When Tom and I first booked our flights to Buenos Aires we instantly checked to see whether Boca Juniors or River Plate (The 2 local Football Teams) were playing as we had heard from several sources that these matches were not to be missed. Whilst walking around the city it soon becomes apparent that football is something the Argentineans are really quite passionate about. Every other shop has a jersey in the window, any empty plot of concrete is covered with kids practising their tricks and, as I’ve mentioned before, Argentina's Idol Maradona is a god here. So when we discovered the season finished the week before we arrived, you can imagine we were somewhat disappointed.
It wasn’t until checking in at our first hostel that I noticed signs for El Superclasico plastered on every door, that I realised we had made a welcomed mistake. Not only was the season still in full swing but this weekends games was the biggest of the season. Boca Juniors Vs River Plate, one of the fiercest local derbies on the planet.
We were picked up by 3 rather unsavoury Argentinean men who ticked our names off a list and ushered us onto a large orange bus. All the windows were covered by curtains and it was dark inside but we were assured that this was in our best interest. Apparently, alerting locals to the fact we were a bus full of gringos in La Boca was like teasing a lion with a bit of steak. Eventually we arrived at the ground and were told it was safe to get off the bus. Safe in the sense that there were riot police covering every curb for as far as the eye could see. The second we stepped foot off the bus the heavens opened and within minutes Tom and I were drenched. This wasn’t helped by the 2 hour queue to get into the stadium in which we had to stand with nothing but a torn bin liner for partial cover.
The atmosphere once inside the ground was amazing. The crowd in the stadium were so lively and vocal they would have made your average 70’s Millwall fan look more like a spectator at Henley regatta. The fans had dressed the entire stadium in banners and flags, 3 tiers filled with a sea of blue and yellow. This was no easy feat, men were literally putting their lives at risk to decorate every empty gap in the stadium. We watched as men scaled 10m high barbed wire fences with bulging bin liners in tow just to hand out some newspaper fashioned into confetti. The atmosphere grew and grew for the entire run up to kick off and the songs never stopped. At one stage there was a flag lowered at the opposite end of the stadium that dropped from the very top of the 3rd tier and covered the entire stand to the bottom. It must have been obscuring the views of at least 30,000 people but they didn't seem to mind as it swayed with the fans dancing below. There were so many streamers, confetti, fireworks and flares set off that before the game could start an army of stewards had to run on the pitch and try to clear the mess.
I would have loved to take some photos but we were heavily advised to not take any expensive items, I was even advised to take the £10 Argos watch off my wrist. The best I can do is link you to a video somebody else bravely captured:
Sadly due to the rain, and the water logging of the entire pitch, the game was called off 15 minutes in, but the spectacle of seeing the build up was an experience in itself. The good news is they are replaying the game tomorrow so we get to see it all again, two for the price of one. Just hope the sun fancies making an appearance this time.
