Boca Juniors


Club Atlético Boca Juniors is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. Boca Juniors is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the Argentine Primera División, becoming the most successful team of Argentina in number of official titles, with 69 won to date. National titles won by Boca Juniors include 34 Primera División championships, and 13 domestic cups. Boca Juniors also owns an honorary title awarded by the Argentine Football Association for their successful tour of Europe in 1925.
Internationally, Boca Juniors has won a total of 22 international titles, with 18 organised by CONMEBOL and the rest organised jointly by the Argentine and Uruguayan Associations. Consequently, Boca is ranked third in the world in terms of number of complete international titles, after Real Madrid and Egyptian side Al Ahly. Boca Juniors' international achievements also include Tie Cup, Copa de Honor Cousenier, and Copa Escobar-Gerona, organized jointly by AFA and AUF together.
Their success usually has Boca ranked among the IFFHS's Club World Ranking Top 25, which they have reached the top position six times. Boca was named by the IFFHS as the top South American club of the first decade of the 21st century. Boca Juniors is also known to be one of the most popular football clubs in Argentina, along with River Plate.
Boca has always had a fierce rivalry with River Plate, as both clubs were established in La Boca. Matches between them are known as the Superclásico, and are one of the most heated rivalries in Argentina and the world, as both clubs are the two most popular in the country. Boca's home stadium is Estadio Alberto J. Armando, which is colloquially known as La Bombonera. The youth academy has produced many Argentine internationals such as Sebastián Battaglia, Nicolás Burdisso, Carlos Tevez, Éver Banega, Nicolás Gaitán and Fernando Gago, who have played or are playing for top European clubs.
In addition to football, Boca Juniors has professional basketball and volleyball teams. Other activities held in the club are: athletics, futsal, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, martial arts, swimming, weightlifting and wrestling.

History

On 3 April 1905, a group of Greek and Italian boys met in order to find a club. The house where the meeting was arranged was Esteban Baglietto's and the other four people who attended were Alfredo Scarpatti, Santiago Sana and brothers Ioannis and Theodoros Farengas from Chios and Konstantinos Karoulias from Samos.
Other important founders members include Arturo Penney, Marcelino Vergara, Luis Cerezo, Adolfo Taggio, Giovanelli, Donato Abbatángelo, Bertolini.
In 1913, Boca obtained the promotion to Primera División that the team had wanted for many years. This was possible when the Asociación Argentina de Fútbol decided to increase the number of teams in the league from 6 to 15.
In 1925, Boca made its first trip to Europe to play in Spain, Germany and France. The squad played a total of 19 games, winning 15 of them. For that reason Boca was declared "Campeón de Honor" for the 1925 season by the Association.
During successive years, Boca consolidated as one of the most popular teams of Argentina, with a huge number of fans not only in Argentina but worldwide. The club is one of the most successful teams in Argentine football, having won 34 Primera División titles, second only to River Plate with 36. In South American and international club football, Boca Juniors have won 18 titles, the same as A.C. Milan; Boca also won four international official titles, although not recognized by FIFA yet.
Those honors include 1919 Tie Cup, 1920 Copa de Honor Cousenier and 1945 and 1946 Copa Escobar-Gerona.

Kit and badge

According to the club's official site, the original jersey colour was a white shirt with thin black vertical stripes, being then replaced by a light blue shirt and then another striped jersey before adopting the definitive blue and gold. Nevertheless, other version states that Boca Juniors' first jersey was pink, although it has been questioned by some journalists and historians who state that Boca, most probably, never wore a pink jersey, by pointing out the lack of any solid evidence and how this version stems from, and is only supported on, flawed testimonies.
Legend has it that in 1906, Boca played Nottingham de Almagro. Both teams wore so similar shirts that the match was played to decide which team would get to keep it. Boca lost, and decided to adopt the colors of the flag of the first boat to sail into the port at La Boca. This proved to be a Swedish ship, therefore the yellow and blue of the Swedish flag were adopted as the new team colours. The first version had a yellow diagonal band, which was later changed to a horizontal stripe.
Through Boca Juniors history, the club has worn some alternate "rare" models, such the AC Milan shirt in a match versus Universidad de Chile in the 1963 Copa Libertadores. When Nike became official kit provider in 1996, the first model by the company introduced two thin white stripes surrounding the gold band, causing some controversy. The brand also introduced a silver jersey designed exclusively for the 1998 Copa Mercosur. For the 100th. anniversary of the club, Nike launched commemorative editions of several models worn by the club since its foundation, including a version of the 1907 shirt with the diagonal sash, which was worn in two matches during the 2005 Torneo de Verano. Other models were a black and white striped jersey and a purple model, worn in the 2012 and 2013 "Torneos de Verano" respectively.
Novertheless, none shirt caused more controversy than the pink model released as the away jersey for the 2013–14 season, which was widely rejected by the fans. Because of that, the introduction of this model was delayed until the last fixture when Boca played Gimnasia y Esgrima. As a replacement for the pink model, Nike designed a fluorescent yellow shirt launched that same season.
In 2016, the club wore a black jersey for the first time in its history. Originally launched as the third kit. Although President of the club, Daniel Angelici, had stated that the black kit would never be worn, the kit debuted in a match v. Tigre, only four days after the announcement.
Adidas is the club's current kit supplier since January 2020. The agreement was signed for US 10,069,000 plus 40% in royalties per year for the club.

Kit evolution

Uniforms worn by the team through its history:
;Notes

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

PeriodKit ManufacturerShirt Sponsors
1905–80Adidas-
1983AdidasVinos Maravilla
1984AdidasDekalb
1985Adidas-
1986–88AdidasFate
1989–92AdidasFIAT
1992–95OlanParmalat
1995–96Olan / TopperQuilmes
1996–01NikeQuilmes
2001–03NikePepsi
2003–04NikePepsi & Goodyear
2004–05NikeRed Megatone & Goodyear
2006NikeMegatone & Goodyear
2007–09NikeMegatone & Unicef
2009–11NikeLG & Total
2012–14NikeBBVA & Total
2014–16NikeBBVA & Citroën
2016–17NikeBBVA & Huawei
2017–18NikeBBVA & ?
2018–19NikeQatar Airways & Axion
2020–AdidasQatar Airways & Axion

Badge

The club has had five different designs for its badge during its history, although its outline has remained unchanged through most of its history. The first known emblem dates from 1911, appearing on club's letterhead papers. In October 1932, the club stated that one star would be added to the badge for each Primera División title won. Nevertheless, the stars would not appear until 1943, on a Report and Balance Sheet.
A version with laurel leaves was launched in 1955 to celebrate the 50th. anniversary of the club, while the emblem with the stars inside has regularly appeared on Boca Juniors uniforms since 1993.
In 1996, the Ronald Shakespear Studio introduced a new badge –with the horizontal band suppressed– as part of a visual identity for the club. The new Boca Juniors image also featured new typography and style.

Stadium

Boca Juniors used several locations before settling on their current ground on Brandsen. Club's first ground was in Dársena Sur of the old Buenos Aires port but it was vacated in 1907 as it failed to meet the minimum league requirements. Boca Juniors then used three grounds in the Isla Demarchi area between 1908 and 1912. In the first year in the Primera Division the club hadn't an own stadium and played the home games in the pitches of the other teams, likely in Estudiantes de Buenos Aires in Palermo, but also in Avellaneda. Between 1914 and 1915, the club moved away from La Boca for the second time in its history, moving to Wilde in the Avellaneda Partido of the Greater Buenos Aires but a relatively poor season and poor attendances in 1915 forced the club to move back to La Boca.
On 25 May 1916, Boca Juniors opened its new stadium at the intersection of Ministro Brin and Senguel streets, playing there until 1924 when the club moved to its current location on Brandsen and Calle Del Crucero streets.
Building of Boca Juniors' current stadium began in 1938, under the supervision of Engineer José L. Delpini. Boca played its home matches in the Ferro Carril Oeste ground in Caballito until it was completed on 25 May 1940. A third level was added in 1953, originating then its nickname La Bombonera. The stand opposite the Casa Amarilla railway platforms remained mostly undeveloped until 1996, when it was upgraded with new balconies and quite expensive VIP boxes. Three sides of the Bombonera are thus made up of traditional sloping stadium stands, but the fourth side was built vertically, with several seating areas stacked one on top of the other, the only way that makes it stand into the club premises.
La Bombonera is known for vibrating when Boca fans jump in rhythm; in particular, the unique vertical side will sway slightly, leading to the phrase, "La Bombonera no tiembla. Late"
La Bombonera currently has a capacity of around 49,000. The club's popularity make tickets hard to come by, especially for the Superclásico game against River Plate. There are further improvements planned for the stadium, including measures to ease crowd congestion, use of new technology and improved corporate facilities.

List of stadiums used by the club

All of them placed in La Boca with the exception of Wilde, located in Avellaneda Partido. Boca Juniors also used the Estudiantes de Buenos Aires and Ferro Carril Oeste stadium as temporary venues.
;Notes

Supporters

Boca Juniors is traditionally regarded as the club of Argentina's working class, in contrast with the supposedly more upper-class base of cross-town arch rival Club Atlético River Plate.
Boca Juniors claims to be the club of "half plus one" of Argentina's population, but a 2006 survey placed its following at 40%, still the largest share. They have the highest number of fans, as judged by percentage in their country.
The Boca-River Superclásico rivalry is one of the most thrilling derbies in the world. Out of their 338 previous meetings, Boca have won 126, River have won 107 and there have been 105 draws. After each match, street signs cover Buenos Aires at fans' own expense, "ribbing" the losing side with humorous posters. This has become part of Buenos Aires culture ever since a Boca winning streak in the 1990s.
In 1975, a film was made about the life of Mary Esher Duffau, known as La Raulito, a well-known Boca Juniors fan. She died at the age of 74 on 30 April 2008, the same day Boca Juniors played a Copa Libertadores match against Brazilian club, Cruzeiro Esporte Clube with the players and fans observing a minute's silence in her memory.

Nicknames

Boca fans are known as Los Xeneizes after the Genoese immigrants who founded the team and lived in La Boca in the early 20th century.
Many rival fans in Argentina refer to the Boca Juniors' fans as Los Bosteros, originating from the horse manure used in the brick factory which occupied the ground where La Bombonera stands. Originally an insult used by rivals, Boca fans are now proud of it.
Reflecting the team's colors, Boca's shirt is also called la azul y oro.
There is also a society which dedicates all of its activities to supporting the team known as la número 12 or la doce "La doce" is a criminal organization similar to other "barra brava" gangs associated with football clubs in Argentina. Illegal activities by La doce include assault, drug sales and trafficking, extortion, and murder. La doce finances its activities by selling parking, reselling club tickets as well as extorting commission from the sale of players. La doce also extorts Boca Juniors for transportation to domestic and international events as well as their means of financing their activities. If their demands are not met they threaten violence at home matches or to take down club officials.
The naming of "La 12″, by which Boca Juniors' fans became known, dates back to the year 1925, during the European tour they made that year. At that time, the team was accompanied by a Boca fan called Victoriano Caffarena, who belonged to a wealthy family and funded part of the tour. During that tour he helped the team in everything, thus establishing a strong relationship with the players, so they named him "Player No. 12″. When they returned to Argentina, Caffarena was as well known as the players themselves. Nowadays, this nickname is used primarily to name their group of supporters, known as "La 12″.

International

Peñas exist in a number of Argentine cities and abroad in countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Spain, Israel and Japan.
Boca Juniors are particularly popular in Japan because of the club's success in recent years at the Intercontinental Cup held in Japan. All over the world, fans are drawn to Boca by the club's international titles, and by the success of Boca players who went on to play in European football such as Hugo Ibarra, Rodolfo Arruabarrena, Diego Cagna, Enzo Ferrero, Roberto Abbondanzieri, Nicolás Burdisso, Fernando Gago, Diego Maradona, Claudio Caniggia, Gabriel Batistuta, Juan Román Riquelme and Carlos Tevez.
Boca have fans throughout Latin America and also in parts of the United States where there has been Latin immigration and where in July 2007, after the club had toured pre-season, it was reported that the club were considering the possibility of creating a Boca Juniors USA team to compete in Major League Soccer.

Rivalries

Boca Juniors has had a long-standing rivalry with River Plate. The Superclásico is known worldwide as one of world football's fiercest and most important rivalries. It is particularly noted for the passion of the fans, the stands of both teams feature fireworks, coloured confetti, flags and rolls of paper. Both sets of supporters sing passionate songs against their rivals, and the stadiums are known to bounce with the simultaneous jumping of the fans. Sometimes the games have been known to end in riots between the hardest supporters of both sides or against the police. The English newspaper The Observer put the Superclásico at the top of their list of 50 sporting things you must do before you die.
The two clubs both have origins in the poor riverside area of Buenos Aires known as La Boca. River however moved to the more affluent district of Núñez in the north of the city in 1923.
Boca Juniors and River Plate have played 338 games all time against each other, with Boca winning 126, River winning 107 and 105 draws. In the First Division Professional Era the two clubs have played 198 games with Boca winning 72, River 66 and 60 draws.
This intense rivalry has not stopped players from playing for both clubs, most notably José Manuel Moreno, Hugo Orlando Gatti, Alberto Tarantini, Oscar Ruggeri, Julio Olarticoechea, Carlos Tapia, Gabriel Batistuta and Claudio Caniggia.

Players

Current squad

Other players under contract

Out on loan

Reserves and Academy

For the reserve and academy squads, see Boca Juniors Reserves and Academy

Records

Most goals

RankPlayerPositionTenureGoals
1 Martín PalermoFW1997–01, 2004–11236
2 Roberto CherroFW1926–38221
3 Francisco VaralloFW1931–39194
4 Domingo TarasconiFW1922–32193
5 Jaime SarlangaFW1940–48128
6 Mario BoyéFW1941–49, 1955123
7 Delfín Benítez CáceresFW1932–38115
8 Pío CorcueraFW1941–4898
9 Pedro CalominoFW1911–13, 1915–2496
10 Juan Román RiquelmeMF1996–02, 2007–1492

Last updated on: 6 July 2016 – at historiadeboca.com.ar

Most appearances

NoPlayerPositionTenureApp.
1 Roberto MouzoDF1971–84426
2 Hugo GattiGK1976–88417
3 Silvio MarzoliniDF1960–72408
4 Martín PalermoFW1997–2001, 2004–11404
5 Carlos Navarro MontoyaGK1988–96400
6 Juan Román RiquelmeMF1996–2002, 2007–14388
7 Antonio RattínMF1956–70382
8 Ernesto LazzattiMF1934–47379
9 Rubén SuñéMF1967–72, 1976–80377
10 Natalio PesciaMF1942–56365

Last updated on: 6 July 2016 – at historiadeboca.com.ar

Notable players

1905–1930s

List of players that were called-up for a FIFA World Cup while playing for Boca Juniors. In brackets, the tournament played:

Coaches

The first Boca Juniors coach recorded is Mario Fortunato, who had been player before becoming coach of the team. Fortunato led Boca to win a total of five titles and one National cup. He had three tenures on the club, coaching Boca Juniors in 1930–1936, 1946 and 1956.
Carlos Bianchi is the most successful coach in Boca Juniors' history, having won nine titles, including Aperturas in 1998, 2000 and 2003, the 1999 Clausura, the Copa Libertadores in 2000, 2001 and 2003, and the Intercontinental Cup in 2000 and 2003.
Juan Carlos Lorenzo, El Toto, won five titles with the team, including the Copa Libertadores in 1977 and 1978, the Intercontinental Cup in 1977, and the Metropolitano and Nacional in 1976.
Alfio Basile also won 5 titles along with Mario Fortunato and Toto Lorenzo. With Basile, Boca won two domestic titles, 2005 Apertura and 2006 Clausura and three international, all of them won within two years.
Miguel Ángel Russo was hired as Ricardo Lavolpe's replacement. Under his coaching Boca Juniors won the 2007 Copa Libertadores with a 5–0 overall rout of Brazilian Grêmio.
Julio César Falcioni led the team to the 2011 Apertura championship, which Boca won unbeaten with only 7 goals conceded in 19 rounds. With Falcioni as coach, Boca also won the 2011–12 Copa Argentina.

Institutional

Executive board

is the current President of Boca juniors since December 2019, when he was elected over Christian Gribaudo, getting more than 51% of the votes. Ameal won over main candidate Christian Gribaudo, returning to the presidency of the club after his first tenure in 2008–11, when he succeeded Pedro Pompilio after his sudden death.
Apart from Ameal, the Boca Juniors' Executive Board consists of the following members:
Presidents of Boca Juniors sections:

National

League

;Notes

Records and facts

Football reserves and academy

The reserve and youth academy football teams of the club, currently coached by former club player Rolando Schiavi, who debuted in February 2015.
Boca Juniors is the most winning Torneo de Reserva championships with 21 titles won since it was established in 1910.
Notable players from the youth academy include Américo Tesoriere, Natalio Pescia, Ernesto Lazzatti, Antonio Rattín, Ángel Clemente Rojas, Roberto Mouzo, Oscar Ruggeri, Diego Latorre, Carlos Tevez and Fernando Gago, among others.

Futsal

Boca Juniors compete in Primera División de Futsal, the top division of the futsal league system and organised by AFA. The club is the 2nd most winning team of Primera División, with 12 titles, the last won in 2017 after beating Kimberley in the finals.

Basketball

The Boca Juniors basketball team has won the Argentine league three times, five Argentine Cups, the Argentine Top 4, and three South American Club Championships. It also reached the 2004–05 national finals. Their home arena is the Estadio Luis Conde, better known as La Bombonerita.

Volleyball

Boca Juniors has a professional volleyball team that won the Metropolitan championship in 1991, 1992 and 1996, and achieved the second place in the 1996–97 A1 season. Because of a lack of sponsors, the team was disbanded, but later it was reincorporated through the coaching of former Boca player Marcelo Gigante; after playing in the second division, it returned to the A1 league in 2005.
In August 2015 it was announced that Boca Juniors's volleyball team would not participate in the Argentine major league from 2016. The decision was personally taken by Boca Juniors chairman, Daniel Angelici. The club alleged that taking part in a professional league resulted in a hugh commercial deficit so Boca Juniors declined to participate, although the volleyball department had reached an agreement with several sponsors which would put the money to cover the costs.

Women's football

The Boca Juniors women's football team plays in the Campeonato de Fútbol Femenino and have won the championship a record 23 times of which 10 were in succession from the 2003 Apertura to the 2008 Clausura.
Though the club has not yet won any international competition, it secured the third place at the 2010 Copa Libertadores de Fútbol Femenino.
In Futsal, Boca has won 6 Championships: 1992, 1993, Clausura 1997, Apertura 1998, Clausura 2003, and 2004.
Boca representatives also compete in other disciplines such as judo, karate, taekwondo, wrestling, weight lifting and gymnastics.

Merchandising

Boca Juniors has expanded its activity beyond sport, providing its fans with a number of other products and services.
In 2003, it became the fifth football club in the world to open its own TV channel. Boca TV broadcast 24 hours a day, featuring sports programs and talk shows. The channel was closed in 2005 due to low audience, returning in 2015 as a website. In 2005, a funerary company started to produce a line of coffins available for dead fans. The club also opened a "Boca Juniors" exclusive section of 3,000 hectare in the Parque Iraola Cemetery of La Plata Partido in 2006.
Also in 2006, Boca expanded its business launching its own fleet of taxis operating in Buenos Aires, as well as its own brand of wine, called "Vino Boca Juniors".
In 2012 Boca Juniors opened in Buenos Aires its first thematic hotel not only in Argentina but worldwide. The hotel was designed by Uruguayan architect Carlos Ott. All the rooms were decorated with the colours of the club, apart from photos and paintings of notable players in the history of the club.
There is an Argentine steakhouse in Queens, NYC which is a Boca Juniors theme restaurant.

Sponsorships

In racing, Argentine Turismo Carretera stock-car competition league spun off the Top Race V6 category, in which teams were sponsored by football teams. Veteran race pilots Guillermo Ortelli and Ernesto Bessone and former Boca player Vicente Pernía drove for the "Boca Juniors" team; Ortelli finally won the first Top Race V6 championship with his car painted in Boca Juniors colors.