El Superclasico is world-renowned for being one of, if not, the most fiercely contested rivalries in world football.

The two clubs derive from the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, with Boca Juniors known to be the people’s club and River Plate’s more affluently perceived fan base tagging them with the nickname Los Millonarios (The Millionaires).

The rivalry is much more than a football match, more of a national spectacle as all other aspects of life are made secondary, bringing a nation to a standstill, as the battle to become Argentina’s best commences.

Although Buenos Aires translates to “Good Airs” in English, there’s a much different air in the atmosphere when these two clubs meet, which, more often than not, has induced some outrageous scenes.

June 23, 1968: The Puerta 12 Tragedy

Four decades ago, in El Monumental, the home of River Plate, 71 fans were crushed to death and over 150 fans were left injured in the worst football-related incident in Argentine history; the average age of the victims was 19.

Amongst a series of allegations as to what exactly caused the tragedy, some claim that the disaster happened after Boca Juniors fans threw burning River flags from the top tiers, causing a stampede of their own fans in the lower tier.

Other claims include River Plate fans overcrowding the away section and a locked gate preventing fans from leaving as others continued to push forward.

The police were also under fire, with claims suggesting they were forcefully suppressing Boca fans after urine was thrown, the case was never resolved.

June 26, 2011: River Relegation

A moment that divided the city like never before, cardboard coffins littered the streets in a procession evocative of a celebration of life as the Boca Juniors fans uncovered the sinister undertones of the rivalry.

For the first time in their 110-year history, River Plate suffered relegation from the Primera Division, and as you’d expect, it provoked vulgar scenes of rioting both inside and outside the stadium and saw the illustrious rivalry come to a momentary halt.

January 31, 2015: Eight Man Embarrassment

An unrecognisable River side were simply torn apart in Mendoza, going 3-0 down within half an hour before having three men sent off as Boca recorded a spectacular 5-0 win, the biggest El Superclasico victory of the professional football era (since 1928).

May 7, 2015: Copa Libertadores Abandonment

Four months on from humiliating their foes, Boca Juniors were disqualified from Cops Libertadores halfway through the second leg of a the tournament’s round of 16 stage after River players were attacked with pepper spray by opposing fans leading to the game’s abandonment.

River went on to win the trophy for the first time since 1996 and the third time in their history.

March 14, 2018: Supercopa Argentina Final

March of this year saw the second ever final between the two nemeses, a stat scarcely believable considering they have amassed a combined total of 130 trophies throughout their history. River took vengeance following their defeat in the 1976 Nacional Championship final with a 2-0 victory over Boca.

Overall Record

Since their first official encounter in 1913, Boca have historically had the edge over their counterparts but the stats suggest that they are practically impossible to separate.

For years, this famous fixture has been a showcase of South American legends Juan Roman Riquelme, Gabriel Batistuta and Diego Maradona to name but a few.

Currently, the record stands at Boca Juniors 88-81 River Plate with 77 draws from a combined 246 matches.

It’s fair to say that this fixture has sprung up some classics during that time, be it from the explosive hatred between the clubs or the introduction of some of football’s superstars.

Consequently, El Superclasico rightfully earns its place at the apex of footballing rivalries, and you’d suspect this sporting carnival will remain their for decades to come.

Featured image courtesy of EuroSport.