There is a particular ranking of the most successful football clubs ever. In first place the Real Madrid with 23 international trophies won, followed by the Egyptian Al Ahly with 20. On the lowest step of the podium there are then two teams at 18: one is the Milan, which can boast 7 Champions League wins. The other is instead the Boca Juniors, , considered by many to be the strongest team in South America. But did you know that behind this football myth there is a small group of Italian origin?
From history to myth
At the end of the nineteenth century, thousands of Italians embarked from the beautiful country for South America. The hope was that of a better future, far from the misery that plagued some Italian regions at the time. And among the most popular destinations was Brazil, but above all theArgentina. Here, in fact, every day hundreds of Italians disembarked, mainly from Noon and from the poorest areas of Northern Italy. Many of these settled in a popular neighborhood of Buenos Aires: La Boca .
Here the largest community was represented by xeneizes, or rather by the Genoese. And it was a group of Xeneizes origin that came up with the idea of founding a football team. But what to call it? First you had to honor the neighborhood, your home. Here then is the Boca. Then something was needed to "emancipate", become international, arouse a charm from overseas. And since the first real ball, of those not made with poor quality pieces, had been given to the boys by an English sailor, the word Juniors it seemed ideal.
Then there was the question of social colors and here, too, the case took its hand. One of the boys in fact, such briquette, worked at the port. He told the group to accompany him and take inspiration from the first ship that would dock that day. And it was a flagged merchant ship that did it Swedish. Hence the choice of yellow and blue.
The rivalry between Boca Juniors and River Plate
On April 3, 1905, Boca Juniors was born. The first official match ended 4 to 0, or rather 3 to 1, no 4 to 1. In truth, the final result is still debated today, but Boca won that match anyway. From there began the climb towards success that will lead the team of Xeneizes origin to become one of the most successful clubs ever. And like all great heroes, Boca also had (and has) his own Nemesis.
We are talking about River Plate, also founded by some boys of Italian origin a few years earlier. The difference most felt by the supporters of the respective teams was the social one: on the one hand, Boca, a popular team, poor and the daughter of humble people. On the other hand, River Plate, a team from the rich, entrepreneurial neighborhood. From the very first matches it was understood that every derby would be something more than a simple match. And still today the Superclastic of Buenos Aires attracts millions of spectators from all over the world.
