BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — I arrived here on Saturday, March 25, at 10:30 a.m. after a four-hour combined bus and ferry ride from Montevideo, Uruguay.
Buenos Aires is a huge cosmopolitan city that is highly regarded for its beautiful architecture, its proud history and its fine dining, but I’ve come for one thing in particular: the Boca Juniors-River Plate Superclásico, arguably the biggest derby in South American club soccer.
But I have a big problem: I was unable to purchase a match ticket, as they were exclusively for club members and were sold out days earlier. To make matters worse, all press passes had been distributed weeks before I had intended to visit. But I’m on a mission not to miss the match of the season.
Prior to today I had tried to purchase a ticket through Mercado Libre (Latin America’s version of eBay). I arranged to meet up with someone in Capital Federal who was selling some tickets for Sunday afternoon’s blockbuster, but it seemed I would be out of luck. First, Mercado Libre had warned users that most game tickets advertised were fakes, and second, only those Boca fans who present their member cards would be allowed into the stadium.
I’m not too optimistic, but I have no choice other than to take a cab to La Boca and see what I can do. This part of the city is a working-class neighborhood, but it has gained worldwide fame because of its successful soccer team. Although it’s only about a 15-minute drive from the striking city center, you can see a big difference between the two areas. Still, La Boca is a memorable visit for any soccer fan. Even though I have been here on several occasions, every time feels like the first.
Passing by the Bombonera (Chocolate Box), you can feel a sense of insecurity, and yes, this has been regarded as a dodgy area in the past. But I have never encountered any problems here, and I particularly like the brightly painted houses that give the area its character. The huge contrast between La Boca and River Plate’s influential Nuñez district gives you a better idea of why the rivalry on the pitch also often translates off the pitch.
Upon my arrival, a scruffy, middle-aged character advances to my window from a group of rough-looking Boca supporters and presents himself as “Fernando.” He has some match tickets for Sunday’s game, but he’s selling them at extremely high prices: 150 pesos for a general ticket whose face value was only 14 pesos.
I have a good look at the ticket just in case it’s an imitation and ask if we can bargain. He chops 20 pesos off the price. Although I want to be in the Boca section of the stadium, he says non-members can only sit in the River stand. As a neutral fan, it doesn’t really bother me.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
I arrive at La Boca a couple of hours before kickoff and the stadium is already surrounded by enthusiastic Boca fans. Dressed in a neutral black T-shirt and jeans, I walk toward the other side of the stadium. That’s where I meet up with the Gallinas, the nickname permanently attached to the River faithful.
The Superclásico has the distinction of posing the highest security risk of any soccer match in Argentina. Fittingly, the roads are closed off so rival fans can’t confront each other before and after the match.
Before entering the stadium I have to go through at least five security checkpoints — and believe me, they check you from top to bottom. I’m glad to see that I’ll be allowed to bring in my camera, but my cigarette lighter has to go.
Even before reaching the stadium, you can appreciate the importance of the derby, but most South American soccer fans will tell you that nothing beats the scene of watching your team come onto the pitch, especially for a top-of-the-table derby match. So I have my camera ready to take some snapshots as River Plate storms onto the field to a rousing reception from the fans, who hurl thousands of orange balloons into the air commemorating Norberto Alonso‘s double strike (with an orange ball) that earned River a memorable 2-0 victory in the Bombonera two decades ago.
By now, the cauldron is in complete party mode — the fans are going absolutely wild. This is what I’ve been waiting for, as the beautiful Boca cheerleaders anticipate the home side’s entrance. When the Boca players finally set foot on the pitch, the stadium erupts.
It’s one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen at any soccer match: deafening noise, fireworks and flares, yellow-and-blue smoke bombs, ticker tape and streamers filling the stands and the sky before the players appear. La Doce, Boca’s hardcore fans, always create an amazing spectacle for their team in what is arguably the most intimidating stadium in world sports.
The atmosphere is absolutely electric as both sets of fans chant throughout the match, exchanging insults. If you listen to the lyrics of the songs, most of them are catchy tunes sourly dedicated to their eternal enemies.
The match itself — an eventual 1-1 draw — is a scrappy affair, but it definitely lives up to the expectations of the Superclásico: two goals, several near misses, three red cards, some individual genius and suspense and a last-minute strike from the penalty spot.
The pro-Boca contingent in the stadium and the fact that many of River’s key men are out with injuries made me think that the hosts would win by a clear margin, but I’m wrong. River doesn’t disappoint and does enough to win the match. They take the lead six minutes before halftime with a stunning strike from Ernesto Farías, who outwits two defenders before chipping the ball over a hapless Roberto Abbondanzieri on its way into the right angle of the goal. And believe me, the stands do shake!
River is the stronger side throughout the 90 minutes, and it seems like it will cruise to a comfortable victory when Boca is reduced to nine men — particularly with the dismissal of the inspirational Abbondanzieri, who impedes goal-bound midfielder Marcelo Gallardo with a body check. The climate in the stands intensifies after Daniel Montenegro is violently brought down by Juan Krupoviesa less than 10 minutes before full time, a tackle that is likely to earn the defender a lengthy suspension.
But as has happened so often in the past, on comes super sub Guillermo Barros Schelotto, and the Boca idol changes the course of the match, provoking Cristian Tula‘s expulsion and earning his side a last-minute penalty with a magnificent piece of skill. Martín Palermo, the league’s top scorer, drills the ball past River ‘keeper Germán Lux.
The Boca fans celebrate the draw as if they have won the league title, while the River fans, who have just seen victory escape from their hands at the end, are in silence.
As the disappointed River fans make their way to the exit through the staircase, an old woman proudly waves a Boca jersey from the balcony of her flat. She’s greeted by insults and a fan who jokingly screams out, “The best thing you can do is to jump off the balcony, old bag!”
Outside of the stadium, the roads are still blocked and security is still tight. Unless you have a car waiting for you, your only option is to walk along the port to catch the train. It’s a very long walk. As day changes to night, we put up with the horrible smell of sewage from the polluted river.
The River fans argue about the tactics employed by manager Daniel Passarella and whom he should have put on and taken off, and how their team let the eternal enemy escape with a draw in the final minutes. But the rivalry doesn’t end there. Across the river of the run down to the harbor, I can hear the echoes of several youngsters shouting insults to the passing River supporters.
A frustrated River fan yells back, “You will always be poor, you will always live in a slum, you don’t even know what it’s like to eat at McDonald’s.”
Out from the River pack, a young father who is with his son shouts back, “I’m also poor and I’m from River. You don’t have to be rich to be a River fan; it comes from the heart.”
Nothing comes of it as the men go their separate ways, chanting along with the songs of River Plate.
Finally, after a 45-minute walk through the streets of La Boca, I arrive at what looks like an abandoned train station and take the train to Constitución before catching a taxi to Puerto Madero.
What a day it has been. The Superclásico is always a great experience and always lives up to expectation. For any fan of soccer, or really any sports fan, this game is a must. Next week I’ll be in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro for the final stages of the Brazilian state championships. Stay tuned.
Gregory Sica
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