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Boca Juniors and River Plate fans united in pilgrimage before the Copa Libertadores final in Madrid

River Plate fans in Madrid before Sunday’s Copa Libertadores final (Sportsbeat)
River Plate fans in Madrid before Sunday’s Copa Libertadores final (Sportsbeat)

Around 4,000 police, security guards and stewards will be on duty at the Santiago Bernabeu for today’s Copa Libertadores final – but a pre-match stroll through Madrid tells a rather different story, writes William Pugh in Madrid.

South America’s biggest club match – between bitter Argentinean rivals River Plate and Boca Juniors – will be played in the Spanish capital after the violent scenes forced organisers to postpone the fixture and move it 6,238 miles away.

Rocks and missiles were thrown and two players, including Boca captain Pablo Perez, were hospitalised and some of the team arrived at the stadium in severe distress having ingested pepper spray.

Unfortunately the shocking scenes that sparked the recent debacle are not uncommon in South American football, and even less so in the Boca-River ‘Superclasico’. In one particularly notable incident in 2015, Boca were expelled from the Copa Libertadores after their fans attacked River players with pepper spray on the field of play.

The over passionate, flare wielding, fight seeking stereotype of fans of Argentina’s two biggest clubs is unfortunately not one entrenched in myth.

The reality behind it was a major contributing factor in the away supporters ban, introduced in Argentina in 2014. And there is a long running, deep rooted, sporting, social and political divide that exists between Boca and River.

Be in no doubt, this is the bitterest of rivalries and one that far transcends the football field on which it is should be played out.

However, half a world away fans seemed happy to mix in the build-up to kick-off.

Buenos Aires based Boca fan Nicolas Wilamovsky, 24, is in Madrid with his two River supporting best friends.

“We are best friends from Monday to Saturday but on the day of the match… no,” he said.

“However, it is a football match tomorrow not a war where you are trying to kill people but some people approach it with that sentiment and that ruins it for the rest.”

Boca Juniors and River Plate fans united in pilgrimage before the Copa Libertadores final in Madrid (Sportsbeat)
Boca Juniors and River Plate fans united in pilgrimage before the Copa Libertadores final in Madrid (Sportsbeat)

As seen in many walks of life, it appears the negative attention garnered by a minority has painted a distorted picture of the reality for the majority.

The streets of Madrid conveyed a rarely reported narrative on Saturday. They were full of Boca and River fans intermingling with one another. Friends and family, talking, laughing and taking in the occasion.

There is obviously still friendly ribbing as succinctly demonstrated by Esteban Carignano, 48, the Boca supporting uncle of River fan Enzo Carignano, 23, with whom he has travelled to the game.

When pressed on why he supports Boca and his nephew River, with a wry smile to Enzo, Uncle Esteban calmly explained: “Por que soy mas inteligente.” Because I am more intelligent.

The pair were both born in Argentina and have travelled from their homes in Gran Canaria and Germany respectively. Enzo left Argentina when he was five and was pragmatic about the rivalry as his uncle repeatedly emphasised the fact that his best friend is a River fan.

He said: “There is a stereotype in Europe that everyone (River and Boca fans) hates each other but that’s not true. Obviously I would never throw a stone at my uncle or anyone I considered a friend.”

The pair are two of seemingly very few pleased that the match was moved to Madrid.
Estaban explained: “For us it’s brilliant the game is being held here otherwise we would not have been able to go.”

Enzo won’t be sitting with his uncle at the game but for him it’s the stuff of fantasy. He said: “It is my first ever River match. It’s a dream that my first match is the Copa Libertadores final. When you are Argentinian you always dream of seeing a River v Boca game. As soon as the draw was made and we saw it was going to be in Madrid, my uncle said we were going and that was it.”

However, not all relationships remain untested by team loyalty.

River fan Samuel Rojo, 20, is outnumbered by the three Boca supporting friends he travelled from Buenos Aires with but that did not stop him rolling his eyes with disdain as his companions vehemently questioned why River weren’t thrown out of the tournament for the recent attack, as their own side were in 2015.

“It’s a lot different!” Rojo exclaimed. He continued amidst protests: “In 2015 the Boca fans attacked the players with pepper spray on the pitch but last month the River fans only threw rocks and it was outside the stadium. The police were the ones who used pepper spray!”

The friends clearly disagreed and an awkward tension rose among the group who spent over £3,000 collectively on the trip.

However, it was swiftly contextualised by Boca fan Ignacio Lopez, 22. He said: “Everyone is friends with everyone in the city, but when it comes to football, you have to represent your team.”

After another heated discussion on which team the new venue benefits the most, the difficulty in picking friendship or your team became clear.

Given the match may see some Boca and River fans sitting in the same parts of the stadium, Juan Portero, 23, was unsure if his friendship with Mr Rojo could stand the test.

He said: “I don’t know how I would react if I was in the same part of the stand as my River friend and he shouted for a goal in my face. If it was last minute it I would probably punch him in the face.”

Mr Portero made a final intriguing point around which much has been written during this saga.

He said: “I don’t think there will be any trouble on Sunday because in Argentina, there are no consequences from the police because of the corruption but they (trouble making fans) know that if they throw any rocks in Madrid they are going straight to prison.”

Around 4,000 police, security guards and stewards will be on duty at the Santiago Bernabeu for today’s Copa Libertadores final – but a pre-match stroll through Madrid tells a rather different story.
Around 4,000 police, security guards and stewards will be on duty at the Santiago Bernabeu for today’s Copa Libertadores final – but a pre-match stroll through Madrid tells a rather different story.

When pressed on political intertwinements in matters involving the two teams, the young friends were all in agreement. Boca-River is politics and politics is Boca-River.

The current Argentine president Mauricio Macri is the former president of Boca and often analogises about football in his political speeches but Mr Rojo thinks the recent ugly scenes will work against him in the red and white half of the capital.

He said: “No one from River Plate will be voting for Macri in the next election. It was the police that he controls that let the incident happen and that lost them the opportunity to see the second leg in their own country. He stole a match from us.”

There is little more sub-textual material you could add to this story to make today’s game any more of an occasion.

This is the last two-legged final of the Copa Libertadores, it’s the first time Boca Juniors and River Plate have faced each other in the final in the competition’s 58-year history, the tie is finely poised at 2-2, the additional drama surrounding it after the bus attack has drawn focus and debate from across the globe and it all comes down to 90 minutes of football at one of world football’s most iconic stadiums tonight.

However, whether you are the River fan who refused an interview because he still hadn’t told his wife in Buenos Aires where he was. Whether you are Gonzalo Juarez, 55, now in Madrid having left his home in Canada with his son nearly three weeks ago to see the second leg at El Monumental. Or whether you are one of the fans who possesses the desire to hurt others in the name of your football team.

Tonight is just a football match. Perhaps, as Mr Juarez described: “a once in a lifetime football match,” but a football match nonetheless. The love and friendship between rivals on display in Madrid is far more important than that.