idols. World legends like Maradona and Di Stefano played a Superclasico. Actual managers like Simeone, Gallardo, Gareca and Real Madrid interim coach Santiago Solari were part of it.
Players that left or still have a trace in European soccer like Mascherano, Falcao, Aimar, Walter Samuel, Palermo, Caniggia, Batistuta, Riquelme, Lamela, Cambiasso, Sorin and Kempes knew what a Superclasico represents.
The world will witness the mother of all derbies in a state that no one has ever seen before, a two-leg final between Boca Juniors and River Plate. The most prominent South American continental title will be disputed in a rivalry that was born in a humble neighborhood of Buenos Aires.
Follow Luis on Twitter: @LFulloa.
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