As I vacillated as to where to begin my research for this Saturday’s clash I came across a quite anecdotal video on YouTube. It concerned a young BBC reporter being shadowed by an Argentine journalist to his first ever Superclassico clash. Naturally he was only moved to quip at his colleague over English football. Awestruck by the carnival of ensuing noise and colour as he approached the stadium the Argentine interrupted his colleagues daydreaming with a rather witty but altruistic statement : “you guys may have invented football but we perfected it .“ It was indeed close to La Bombonera where the British brought the game of football to Argentina in the 1860's. Where to begin? With so many subplots I think it would be remiss of me not to mention the events which have unfolded in the past week in Argentina. Firstly in the city of Apostoles, an argument between two friends over their teams, Boca and River escalated with one of the men burning the other's house to a crisp without the slightest hint of remorse. Next was President and Boca fan; Mauricio Macri's public feud with "Salvemos al Futbol" (let's save football) over the possibility of allowing away fans entry into both legs. Finally what about River fans calling among the Argentinian animal rights board to get involved when pictures emenated online of a Boca fan decorating his dog in the colours of "La Boca". When these two meet it is fair to say the game transcends the sport in a country with a fan culture like no other. When BBC's Tim Vickery described the upcoming clash being akin to a "civil war" earlier this week he was not far wrong.
It's rather ironic and apt that the last ever antiquated two legged Copa Libertadores final will be between the rivals. It is a clash that not only precedes to divide a city but families, social classes and political allegiances also. Unknown to most casuals, the two clubs were founded in the docklands neighbourhood of La Boca. La Rosales and Santa Rosa merged to bring River into existence in 1901, with immigrants from Genoa creating Boca four years later – hence the "Los Xeneizes" (The Genoese) nickname. Despite having disputed a number of friendlies it was not until August 14, 1913 that their first official meeting took place. Their nomadic early years meant Boca played host at the home of Racing in Avellaneda, but it was River who triumphed 2-1 as the rivalry was born. River then left the neighbourhood in 1922 to move to the more affluent suburb of Belgrano. Since then Boca have had the better of their bitter rivals defeating them on 88 out of 247 occasions in total. (River with 81 wins) The dissimilarity between the clubs is as illustrated by their stadiums and the surrounding area. Boca predominantly the club of the working man play at the coveted La Bombonera, a footballing pilgrimage to many who visit to worship the Cathedral of blue and yellow. "La Bombonera no tiembla, late" - the Bombonera doesn't tremble it beats. It's also been dubbed the "Chocolate Box" due it's sheer vertical drop from the top terraces. Meanwhile River are housed at La Monumental, the biggest stadium in the country surrounded by a racing track giving it a far more open and spacious feel to their city rivals. Situated in the northern affluent suburb of Nunez the avenues are wide, the parks are wonderful and there are museums galore.
The question has been asked why away fans won't be allowed entry - one must only cast their eye back to the last Copa Libertadores clash between the two, three years ago where the game was abandoned. Upon entry for the second half a Boca fan pepper sprayed several River players and Boca were soon expelled from the competition. River on the other hand would advance and win the trophy for just the third time in their history, three fewer than their counterparts. There have been several other notable incidents in previous fixtures also. Boca fans taunted their rivals dubbing them as “Las Gallinas,” the chickens, for the way it threw away promising positions–the nickname stems specifically from 1966 when a Banfield fan threw a live chicken onto the pitch to taunt River after it had lost a 2-0 lead to lose to Penarol in a Libertadores final playoff. When the two faced off in the 2004 semi-final it was very well indeed Carlos Tevez' reference to this nickname with a "chicken dance celebration" did he receive his marching orders. In a game of three red cards and the dismissals of River's coaching staff it was Boca who prevailed on penalties. Diego Maradona, Daniel Passarella, Juan Roman Riquelme , Enzo Francescoli, Alfredo di Stefano, Pablo Aimar and Ariel Ortega are just some of the greats who have left their mark on this fixture in recent years. Who among the current crop of players will etch their names infinitely into the pantheon of "Superclassico" greats?
Visitors, River Plate enter Saturday's fixture on the back of good form. Under the tutelage of Marcelo Gallerdo they have impressed throughout their campaign and have not lost yet at La Bombonera in continental competition under their manager. Their advancement to the end stages has not been without it's own controversy either. Gallardo who was serving a touchline ban against Gremio in the second leg of their semi-final was seen to have entered the River dressing room unbeknownst to CONMEBOL security. He was also seen to have been in constant communication with coaching staff through their clash and when this became public knowledge the Brazilian side submitted a request to the governing association to have them thrown out of the competition. Fortunately for us neutrals this have been quashed and River will face their bitter rivals this Saturday. Gallardo however will be banned from entering La Bombonera on Saturday and will be forced to watch the game on TV like us. However even in his absence his team are expected to be strong minded and show the unbreakable team ethic as evidenced in their last gasp win over Gremio. They possess the correct blend of grit, substance, flair and exuberance.
The elderly centre back pairing of Javier Pinol and Jonathan Maidana are both ever reliable and ably supported by Argentina's World Cup keeper; Franco Armani whose heroics in Porto Alegre propelled his team into the finals. Captain, Leonardo Ponzio is midfield supreme and a stalwart in Gallardo's XI. Enzo Perez will accompany him in midfield and will likely be the epicentre of all attacks. This is the understanding given Colombian Juan Quintero's poor form. The microscopic playmaker captured the imagination in Russia last summer with his wade range of technical skills but has been out of sorts lately. He has been tarnished with that horrible tag of going missing in the big games, therefore one might expect Enzo Perez will be listed as no.10. "Pity" Martinez and Exequiel Palacios are also two to look out for, further demonstrating the wealth of resources River boast in attack. The former received his first Argentina call up in a 3-0 win over Guatemala in September and showed "cojones" in slotting the decisive penalty in their stoppage time victory away to Gremio. Meanwhile 20 year old, Palacios is subject of interest to Real Madrid. Martinez has enjoyed a great record against Boca scoring in this years Supercopa and in his last two fixtures at La Bombonera. Lucas Pratto and Rafael Barre will spearhead the attack. Barre the Colombian is certainly the more dynamic while Pratto will be instructed with occupying the Boca defence creating room for Palacios and Martinez to attack the Boca defence.
On the other hand Boca Juniors have been a work in progress this campaign. They struggled throughout the group stages and only advanced to the knockout rounds thanks to the helping hand of Luiz Felipe Scolari who's Palmeiras side beat Atletico Junior on the final matchday this past summer to secure Boca's passage to the last 16.
Since then they have been unbeaten in continental football and scalped both Cruzeiro and Palmeiras themselves in the process. Schelotto has come across his ideal starting XI and they are in a rich vein of form. He has been didactic since taking to the helm and has installed a tactical nous and organization to "La Boca". As a former player he will be even more keen to defeat the enemy. His club for long have been derided by the cross town rivals who have enamoured them with the phrase "los bosteris" - bosta meaning manure in Spanish. This was a reference to the location of "La Boca" where the bricklaying industry was and is still huge. Back in the day manure itself was used as a cheap substitute to cement. Anyways back to the football and nowadays his team more than ever represent the values of the working class man with guts and energy aplenty. There are no two better players who embody this more than Carlos Izquierdoz and Willmar Barrios. They carry out Schelotto's gameplan to a tee on the pitch and give Boca the platform to succeed. Izquierdoz is a no nonsense commanding centre half while Wilmar Barrios patrols the midfield and will be charged with stopping the advances of River. There is no player in their setup with as many tackles or interceptions per game. It is he who is expected to make the jump to European football in January.
The Colombian will be partnered in midfield by Pablo Perez and Nahitan Nandez. Perez is key to orchestrating "La Boca" attacks and every move will flow through him. Nandez meanwhile will be the more advanced of the pairing and is central to their pressing. The Uruguayan who impressed in Russia this past summer embodies everything good about Schelotto's side with guts, energy and skill aplenty. There is much excitement also concerning wing wizard Cristian Pavon who at just 22 has attracted many potential suitors. He and fellow winger, Sebastian Villa possess flair, pace and skill in abundance and may just hold the keys in unlocking the unflappable River defence. Ramon Abila (better known as Wanchope) provides the perfect anecdote up top with his physical presence however is expected to miss out to the man of the moment, Dario Benedetto who scored three of Boca's four goals in their semi-final clashes against Palmeiras on return from injury. The goalscorer supreme is making up for last time having missed earlier rounds of this season's competition and a certain place in Jorge Sampaoli's Argentina World Cup squad with injury. The 2017 Argentine footballer of the year will be central to any hopes of a Boca Juniors success. Veterans Fernando Gago, Mauro Zarate and a certain Carlos Tevez are more than capable replacements and will each start on the bench.
A weekend in which includes "Der Klassiker", the Manchester derby and Milan-Juventus it is Saturday's evenings game between the two Buenos Aries' clubs which takes center stage. There has been nothing furtive about the buildup to Saturday evening's game which promises to be anything but arbitrary with the game expected to be anything but dull. Such has been the demand there have been 2,500 press ticket requests for just 250 tickets and the fixture has been rescheduled to the earlier 4pm kick off slot to suit the global audience. It is without question not just the clash of the weekend but perhaps the year and in Argentina itself a lifetime. A country decimated by political strife and scandal once more finds itself centre stage for the biggest game of football it arguably will ever pay homage to. For once the nation hopes the back page headlines take over from the front but given the nature of this very fixture it is quite often that the two are often interwoven. What awaits is 180 minutes of top class action both on and off the pitch with not just only the Copa Libertadores up for grabs but eternal bragging rights. It is often said that "actions speak louder than words" - try telling that to the fans of the losing side in two weeks time.