Superclásico


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", in 2016 the British football magazine FourFourTwo considered it the "biggest derby in the world", The Daily Telegraph ranked this match as the "biggest club rivalry in world football" in 2016, and the Daily Mirror placed it number one in the top 50 football derbies in the world, above El Clásico between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid C.F., in 2017.

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.
The first official match was played on August 24, 1913, with River winning 2–1.
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 violent factions on 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.
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 on Thursday, March 25, 2010, 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 football related 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

Since the turn of the century, the rivalry 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 in almost all occasions, exception made of the Copa Libertadores 2019.
During the 2015 Copa Libertadores, River Plate players were attacked at half time by a Boca fan that spread pepper spray to the players at the beginning of the second half. The game was suspended and River were awarded the qualification. 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 stones 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. 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. Updated to 10 October 2019.

Primera División matches

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

Head-to-head statistics in Primera División

Boca Juniors Wins77
Draws65
River Plate Wins70
Total212

Copa Libertadores

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.
;Notes

Head-to-head statistics in the Copa Libertadores

Boca Juniors Wins11
Draws8
River Plate Wins9
Total28

Other international cups

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.
#DateTournamentRoundStadiumHome TeamAway TeamScoreGoals Goals
16 October 1994Supercopa SudamericanaQuarterfinalRiver PlateRiver PlateBoca Juniors0–0
213 October 1994Supercopa SudamericanaQuarterfinalBoca JuniorsBoca JuniorsRiver Plate1 –1 L. Carranza Francescoli
320 November 2014Copa SudamericanaSemifinalBoca JuniorsBoca JuniorsRiver Plate0–0
427 November 2014Copa SudamericanaSemifinalRiver PlateRiver PlateBoca Juniors1–0Pisculichi

Head-to-head statistics in other international cups

Boca Juniors Wins0
Draws3
River Plate Wins1
Total4

National cups

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.
#DateCupStadiumHome TeamAway TeamScoreGoals Goals
12 May 1915Competencia Jockey ClubBoca JuniorsBoca JuniorsRiver Plate1–1 'Roldán C. García
29 May 1915Competencia Jockey ClubGEBARiver PlateBoca Juniors4–2Chiappe, Simmons, Penney, C. García E. Bertolini, Ochoa
330 August 1918Competencia Jockey ClubRacing ClubBoca JuniorsRiver Plate0–1Laiolo
41 December 1942Adrián EscobarRiver PlateRiver PlateBoca Juniors0–0
515 August 1946Competencia BritánicaSan LorenzoBoca JuniorsRiver Plate2–0Corcuera, G. Pin
63 July 1993CentenarioBoca JuniorsBoca JuniorsRiver Plate0–0
711 July 1993CentenarioVélez SarsfieldRiver PlateBoca Juniors1–0 'Silvani
814 March 2018Supercopa ArgentinaMalvinas ArgentinasBoca JuniorsRiver Plate0–2Martínez, Scocco

Boca Juniors Wins1
Draws3
River Plate Wins4
Total8

Friendly matches

This is a list of Friendly matches. 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.
Game was suspended 15 minutes into the second half.

Head-to-head statistics in Friendlies matches

Boca Juniors Wins45
Draws36
River Plate Wins41
Total122

Single eliminations between the two rivals

As of 2018, 18 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.
Note

Match records

DateHome teamScoreAway team
December 23, 1928Boca Juniors6–0River Plate
October 19, 1941River Plate5–1Boca Juniors
July 19, 1942River Plate4–0Boca Juniors
August 17, 1955River Plate0–4Boca Juniors
May 19, 1959Boca Juniors5–1River Plate
March 7, 1982River Plate1–5Boca Juniors

DateHome teamScoreAway team
October 15, 1972River Plate5–4Boca Juniors
November 24, 1957River Plate5–3Boca Juniors
June 27, 1973Boca Juniors5–2River Plate
February 3, 1974Boca Juniors5–2River Plate
March 2, 1980Boca Juniors2–5River Plate
February 27, 1991Boca Juniors4–3River Plate

Player records

PlayerClubGames
Reinaldo MerloRiver Plate42
Hugo GattiBoca/River38
Silvio MarzoliniBoca Juniors37
Ángel LabrunaRiver Plate35
Roberto MouzoBoca Juniors35

PlayerClubGoals
Ángel LabrunaRiver Plate16
Oscar MásRiver Plate12
Paulo ValentimBoca Juniors10
Carlos Manuel MoreteRiver Plate9
Martín PalermoBoca Juniors9
Bernabé FerreyraRiver Plate8

Players who have played for both clubs

List of 100 players who have played for Boca Juniors and River Plate

Official titles