Boca Juniors. Every football fan drifts off just thinking about this club. And, of course, the Superclásico that comes with it, the match Boca Juniors – River Plate. But what exactly is the club's history, and how do you arrange a football trip to Boca Juniors?
The history of the La Boca neighbourhood
Football club Boca Juniors cannot be seen separately from the neighbourhood in which the club is located: La Boca (Spanish for The Mouth). La Boca has traditionally been an immigrant neighbourhood. After Spanish colonisation, the Argentines freed themselves from Spanish rule and became independent in 1816. There were huge opportunities for the country, and this required people: a great wave of immigration began. In the mid-19th century, Italian immigrants, mainly from Genoa, settled in the port neighbourhood of La Boca. It isn't certain, but La Boca may be named after the Boccadasse neighbourhood in Genoa. Poverty was widespread, and dockworkers were poorly paid. This led to an uprising in which the Genoese dockworkers wanted to form an independent state: República de la Boca. This was, of course, not accepted and was suppressed, but this slogan can still be seen in the neighbourhood today.
The founding of Boca Juniors
Despite the turbulent times, a football club was also founded: Boca Juniors, the pride of the neighbourhood. However, the later arch-rival River Plate was also founded in the La Boca neighbourhood. Coincidentally, both teams played in the same colours: red and white. To determine which team would be allowed to keep playing in these red and white colours, a match was played between them. The loser would have to find new club colours. River Plate won the match, and Boca Juniors was forced to look for new club colours. To decide on new colours, the club's founders went down to the harbour. There, they agreed that the flag of the first ship they saw would determine their new colours. It turned out to be a Swedish ship, and ever since, the club's colours have matched the Swedish flag: yellow and blue.
As the plague broke out in the poorer neighbourhoods, which were often situated along the river, a genuine mass migration began. Wealthier residents sought refuge towards the north of the city. River Plate did the same, but Boca Juniors remained loyal to the neighbourhood. Eventually, in 1940, the famous La Bombonera stadium was built. Today, the La Boca neighbourhood has been revitalised, as Boca Juniors has turned it into a major tourist attraction.
Attending a Boca Juniors match
Boca Juniors belongs to the Cinco Grandes of Argentina, the 5 biggest clubs. Alongside Boca Juniors, these are River Plate, Independiente, Racing Club and San Lorenzo. Looking at the trophies won, two clubs stand head and shoulders above the rest: Boca Juniors and River Plate. This is despite the fact that Independiente has won the Copa Libertadores, the South American equivalent of the Champions League, more times than any other club.
Unfortunately, you can't buy Boca Juniors match tickets online. All tickets are in the hands of the club's socios, which makes it quite difficult to plan your football trip to Boca Juniors far in advance. However, there are more ways to reach La Bombonera. Socios sell their tickets for some matches to tourists to earn some extra money. So it's important to know where these tickets (plastic supporter passes) are offered. This happens, for example, on Viagogo, but this isn't always entirely above board.
It's therefore useful to have contacts in Buenos Aires itself, and this is where we can take the worry off your hands. Our agent has the contacts with the socios and can therefore provide you with tickets. Since the Boca Juniors stadium isn't easily reached by public transport, our guide will drop you off at the stadium. You'll naturally be picked up again afterwards too. We also arrange a good hotel in a good part of the city. Upon arrival at the hotel, a public transport card and an Argentine SIM card are ready and waiting for you, so you don't need to worry about these either.
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