Superclásico
Superclásico is a title most commonly used to describe the football game between Buenos Aires rivals River Plate and Boca Juniors. It derives from the Spanish usage of "clásico" to mean derby and the prefix super is used because Boca Juniors and River Plate are the two most popular and successful teams in Argentine football. And, according to some statistics, comandeering more than 70 percent of all Argentine football fans between them.[1] It's the most important local derby in Argentina.
The Superclásico is known worldwide as one of world football's fiercest and most important derbies.[2] 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 (often based on popular Argentine rock band tunes) 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 violent factions on both sides or against the police.[3] The English newspaper The Observer put the Superclásico at the top of their list of 50 sporting things you must do before you die.[4]
Origins
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. Since then Boca Juniors has been known as the club of Argentina's working class, in contrast with the supposedly upper-class support base of River Plate.
The first ever Superclásico occurred on August 24, 1913 with River winning 2-1 in the stadium of Racing Club.
Statistics
Head to Head
Most appearances
| Player | Games | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Reinaldo Merlo | 42 | River |
| Hugo Gatti | 38 | both |
| Silvio Marzolini | 37 | Boca |
| Ángel Labruna | 35 | River |
| Roberto Mouzo | 35 | Boca |
Topscorers
| Player | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Ángel Labruna | 16 | River |
| Oscar Más | 12 | River |
| Paulo Valentim | 10 | Boca |
| Carlos Manuel Morete | 9 | River |
| Bernabé Ferreyra | 8 | River |
| Hugo Alberto Curioni | 7 | Boca |
| Osvaldo Potente | 7 | Boca |
| Diego Latorre | 6 | Boca |
| Alfredo Rojas | 6 | Boca |
| Francisco Varallo | 6 | Boca |
| Martín Palermo* | 6 | Boca |
| Norberto Alonso | 6 | River |
- Asterisk denotes player is still active
Biggest margins of victory
| Result | Date |
|---|---|
| River 5-1 Boca | October 19 1941 |
| River 4-0 Boca | July 19 1942 |
| Boca 4-0 River | August 17 1955 |
| Boca 5-1 River | May 19 1959 |
| River 1-5 Boca | March 7 1982 |
Highest scoring games
| Result | Date |
|---|---|
| River 5-4 Boca | October 15 1972 |
| River 5-3 Boca | November 24 1957 |
| Boca 2-5 River | March 2 1980 |
| Boca 5-2 River | June 27 1973 |
| Boca 5-2 River | February 3 1974 |
Players to have played for both clubs
This is a non-exhaustive list of players to have played for both clubs
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River's greatest moments
- August 13 1913: River won the first Superclásico 2-1.
- October 19 1941: The River team of the 1940s known as "La Máquina" beat Boca 5-1 on their way to the Argentine championship.
- July 19 1942: River won 4-0, their most comprehensive victory over Boca.
- February 10 1966: River won 2-1 in El Monumental, the first ever meeting of the clubs in international competition.
- October 15 1972: River came back from 4-2 down to win 5-4 in the highest scoring Superclásico in history.
- November 9 1977: River came back from 1-0 down to end ahead 2-1 with a last minute goal from a 40 metres dash by Pedro Gonzalez, securing a key victory to win the 1977 championship.
- April 6 1986: In a game remembered for the fact that it was played with an orange ball, River won 2-0 in La Bombonera right after winning the 1985-1986 championship.
- December 11 1994: River won 3-0 in La Bombonera, clinching the Apertura 1994 championship.
- March 23 1997: River came back from 3-0 at half time in the Monumental to draw 3-3 costing Boca a famous win.
- March 10 2002: River won 3-0 in La Bombonera on their way to the Clausura 2002 championship.
- May 16 2004: River won 1-0 in La Bombonera with a gol of Fernando Cavenaghi, paving the way to the Clausura 2004 championship.
- October 7 2007: River won 2-0 to prevent Boca from going top of the table and damage their chances of winning the Apertura 2007 championship.
Boca's greatest moments
- May 19 1959: After 18 years Boca avenged their 5-1 defeat by River with a 5-1 win in La Bombonera with 2 goals from Jose Yudica.
- December 9 1962: Boca won 1-0 at La Bombonera to win the Argentine championship
- February 3 1974: Carlos García Cambón scored 4 goals on his Boca Debut in a 5-2 win (their second 5-2 win in succession), this was the most goals scored by a single player in the Superclásico.
- December 22 1976: Boca won the first ever final between the two clubs 1-0 to claim the 1976 Nacional[5].
- April 10 1981: Boca won 3-0 on their way to winning the 1981 Metropolitano championship.
- March 7 1982: During the Nacional 1982 Boca won by 5-1 in El Monumental, the biggest away win in the history of the Superclásico.
- June 14 1996: Claudio Caniggia scored a hat-trick to help Boca to win 4-1.
- May 24 2000: Having lost the first leg of the Copa Libertadores quarter final 2-1 in El Monumental, Boca came back to win 3-0 at home to later win the competition. The third goal was scored by substitute Martín Palermo in the comeback after a 6 month injury.
- June 17 2004: Having won the first leg of the Copa Libertadores 2004 semi final 1-0 Boca went to El Monumental, Carlos Tevez made the score 1-1 (2-1 agg) with only 5 minutes remaining only for Cristián Nasuti to take the game to penalties with a last minute goal. Boca won the penalty shootout 5-4.
Puerta 12 Tragedy
On June 23 1968 in Estadio Monumental after a game between the two clubs 71 fans were killed in crush at gate 12. The disaster was the worst football related incident in the history of Argentine football. The majority of the dead were teenagers and young adults; the average age of the victims was only 19 years old.
There are various claims as to what exactly happened that day. Some claim that the the disaster occurred when Boca Juniors fans threw burning River flags from the upper tiers of the stadium, causing a stampede of the their own fans in the lower tier. Others say that it occurred after River fans arrived at the Boca Juniors' section, causing the stampede of the visiting fans. Yet others say that Door 12 was locked or would not open at the time, and the fans in the back did not hear the ones up front telling them to stop coming out. William Kent, River's ex-president, said that the police were the culprits, since they began repressing Boca Juniors' fans after these had thrown urine at them from the stands. A few witnesses say that the turnstiles to the exit were blocked by a huge iron pole.[6] [7]
After three years of investigation a government enquiry found nobody 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.[8] 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.