DERBY DAYS BOCA JUNIORS v RIVER PLATE:Argentina will come to a standstill on Sunday when Boca Juniors and River Plate meet in the latest edition of the Superclásico, writes Damian Cullen.
WHEN, IN 2004, the London-based Observer published a list of "50 sporting things you must do before you die", first position was given to watching Boca Juniors play River Plate in Buenos Aires.
While there may not be consensus as to the greatest soccer derby in Europe - Celtic v Rangers, Liverpool v Everton, Barcelona v Real Madrid, Roma v Lazio - in South America, there is little disagreement.
Only one match has the ability to turn the heads of an entire continent. And, in a recent poll in Argentina, three-quarters of the country's soccer fans declared themselves to be followers of either Boca Juniors or River Plate.
It makes the match between the sides akin to a civil war.
Both clubs were founded in the same poor port-side area - La Boca - during the first years of the 20th century, but Club Atlético River Plate moved in the 1930s to Nuñez, a neighbouring and more affluent district - partly the reason the club earned the nickname Los Millonarios.
As we've learned with other great derbies, the notion among fans, whether true or not, that there was a class difference between the clubs - with the People's team, Boca Juniors, remaining in a working-class district - was fuel to the rivalry fire.
The first Superclásico took place in 1913, with River Plate emerging victorious, 2-1, but the club's proudest period came in the early 1940s when La Máquina (The Machine) - one of the greatest club sides in history - played the type of beautiful, attacking soccer that was copied by the Netherlands in the 1970s.
That great River Plate team dominated the derby meetings with their great rivals, which included two four-goal defeats - 5-1 in 1941 and 4-0 in 1942.
As with any huge and intense rivalry, however, comes the threat of a great tragedy and it was visited on the Superclásico on June 23rd, 1968 at Estadio Monumental. A stampede and the subsequent crush resulted in 71 fans losing their lives - with the average age of the victims only 19 years. A three-year government enquiry found nobody guilty - but all observers agreed the bitter rivalry between the clubs' fans was at the core.
While the tragedy did little to dampen the enthusiasm for the Superclásico in the capital, neither has the fact that both clubs have regularly been stripped of their most talented players by European clubs.
Boca Juniors, in particular, have had many familiar names in their ranks - most notably, of course, Diego Maradona, who played for the club in the early 1980s and mid 1990s either side of a career in Spain and Italy (it's worth watching some of Maradona's brilliant goals during 1981 against River Plate on YouTube).
Gabriel Batistuta played for River Plate for one season, before transferring to Boca Juniors in 1990. A year later he was at Fiorentina in Italy.
Claudio Caniggia started his career at River Plate, making 51 appearances in the mid-1980s before making the long trip to the Italian Serie A. He returned to Argentina's top-flight in 1995, but this time in the blue and yellow of Boca Juniors, famously scoring a hat-trick in their 4-1 victory against River Plate the following year.
One of the most memorable games in the city derby's history occurred only four years ago and starred one Carlos Tevez - now of Manchester United.
Boca Juniors arrived at El Monumental de Nuñez with a 1-0 lead from the first leg of the Copa Libertadores semi-final (the South American equivalent of the Uefa Champions League). While this weekend the clubs will meet for the 320th time - with the record standing at 115 wins for Boca to 104 for River Plate - they have only met on only a few occasions in non-national competitions.
Argentina almost came to a halt in anticipation of the clash.
With five minutes remaining and River Plate leading 1-0, the reigning champions looked to have booked their place in the decider when Tevez equalised on the night, putting Boca 2-1 up on aggregate. However, a last-minute goal took the game to penalties, before Boca edged the semi-final 5-4 on spot kicks.
River Plate will arrive at Boca Juniors' home ground this Sunday evening looking down on Boca Juniors in the Primera A table, after their teenage star Diego Buonanotte scored twice in their 4-2 victory against Argentinos Juniors last weekend.
Boca, though, are just one point behind so this weekend's game between the most successful team in Argentina (River Plate, with 32 domestic league titles) and the most successful team in soccer in South America (Boca Juniors, with six Copa Libertadores) will surely have a huge bearing on the destination of the league title.
By late Sunday evening, the Estadio Alberto J Armando - known as La Bombonera (the Chocolate Box) - is guaranteed to be awash with flags, banners, fireworks, streamers, flares and ticker tape, as well as the amazing spectacle of a stadium bouncing to the simultaneous jumping of 60,000 fans. It's an atmosphere that carnivals can only aspire to.
Boca Juniors v River Plate Kick-off: Sunday, midnight (Irish time) Venue: Estadio Alberto J Armando, Buenos Aires
