by Ruairi Criscuolo
The Copa Libertadores doesn't often make the headlines in Europe, but in November 2018 it was all the footballing world was talking about. The final was around the corner, but it was no normal final. For the first time in the competition's history, the eternal foes Boca Juniors and River Plate were set to face each other for the continent's top prize.
LEGENDS AND RIVALRIES - Boca against River, or El Superclasico, as it's come to be known, is undoubtedly one of the biggest derbies in world football. A combined 60 league titles and ten Copa Libertadores between them, they share the same city, which is divided as clearly and strongly as any city in world football. Boca Juniors are the working class team from the slums of Buenos Aires, with heroes like Diego Maradona, Carlos Tevez and Juan Roman Riquleme, whom I have always considered overlooked in the conversation about great South American players. These are all people who identify with their supporters and who embody their barrio, the true Xeneizes spirit. River Plate, on the other side of Buenos Aires, have the nickname Los Millonarios, which probably tells you all you need to know. They equally rival Boca for icons of the sport, though: Pablo Aimar, a player I always loved to watch while he was at Valencia, a very skillful midfielder with a great eye for a pass and iconic wavy hair, and legends of the game such as Alfredo Di Stefano, Hernan Crespo and Javier Saviola.
As well as iconic players, each club has provided iconic moments throughout El Superclasico history, both on and off the pitch. On the pitch, for Boca there is only one name that can be expected: that is, of course, El Diego. Back in 1981, Maradona made his debut for his boyhood club after publicly turning River Plate down, scoring a wonder goal as he dribbled past the defence to slot the ball home and wrap up a 3-0 win. Another match that lives long in Boca memories is a 2000 Copa Libertadores quarter final, when they overcame a star-studded River Plate boasting a front four featuring Aimar, Ariel Ortega, Saviola and Juan Pablo Angel. Boca were 2-1 down after the first leg away, but inspired by Riquleme, they ran out 3-0 winners in the home fixture.
In recent years, Boca have been somewhat humbled by their cross-city rivals. In fact, River Plate have won half of the last eight Superclasicos, being defeated only twice. This wasn't always the way, however, as in 2002 Los Millonarios put an end to a seven-year wait for a win at the Xeneizes' home stadium La Bombonera, a run during which they had managed to get only two wins out of 16 total games against Boca. They eventually ended their drought with a 0-3 win in the Clausura, with goals from Eduardo German Coudet, Ricardo Rojas and one certain Esteban Cambiasso, who latched onto a cross that had somehow avoided everyone in front of goal and managed to squeeze a shot under the keeper to give River the lead.
HISTORY & CONTROVERSIES - The most iconic Superclasico moment for River Plate came in April 1986, before the match had even kicked off. Having already secured the domestic title, Los Millonarios lined up against Boca Juniors in a dead rubber and decided to do a lap of honour of La Bombonera before the start of the game. This action provoked a response so massive from the home crowd that an orange ball had to be used due to the amount of paper and debris thrown onto the pitch, added to by the violence and the fighting in the stands.
As you can see, the in-game action often isn't the only talking point, since these teams have made themselves equally famous and infamous off the pitch. In 2015, for example, Boca were eliminated from the Copa Libertadores after their fans had attacked River players with tear gas as they were exiting the pitch. There's even a case of a house being set on fire in Buenos Aires after a heated argument between a River and a Boca fan over who was going to win the next match-up. Arguably, there is no derby in the world that is felt this deeply.
2018: THE SUPER SUPERCLASICO - Now fast-forward to November 2018, to the biggest Superclasico yet seen, the first time the two teams met in the final of any international competition. The first leg of the Copa Libertadores final was a thrilling 2-2 draw held at La Bombonera. A packed stadium witnessed Boca take the lead two times before River managed to pin them back, and thanks to a crucial 90th minute save from Franco Armani in goal Los Millonarios were level going into the second leg at Estadio Monumental. This, however, wasn't to be, due to an attack on the Boca team coach by River fans, which left many sick from tear gas and one player having to sport an eye patch. This kind of thing isn't exactly rare when these teams face off, except this time the whole world was watching.
So, amid understandable safety concerns and after a long wait and many heated discussions around the most suitable time and place for the second leg of the final, the game was eventually played about a month after the first act. Between the discussions, it turned out pretty difficult to settle on a venue. A lot of places were mentioned, ranging from various stadiums in South America to even taking it to Qatar in a money-spinning attempt. Ultimately, the parties involved settled on the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, and as much as I'm not a fan of Real Madrid as a club, I couldn't think of a better stadium for that final to be held in. Real Madrid have had many iconic Argentine players either make their name there and enter the history books, in the case of Alfredo Di Stefano, or to further extend their achievements, in the case of Gonzalo Higuain.
The second leg thankfully didn't disappoint. It was another exciting encounter, in which Boca took the lead just before the break through a tidy finish from Dario Benedetto. It took a while for River to wake up and seize the tie, but in the 68th minute Lucas Pratto, a former Xeneize, scored a crucial goal to take the tie to extra-time. The decider came 40 minutes later through a stunning long-range strike from Juan Fernando Quintero, certainly a goal worth winning any final. Insult was added to injury for Boca Juniors, as a late break from their corner meant that Pity Martinez found an open goal to coolly slot the ball home for Los Millonarios to emerge victorious in this iconic final.
THE TITLE RACE TODAY - But why am I talking about this final from over a year ago? Fast-forward to now: the Argentine Primera Division is drawing to an end, and with the cross-city rivals only separated by one point, the title could be decided by a play-off game. River are currently on top ahead of Boca but with a worse goal difference of three. The final weekend sees River play away to 14th place Atletico Tucuman, while the Xeneizes will take on 19th place Gimnasia La Plata, managed by none other than El Pibe... Diego Armando Maradona. So much ruddy narrative, I know.
Boca's season has been an impressive one, they have built this title chase on a rock solid defence that has only conceded eight goals in 22 games so far. The men taking most of the plaudits are goalkeeper Esteban Andrada (13 clean sheets in the league this season) and the centre-back parternship of Carlos Izquierdoz and Junior Alonso, who have looked particularly strong since Lisandro Lopez's was ruled out due to a metatarsal fracture. Going forward, Boca still have Carlitos Tevez who, despite time being a thing, has managed to get eight goals for the Azul y Oro. The Apache's striking partner, Argentine winger Eduardo Salvio, has himself chipped in with three assists and six goals that have a beautiful Robben-esque quality to them, and I'm sure you know what I mean.
THE TEAMS' FORM - All this being said, Boca haven't won any of their last three meetings against Gimnasia, including losing at home 1-0 and 2-1 away. Add to this that Los Triperos have improved under El Diego's management and, after a slow start to his tenure with only one win in his first seven games, they are now on a three-game winning run having also kept three clean sheets. This run started with an unexpected 1-0 away win over Independiente, who have admittedly had a season to forget. When it comes to attack or defence this team is equally balanced, for both good and bad, as they have both scored and conceded 22 goals. Put simply, they do not score a lot of goals, and against Boca's tight defence this could prove to be a stumbling block.
For River Plate this could be a much more straightforward ordeal, as Los Millonarios haven't lost to Atletico Tucuman since they were both in the second division. It seems unlikely that Los Ojos Vertes will snatch the three points this time, as they are now winless in five games, scoring only two and conceding seven goals. Meanwhile River are unbeaten in seven, and in that time they have conceded only one goal and scored an incredible 15. The front two of Santos Borre and Matias Suarez have a combined 20 goals, and with veteran Ignacio Scocco bagging another six when coming off the bench, this attacking line is deadly. Marcelo Gallardo, the highly rated coach who is starting to peak the interest of European clubs, opts for a back five with two marauding wing backs, though it's the back three Lucas Martinez Quarta, Robert Rojas and Javier Pinola who have provided a wall in front of an experienced Franco Armani.
As I have hopefully illustrated, this is one of, if this is not the biggest derby in the world, and we all know that each Superclasico simply adds some beautiful drama to every football fan's life. Both games are due to be played on Sunday at 12.00am GMT, so come midday Sunday we'll hopefully wake up to the news that a new Super... Superclasico is on its way.