Boca Juniors vs River Plate - The Superclásico

The South American's will always be synonymous with football, from Columbia to Argentina, the people of the continent eat, sleep and breathe the sport. With footballing greats such as Pele and Diego Maradona going down in history and current stars Lionel Messi and Neymar setting the world alight, South America has produced some of the worlds finest. Brazil vs Argentina is one of the oldest, and greatest rivalries in international football, with the first meeting of the giants taking place over one hundred years ago, in September 1914 in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires, with Argentina coming away with a 3-0 win. However within Buenos Aires, an even older and arguably greater match takes place. Making it's first appearance in 1913, the Superclásico is a football match which draws passion unlike any other. In 2004, The Observer ranked the derby between Boca Juniors and River Plate as number one in their list of '50 sporting things you must do before you die.' And was also quoted in saying that, 'Derby day in Buenos Aires makes the Old Firm game look like a primary school kick-about.' The people at the Guardian aren't alone with their valuation of the match, with FourFourTwo magazine considering it as the 'biggest sporting derby in the world' and also The Daily Telegraph refered to the Superclásico as the 'biggest club rivalry in world football.' The Superclásico doesn't get the attention is deserves, with the passion shown by each set of supporters as well as by the players privileged to take part, The Superclásico is simply a unique game of football and one which should achieve the same level of media attention as El Clasico in Spain.

After 362 meetings, 132 wins for Boca,116 for River and 115 draws, the match has become famous for an incredible intensity and atmosphere, one which no single game on the planet can equal. The foundations of the fixtures in the people of the Argentine capital, with Boca Juniors being seen as a club for the 'working class' whereas River Plate became known by the nickname 'Los Millionarios' with a fan base made up of supposedly upper class members of the city. With the fans being a major part of the rivalry right from it's beginnings, it is only right that in the current fixtures the fans also have a part to play. They really don't disappoint! A sea of colouful flowing banners, screams and roars, chanting, dancing and never ending fireworks. This is how the BBC described the fans interaction within The Superclásico, and it truly is a sight to behold. With chants being used as arsenal by both sets of fans, sang with intensity rarely seen on European soil, the stadiums hosting this historic fixture are known to bounce during the 90 minutes. Boca fans have labelled River 'las gallinas' (the chickens) for choking when it comes to the big game. River fans have subsequently labelled Boca 'los bosteros' (the pieces of sh*t). However a match which exudes such passion from the fans doesn't come without the ugly side of a derby. Both on and off the pitch, violence comes hand in hand with the The Superclásico, a factor of the derby which most would like forgotten, but will likely never subside.

Something pretty substantial must take place for a country to, quite simply, stop. And that is exactly what happens on the day of  River vs Boca, with an incredible 70% of Argentina supporting either River or Boca, a statistic which simply explains the enormity of derby day in Buenos Aires. The passion from the fans is easily translated onto the pitch and into the players, causing many incidents that have became infamous within the history of The Superclásico. Carlos Tevez, the former Manchester City and United man is never far from controversy. So when the life long Boca fan scored against River Plate, he took his chance to rub it in the nose of the opposing fans, by performing a chicken dance when celebrating his strike, infuriating the River supporters. Tevez was immediately awarded a red card for 'inciting violence between the fans' and in his post match interview the Argentinian admitted that the passion got the better of him. River aren't simply the victims of acts of stupidity from the players during The Superclásico. In 2011, Matias Almeyda was charged with assault and, like Tevez, inciting violence when he celebrated a win for River by kissing the club's badge in view of the furious Boca supports. These incidents will forever be a part of what makes this historic fixture great.

Sadly however tragedy has struck this fixture in the past, and in 1968, the tragedy of 'gate 12' struck a cord within the game that suddenly made the world loudest rivalry fall silent. Sunday 29th June 1968 was the 89th league meeting between the two biggest sides in Argentina, and as the clock ticked closer to a goalless draw which resulted in neither side being crowned champions the fans became increasingly anxious, Boca fans in particular. At full time the travelling fans made their way down to gate 12, which had been closed earlier in the day. Despite this the fans poured down the steep, narrow hallway which caused many fans to fall to the bottom. Unknowing to the fans who continued to make their way down, many supporters where crushed underneath the boots of their fellow fans which resulted in 71 deaths and another 150 injuries. The death count was already shocking, and then a later investigation showed the average age of the deaths was 19 years old and to this day, no one has been held accountable for this tragic event. Accounts of the event vary from person to person, starting with some suggesting Boca fans had thrown burning River Plate flags into a section of the home support which caused a stampede in the lower tiers. A separate account has stated that it was the River fans at fault, with a group of them entering the Boca Juniors section, creating violence and a rush to the exits by the fans which leads to the deaths. These accounts point the finger at the fans, with others stating that the closure of gate 12 by the stadium officials made exiting the over crowded stadium close to impossible. This tragedy has drawn contrasts to the Hillsborough disaster of 1989, and drew a similar media outcry for the truth, but to this day, the details of the event have never been confirmed.

The Superclásico. A fixture which never quite gets the attention it deserves. Truly unique, the passion and fire from the pitch to the stands during the 90 minutes is a sight to behold, and one I would push any true football fans to experience themselves if given the opportunity. August 23rd 1913, the first derby day in Buenos Aires, the debut of one of the greatest fixtures in club football, and one which will hopefully never meet its end.