Superclásico

Superclásico
Roberto Mouzo (Boca) and Ramón Díaz (River)
during a Superclásico in 1981
Boca Juniors
River Plate
LocationBuenos Aires, Argentina
First meeting24 Aug 1913
Primera División
River Plate 2–1 Boca Juniors
Latest meeting19 April 2026
2026 Apertura
River Plate 0–1 Boca Juniors
Next meeting1 November 2026
2026 Clausura
Boca Juniors v River Plate
StadiumsLa Bombonera (Boca Juniors)
Mâs Monumental (River Plate)
Statistics
Total meetings266
Most winsBoca Juniors (94)
Most player appearances
Reinaldo Merlo
(42 matches)
Top scorerAngel Labruna
(16 goals)
All-time series
Boca Juniors: 94
Draw: 84
River Plate: 88
Largest victory
Boca Juniors 6–0 River Plate
(23 December 1928)
River Plate 5–1 Boca Juniors
(19 October 1941)

The Superclásico (Superderby) is the football match in Argentina between Buenos Aires rivals River Plate and Boca Juniors. It derives from the Spanish usage of "clásico" to mean derby, with the prefix "super" used as the two clubs are the most popular and successful clubs in Argentine football. In fact, the term 'Clásico' originated in Argentina, particularly with this match up and it was later exported to other countries such as Spain and Mexico. According to some statistics, they command more than 70% of all Argentine football fans between them.

The Superclásico is known worldwide as one of the fiercest and most important derbies. In April 2004, the English newspaper The Observer put the Superclásico at the top of their list of "50 sporting things you must do before you die", saying that "Derby day in Buenos Aires makes the Old Firm game look like a primary school kick-about", and in 2016 the British football magazine FourFourTwo considered it the "biggest derby in the world". That same year The Daily Telegraph ranked this match as the "biggest club rivalry in world football", and the Daily Mirror placed it number one in the top 50 football derbies in the world, above El Clásico between Barcelona and Real Madrid, in 2017.

History

Origins and background

Boca Juniors starting line-up for the first official Superclásico, 1913

The two clubs Boca and River Plate both have origins in La Boca, the working class dockland area of Buenos Aires, with River being founded in 1901 and Boca in 1905. River, however, moved to the affluent district of Núñez in the north of the city in 1925. Since then, Boca Juniors has been known as the club of Argentina's working class or the people's club, with many Boca fans coming from the local Italian immigrant community. Boca fans are actually known as "Xeneizes" ("Genoese"). By contrast, River Plate became known by the nickname, Los Millonarios (The Millionaires), with a supposedly upper-class support base. Both clubs, however, have supporters from all social classes.

By 1913, both clubs had their fields in La Boca and had not won any league, being also far away from the popularity that would come after. The most known Argentine football rivalry until then had been Alumni–Belgrano A.C. (both clubs from Belgrano) until Alumni disbanded in 1911 and Belgrano disaffiliated from the AFA. Racing Club de Avellaneda became the first of the Big Five when that same year won the first of their seven consecutive league titles.

Before their first official match, Boca and River had played two friendlies (1908 and 1912). River Plate's nickname was Darseneros (the most popular Millonarios came in 1931). The first official match of the rivalry, the 1913 Superclásico, was played on August 24, 1913 at Racing Club Stadium, with River winning 2–1. 7,000 spectators attended the match, and goals were scored by Cándido García and Antonio Ameal Pereyra (River) and Marcos Meyer (Boca).

The palomita goal scored by Severino Varela in 1943 became legendary

The Superclásico is particularly noted for the passion of the fans, with what the BBC describe as "a sea of colourful flowing banners, screams and roars, chanting, dancing and never-ending fireworks". Both sets of supporters sing passionate chants aimed at their rivals, often based on popular Argentine rock band tunes. Each stadium, Boca's La Bombonera and River's El Monumental are known to bounce with the simultaneous jumping of the fans. At times, the matches have been known to end in fights between the "barra brava" (violent factions) of both sides or with the police.

Angel Labruna dribbling in a 1950 match

Boca fans refer to River supporters as "gallinas" ("chickens") claiming the lack of guts of River players. Despite the fact that their club traces back its roots to La Boca, River fans refer to their Boca rivals as "los chanchitos" ("little pigs") because they claim their stadium, located in the less affluent La Boca area, smells most of the time, as well as "bosteros" ("manure collectors"), a reference to the smell of a polluted river in La Boca. Another infamous slur, coined in the late 1990s over remarks of Boca's forward Diego Latorre, is to brand Boca Juniors as "The Cabaret", due to the alleged aspiration of some players to steal the limelight.

The rivalry between the two clubs can also affect players, particularly those who are transferred between the two clubs. Cataldo Spitale was the first to make the change, when he left Boca to sign for River in 1933. Oscar Ruggeri, who moved to River from Boca in 1985 said, "It's not easy I can tell you. One side looks on you as a traitor and the other doesn't really trust you. You need time to adapt and a lot of character to win people over." Some players have gone so far as to state that they would not play for the other club such as River's Uruguayan player Enzo Francescoli while Diego Maradona during his time playing for Argentinos Juniors, refused to even consider a move to El Monumental, stating that his dream was to play for Boca. In 1992, José Luis Villarreal won the league title with Boca, and left the following year to River. Although he was received very well by River fans, and won the 1993 and 1994 league titles there, Boca fans never forgave him, and he says he hasn't been to La Bombonera since then to avoid problems.

Recently, on March 21 in the Clausura 2010 tournament, the two teams started playing in La Bombonera. In the ninth minute of play, the match was suspended because of heavy rainfall in Buenos Aires. The pitch was practically flooded, but in spite of this, referee Héctor Baldassi stated that the match could be played. In the course of the match, the two teams were unable to keep possession because the ball became repeatedly bogged down. The match restarted four days later, on March 25, and was played with two halves of 41 minutes. This was the first Superclásico suspended in history.

Puerta 12 tragedy

Gate 12, under custody, the day after the tragedy

On June 23, 1968, in El Monumental, after a 0–0 match between the two teams, 71 fans were killed in a crush at gate 12, with 150 fans left injured. The disaster was the worst incident in the history of Argentine football and the majority of the dead were teenagers and young adults; the average age of the victims was 19. There are various claims as to what exactly happened that day. Some claim that the disaster happened after Boca Juniors fans threw burning River flags from the upper tiers of the stadium, causing a stampede of their own fans in the lower tier.

Others claim that it happened after River fans arrived at the Boca section, causing the stampede of the visiting fans. Yet others claim that gate 12 was locked, or would not open at the time, and that the fans at the back did not hear the ones at the front telling them to stop coming in. William Kent, River's former president, claimed that the police were the culprits, as they began repressing Boca fans after they had thrown urine at them from the stands. Some witnesses claim that the turnstiles to the exit were blocked by a huge iron pole.

After three years of investigation, a government inquiry found no one guilty, much to the disappointment of the families of the victims. Since the tragedy, the gates at El Monumental have been identified by letters instead of numbers.

At the end of the 1968 season, the 68 football clubs in the Argentine Football Association collected 100,000 pesos for the families of the deceased.

River's 2011 relegation to 2018 Greater Final

Since the turn of the century, the rivalry has intensified to different levels. A series of fierce meetings and violent events rekindled international attention to the derby.

Boca eliminated River in the 2000 Copa Libertadores and 2004 Copa Libertadores, winning the title in 2000, 2001 and 2003, and reaching the finals in 2004. Moreover, in June 2011, River was relegated for the first time in its history.

Since its promotion in 2012, River eliminated Boca in the 2014 Copa Sudamericana, 2015 Copa Libertadores, 2017 Supercopa Argentina, 2018 Copa Libertadores, and the 2019 Copa Libertadores, lifting the trophy on all of those occasions, except the 2019 Copa Libertadores.

During the 2015 Copa Libertadores Round of 16, River Plate players were attacked at half time by a Boca fan that used pepper spray as the players were entering the dressing rooms. As a result, the game was suspended and CONMEBOL opened disciplinary proceedings on Boca. At the time of the attack, River was winning the series 1–0. As a result of the incident, Boca were disqualified from competition in the tournament and were faced with sanctions imposed by CONMEBOL. River Plate, on the other hand, advanced to the quarterfinals and would later go on to win the Copa Libertadores.

In the 2018 Copa Libertadores Finals, the bus carrying Boca's players to the El Monumental was attacked by River fans who threw large objects after the police withdrew from the zone. The game was suspended and despite Boca's requests to have River disqualified, the game was moved to Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. After drawing 2–2 at La Bombonera and losing its home field advantage, River famously won the game 3–1 after extra time (5–3 on aggregate). Through the series, Boca was always ahead until the extra time of the return leg. Given the rivalry and the stage, and the fact of having been played in Europe, the 2018 Copa Libertadores Finals gathered unusual attention outside South America.

Statistics

Overall record

As of 19 April 2026. Only official matches are included.

Type Competition Games
played		 Boca
wins		 Draws River
wins		 Boca
goals		 River
goals
LeaguePrimera División218806573295277
Total (league)218806573295277
National cups Copa Competencia Jockey Club301236
Copa Centenario de la AFA201101
Copa Adrián Escobar101000
Copa de Competencia Británica110020
Supercopa Argentina100102
Copa de la Liga Profesional523188
Copa Argentina101000
Total (national cups)163851418
CONMEBOL competitions Copa Libertadores2811893226
Copa Sudamericana201101
Supercopa Libertadores202011
Total (CONMEBOL)321111103328
Total (official matches)266948488342323
Notes
  1. ↑ Both clubs only played a semifinal in the 1942 edition. After the match ended 0–0, River qualified to the finals by corner kicks awarded, according to the competition rules.
  2. ↑ In the 2004 edition, River won the second leg 2–1 (so it was listed as a won game). After the series ended 2–2 in goals, Boca qualified to play the finals after a penalty shoot-out.
  3. ↑ In the 1994 edition and after the series ended 0–0 in goals, Boca qualified by penalty shoot-out.

Primera División matches

Includes only matches in the Primera División since their first official game in 1913.

Notes
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 River was the home team.
  2. ↑ Some historians do not include this match due to the championship was annulled, prior the creation of dissident Asociación Amateurs de Football, with River Plate being one of the teams that joined the new league (while Boca Juniors remained in the official body). As a result, the Superclásico would not be played until 1927 after both, official and dissident associations, merged.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Boca was the home team.
Keys

Head-to-head statistics in Primera División

Boca Juniors wins80
Draws65
River Plate wins73
Matches played218

National cups

The list below includes matches in national cup competitions. The club name in bold indicates a win. The score is given at full-time, in the goals columns the goal scorer and time when goal was scored is noted.

Notes
  1. ↑ River won 3–2 on most corner kicks awarded, qualifying to the next round.
  2. ↑ Boca as home team.
  3. ↑ River as home team.
  4. 1 2 Boca Juniors advanced to the next stage after penalty shoot-out.
Keys

Head-to-head statistics in national cups

Boca Juniors wins3
Draws8
River Plate wins5
Matches played16

Copa Libertadores

These are only matches in the Copa Libertadores, club name in bold indicate win. The score is given at full-time, in the goals columns the goal scorer and time when goal was scored is noted.

Notes
  1. ↑ River Plate as home team.
  2. ↑ After the series ended 2–2 on aggregate, Boca won after a penalty shoot-out.
  3. ↑ Game ruled forfeit by CONMEBOL Article 22 after it was suspended at 0–0 at half-time because of an attack on River Plate players in the tunnel with tear gas as they came out for the second half in Estadio Alberto J. Armando. CONMEBOL disqualified Boca Juniors from the tournament, with severe future CONMEBOL sanctions.
  4. ↑ Because of an attack by River Plate fans towards the Boca Juniors bus at River Plate's home ground, injuring players on 24 November 2018, CONMEBOL moved the match to Madrid, Spain, at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, home of Real Madrid C.F. The venue change was for both security and convenience for the winner
Keys

Head-to-head statistics in the Copa Libertadores

Boca Juniors wins11
Draws8
River Plate wins9
Matches played28

Other international cups

These are only matches in other international cups. The club name in bold indicates a win. The score is given at full-time, in the goals columns the goal scorer and time when goal was scored is noted.

# Cup Year Date R Venue Winner Score Goals (H) Goals (A)
1Supercopa Libertadores19946 OctQFRiver(Draw)0–0
2Supercopa Libertadores199413 OctQFBoca(Draw)1–1 (5–4 p.)L. Carranza (6)Francescoli (48)
3Copa Sudamericana201420 NovSFBoca(Draw)0–0
4Copa Sudamericana201427 NovSFRiverRiver1–0Pisculichi (16)
Notes
  1. ↑ After the series ended 0–0 in goals, Boca qualified to the semifinals by penalty shoot-out.
Keys

Head-to-head statistics in other international cups

Boca Juniors wins0
Draws3
River Plate wins1
Matches played4

Friendly matches

List of all the non-official games played since their first match ever in 1908:

Notes
  1. ↑ Located in Mar del Plata, was the main stadium of the city until the Estadio José María Minella was inaugurated in 1978.
  2. ↑ suspended after the 4th goal for incidents by River supporters
  3. ↑ Played in Miami, USA.
  4. ↑ Played in Mexico DF.
Keys

Head-to-head statistics in Friendlies matches

Boca Juniors wins46
Draws37
River Plate wins41
Matches played124

Single eliminations between the two rivals

As of 2021, 21 single eliminations between Boca Juniors and River Plate had been played, three of them tournament's finals. River holds the upper hand, with 13 wins over Boca.

  1. 1915 Copa Competencia: Boca 1–1 River; River 4–2 Boca (River won)
  2. 1918 Copa Competencia: River 1–0 Boca (River won)
  3. 1937 Primera División: River 5–3 Boca (River won)
  4. 1942 Copa Adrián C. Escobar semifinal: River 0–0 Boca (River won 3–2 on corner kicks)
  5. 1946 Copa de Competencia Británica semi-final: Boca 2–0 River (Boca won)
  6. 1969 Metropolitano semifinal: River 0–0 Boca (River won)
  7. 1972 Nacional semifinal: River 3–2 Boca (River won)
  8. 1976 Nacional final: Boca 1–0 River (Boca won)
  9. 1989 Liguilla Pre-Libertadores requalifying final: River 0–0 Boca; Boca 0–0 River; Boca 1–2 River (River won)
  10. 1993 Copa Centenario: Boca 0–0 River; River 1–0 Boca (River won)
  11. 1994 Supercopa Libertadores: River 0–0 Boca; Boca 1–1 River (Boca won 5–4 by penalty shoot-out)
  12. 2000 Copa Libertadores quarterfinals: River 2–1 Boca; Boca 3–0 River (Boca won)
  13. 2004 Copa Libertadores semifinals: Boca 1–0 River; River 2–1 Boca (Boca won 5–4 by penalty shoot-out)
  14. 2014 Copa Sudamericana semifinals: Boca 0–0 River; River 1–0 Boca (River won)
  15. 2015 Copa Libertadores round of 16: River 1–0 Boca; Boca 0–0 River (River won)
  16. 2017 Supercopa Argentina final: Boca 0–2 River (River won)
  17. 2018 Copa Libertadores Finals: Boca 2–2 River; River 3–1 Boca (River won)
  18. 2019 Copa Libertadores semifinals: River 2–0 Boca; Boca 1–0 River (River won)
  19. 2021 Copa de la Liga Profesional quarterfinals: Boca 1–1 River (Boca won 4–2 by penalty shoot-out)
  20. 2019–20 Copa Argentina round of 16: Boca 0–0 River (Boca won 4–1 by penalty shoot-out)
  21. 2024 Copa de la Liga Profesional quarterfinals: River 2–3 (Boca won)
Notes
  1. ↑ Second leg played at GEBA
  2. ↑ Played at Racing
  3. 1 2 Match to decide the middle-season's first place, played at Estadio Gasómetro
  4. ↑ Played at Estadio Antonio Vespucio Liberti
  5. 1 2 River won by goal average. Played at Racing
  6. 1 2 Played at Vélez, River knocked out Boca of the next edition of Copa Libertadores.
  7. ↑ Second leg played at Vélez
  8. ↑ Second leg discontinued at half-time because a pepper-spray attack on several River players by Boca fans. Boca were eventually disqualified by CONMEBOL.
  9. ↑ Played at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas
  10. ↑ Second leg played at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid
  11. ↑ Played at Estadio Alberto J. Armando. River had to make seven starting-players substitutions just hours before the match, after a COVID-19 outbreak infected 15 squad members, among them all the professional goalkeepers.
  12. ↑ Played at the Estadio Ciudad de La Plata

Match records

Player records

Players who have played for both clubs

List of 102 players who have played for Boca Juniors and River Plate

Players who played for one club in youth career and for rival club in senior career

Coaches who worked at both clubs

Played for one club and coached the rival club

River's greatest moments

Boca's greatest moments

Honours

Official titles

Boca Juniors Competition River Plate
Domestic
35League titles38
17National cups16
52Total54
International
—FIFA—
3UEFA / CONMEBOL1
15CONMEBOL11
4AFA / AUF6
22Total18
Overall
74Total72

References

  1. 1 2 "A 100 años del primer superclásico oficial" Archived 2014-12-17 at the Wayback Machine, Perfil, 24 Ago 2013
  2. 1 2 "Hace 100 años, River le ganó a Boca el primer superclásico" Archived 2016-10-12 at the Wayback Machine, Clarín, 24 Ago 2013
  3. 1 2 "El primer superclásico se publicó en 1913" Archived 2014-10-06 at the Wayback Machine, La Nación, 19 Mar 2010
  4. 1 2 "Periódico Para Todos". www.periodicoparatodos.com.ar. Archived from the original on 2017-11-16. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  5. ↑ "Todos los números de la historia del superclásico" Archived 2014-10-07 at the Wayback Machine, Infobae, 4 Oct 2014
  6. ↑ "River-Boca: Historia de una rivalidad". El Pais. 11 December 2018. Archived from the original on 16 January 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  7. ↑ "La vidriera". La Nacion. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Boca Juniors v River Plate". bbc.co.uk. 5 October 2002. Archived from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
  9. ↑ Hamilton, Gavin (4 April 2004). "50 sporting things you must do before you die". London: The Observer. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
  10. ↑ "FourFourTwo's 50 Biggest Derbies in the World, No.1: Boca Juniors vs River Plate". FourFourTwo. 29 April 2016. Archived from the original on 8 November 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "The 25 biggest club rivalries in world football - where does Real Madrid vs Atletico rank?". The Daily Telegraph. 26 May 2016. Archived from the original on 26 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  12. ↑ Mewis, Joe (13 October 2017). "The top 50 derbies in the world 10-1: Find out who tops our countdown". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 23 February 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  13. 1 2 3 "La Doce, Los Borrachos del Tablon". footballderbies.com. Archived from the original on 15 January 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
  14. 1 2 El primer superclásico oficial Archived 2020-11-26 at the Wayback Machine on Andrés Burgo website
  15. ↑ Se cumplen 104 años del primer Superclásico: así nació la rivalidad entre River y Boca on La Voz del Interior, 24 Aug 2017
  16. ↑ "El gran problema de la violencia" (in Spanish). marca.com. Archived from the original on 2008-03-24. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
  17. ↑ "Latorre comparó al plantel de Boca con un cabaret". Clarín (in Spanish). 21 April 1998. Archived from the original on 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  18. 1 2 "Crossing the Superclasico divide". FIFA. 17 October 2008. Archived from the original on October 18, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
  19. 1 2 "Suspenden clásico Boca-River por la lluvia". La Aficion (in Spanish). Retrieved 2010-03-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  20. ↑ "Clásico Boca-River suspendido por primera vez en historia". Reuters. 21 March 2010. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010.
  21. ↑ "disasters". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 18 October 1996. Archived from the original on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
  22. ↑ Prieto, Carlos; Andres Burg (27 June 2000). "Puerta 12: Memorias del horror" (in Spanish). Clarin. Archived from the original on 2009-01-25. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
  23. ↑ Prieto, Carlos (7 October 2006). "Puerta 12, horror de película" (in Spanish). Clarin. Archived from the original on 2009-06-27. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
  24. ↑ "Apertura de expediente disciplinario al Club Atlético Boca Juniors" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com. 15 May 2015. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  25. ↑ "Comunicado de la Unidad Disciplinaria" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com. 16 May 2015. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  26. 1 2 3 Superclásicos - Buenos Aires derby by Pablo Ciullini on the RSSSF
  27. ↑ 1942 Copa Escobar
  28. ↑ 2004 Copa Libertadores Archived 2023-04-19 at the Wayback Machine by Juan P. Andrés on the RSSSF
  29. 1 2 1994 Supercopa Archived 2022-11-19 at the Wayback Machine on the RSSS
  30. ↑ 1942 Copa Escobar Archived 2022-12-06 at the Wayback Machine on the RSSSF
  31. ↑ "El otro historial: River es el amplio dominador de los "mano a mano" ante Boca". Infobae (in European Spanish). 24 November 2018. Archived from the original on 17 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  32. ↑ Reporte del partido en el sitio de la Conmebol Archived 2018-11-01 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
  33. ↑ River, con 15 bajas por Covid y un arquero juvenil para el Superclásico ante Boca. Infobae, 15 May 2021 Archived 17 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
  34. 1 2 3 4 "Números y estadísticas de Boca-River" [Numbers and statistics of Boca-River]. ESPN Deportes. October 25, 2009. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  35. ↑ "A 117 años del primer "Superclásico" de la historia". Primera Edición (in Spanish). 2 August 2025. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  36. ↑ Scandolo, Ramiro (22 December 2006). "Ganamos la final más importante" (in Spanish). Olé. Archived from the original on 29 March 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2009.