Any game with two red cards would be a spectacle, but add in 118 years of animosity, a country at a standstill and a stadium united in hatred for the opposition, and the result is a World Cup winner being escorted off the pitch by police whilst he taunts the home fans. That was last Sunday in Buenos Aires, as Boca Juniors and River Plate’s longstanding feud was reignited in the Superclásico. This is the first instalment of a new series where I assess some of the fiercest derbies in the world, ranking them against my idea of ‘the perfect derby’. A three-part metric has been devised to score and accumulate an overall grade, and derbies will be analysed and ranked out of 10 using the three H’s: History, Hatred and High Quality, with full marks reserved for the ideal circumstances.
HISTORY: A derby’s origins reveal the foundations of its feud, as hostility spanning generations embeds resentment and conflicting identities into the cultural fabric. Are the clubs rivals through proximity, or divided by social and political differences? Historical friction alone, though, can’t make a classic. There needs to be moments, memories and feelings associated with the fixture that generate shivers, smiles or spite. The magnitude of the game in turn creates the conditions for these defining moments, with a single incident capable of producing a story for the ages.
HATRED: These moments fuel supporters in the build-up, yet a certain level of animosity is required to foster a special atmosphere. Nicknames and chants belittle the opposition, whilst day-to-day banter between supporters keeps the rivalry alive beyond the terraces. Together, these traditions reinforce the fixture’s importance, making it the standout occasion in the football calendar.
HIGH QUALITY: These ingredients can make any derby exciting, but their significance is amplified when honours are on the line. A cup final or title decider adds another layer of pressure, making the quality of the competing teams just as important as the feelings behind the game. Ideally, victories in the contest are relatively split and both trophy cabinets are plentiful, with a league strong enough around them to keep the standard high. In turn, match-ups at these stages only facilitate the opportunity for defining moments to occur. Arsenal fans will never fail to remind Spurs that they won the league at White Hart Lane, whilst Real Madrid’s 2014 Champions League triumph was all the sweeter for being snatched from the grasp of Atleti.
History
When applied to the Superclásico, these criteria come into their own. The first meeting dates back to 1908, with the first official fixture following in 1913. Both clubs were founded in the working-class neighbourhood of La Boca, and so the rivalry began as a fierce local dispute. This deepened when River moved to Recoleta in 1923, and then Núñez in 1938, two considerably more prosperous areas. As such, the geographical divide became one of identity. Boca remained in La Boca, whilst River became increasingly associated with the upper and middle classes.
Those differences then spilled into how the clubs approached football, and River’s spending reflected their growing wealth, with the 35,000 pesos paid for Bernabé Ferreyra in 1932 setting a world transfer record that stood for 17 years. Three further signings in the same window cost a combined 55,000 pesos, earning River the nickname ‘Millonarios’. Boca instead adopted ‘Xeneizes’, an ode to the Genoese immigrants who settled in La Boca. Over time, each identity developed a footballing philosophy to match. River’s is summed up by the three Gs: Gustar (to enjoy/play attractively), Ganar (to win) and Golear (to score goals/entertain). Boca, meanwhile, embraced the motto ‘transpira a la camiseta’ (make the shirt sweat), a desire for effort and graft that aligns with their working-class roots. Today, the class divide is less pronounced, but its foundations remain central to the rivalry.
As mentioned, the best derbies augment existing emotions through moments, and the Superclásico has plenty. In 1981, a 20-year-old Diego Maradona joined his boyhood club Boca, reportedly turning down a bigger offer from River, and in his first derby he ran the show. Boca won 3-0, with Maradona rounding the goalkeeper and slotting the ball past a sprawling River defender. He left for Barcelona the season after, but his imprint lasted, and that performance is still referenced today. However, River themselves have a night of their own to respond with. In 2018, the two met in their first ever Copa Libertadores final, with River winning the second leg 3-1 in extra time, a result Boca fans have never been allowed to forget. The fixture’s history also carries tragedy. In 1968, 71 fans were crushed at Gate 12 of River’s El Monumental. The following year, supporters of both clubs reportedly chanted in unison against the police, adding grief and solidarity to an already emotive occasion.
Hatred
That same 2018 final also produced the most notorious incident of the derby’s history. After a 2-2 draw in the first leg at La Bombonera, Boca’s team bus was attacked on its way to El Monumental, leaving several players needing medical attention. In response, CONMEBOL moved the second leg to the Bernabéu in Madrid, over 6,000 miles away. However, this was not an isolated incident. Three years earlier, a Copa Libertadores round-of-16 tie was abandoned at half-time after Boca supporters pepper-sprayed the River players as they emerged from the tunnel, leaving four hospitalised. Boca were disqualified, and River went on to win the tournament. These criminal acts came at a cost, strengthening a pre-existing law that barred away fans from attending matches. Despite this ruling being lifted in 2025, most clubs continue to prohibit visiting fans due to safety concerns, stadium capacity limits and local security restrictions.
Though this doesn’t prevent contempt spilling out in the home stands, with it typically expressed through chants aimed at the opposition. Boca call River fans ‘Gallinas’ (chickens), an insult born from River’s failure to hold onto a 2-0 lead in the 1966 Copa Libertadores final against Peñarol, and one that brands them as weak and cowardly. Carlos Tevez was once sent off for performing a chicken dance celebration at El Monumental. When River were relegated to the second division in 2011, Boca fans sang ‘Las Gallinas Son Así’, claiming that ‘when they don’t win the championship, those stands are empty’. Conversely, River’s retort is ‘Bosteros’, a term for manure handlers of the neighbourhood. This comes from the alleged smell around La Bombonera, where a brick factory using horse manure once stood. Occasionally, River players have tried to taunt the home crowd by pinching their noses as they enter the pitch, though both sets of fans have since adopted their nicknames as a badge of pride. With an estimated 70-80% of Argentinians supporting one of the two clubs, the banter follows people to work, school and family gatherings, underlying the relentlessness of this fixture’s rivalry.
High Quality
Though the standard of the Argentinian league sits behind Europe’s best, this is one of the few derbies where both teams consistently contest honours domestically and continentally, giving every meeting an added weight. At the time of writing, Boca have claimed 75 trophies, including 36 league titles and 6 Copa Libertadores, whilst River sit on 72, with 38 league titles and 4 Copa Libertadores. Their all-time competitive head-to-head record stands at 95 wins for Boca and 88 for River. With both sides chasing the tag of Argentina’s most successful club, the battle to stay on top never ceases.
However, this dominance over the league is arguably a drawback when placed against the criteria, as the limited investment and resources available to Argentinian clubs mean that the standard of football takes a significant hit. Whilst silverware is occasionally won outside the big two, sustained challenges to the pair are rare. The Argentinian league as a whole has struggled to match European spending, with Transfermarkt currently valuing River’s squad at roughly £104 million, a figure that would place them 6th amongst the English Championship’s statistics. Yet in Argentina, this is the highest in the country, registering about double that of third-placed Rosario Central, a club currently challenging Boca for the title. This underlines the economic and sporting disparity between clubs in the league, and as a result, it’s difficult to award full marks on quality.
Overall Grade – 28/30
History – 10 – The ingrained ideological feud spanning over a century makes this derby one of the most historic and enduring in the world. Its plethora of iconic moments only adds to the grandeur, as tales of the fixture transcend generations. I’m certain that somewhere in Buenos Aires, a grandson is currently hearing about that famous Maradona performance.
Hatred – 10 – Creative insults, disqualified teams and a final moved to another continent, and I haven’t even scratched the surface. The fact that the hostility tips into genuine danger is not something I advocate, but on this metric it’s hard to find two sets of fans who loathe each other more.
High Quality – 8 – Consistent fights for trophies mean every meeting is consequential, and with the weight of supporter expectation on their backs, the pressure to deliver is persistent. Unfortunately, that dominance is also their downfall. A lack of genuine competition from the rest of the league, coupled with modest finances, drags the overall standard down and leaves them just short of full marks.
This leads us back to last Sunday. Two red cards, one police escort and not a single person surprised. But that’s the Superclásico for you.
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