Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors is the one of the most popular Argentine sports clubs, best known for its football team. Its home base is the neighbourhood of La Boca, in Buenos Aires, and it hosts its home games at the Bombonera (chocolate box) stadium at 805 Brandsen Street.
Boca holds the international record of 16 international titles, including five Copa Libertadores and three Intercontinental Cups. The club has also won 22 Argentine professional championships.
Boca Juniors was positioned in a shared 12th position in the election of the FIFA Clubs of the 20th Century. It's also a fixture in the top 30 of the Club World Ranking maintained by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics and has reached the top position of the monthly ranking 6 times (mostly during coach Carlos Bianchi's tenure). As of the latest ranking (May 1, 2005 to April 30, 2006) they occupied the eighteenth position.
History
The team
On 3 April 1905, five Italian immigrants gathered in the Plaza Solís, located in the heart of the La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Esteban Baglietto, Alfredo Scarpatti, Santiago Sana, and brothers Juan and Teodoro Farenga founded Boca Juniors (the use of English language in team names was commonplace, as British railroad workers introduced football into Argentina).
The original jersey colour was pink, which was quickly abandoned for thin black-and-white vertical stripes. The legend has it that in 1907 Boca played another team that used these colors, to decide who would get to keep them. Boca lost, and decided to adopt the colors of the flag of the first boat to subsequently sail into the port at La Boca. As the boat was from Sweden, blue-and-gold were adopted as the new team colours. The first version had a yellow diagonal band, which was later changed to a horizontal stripe.
Boca Juniors played in local leagues and the amateur second division until being promoted to the first division in 1913, when the division was expanded from six teams to 15. Boca were never relegated; they won six amateur championships (1919, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, and 1930). With the introduction of professionalism in Argentina, Boca won the first title in 1931.
- First Match: May 6, 1905. vs. Mariano Moreno.
- First international match: December 8, 1907. vs. Universal (Montevideo, Uruguay)
- First professional match: May 31, 1931 vs. Chacarita Juniors.
The Crest
Boca Juniors Crest, as of early 2000sThe shape of the crest has remained unchanged throughout Boca's history. In 1955, laurel leaves were added to celebrate the club's 50th anniversary, and the colours were changed to match those on the team's jersey.
In 1970, one star was added to the badge for each title won domestically (top part, above the initials) and internationally (bottom part). A new star is added to the corresponding section whenever Boca win a title. To the delight of fans, the crest has had to be modified several times in recent years, most recently after Boca's victory in the 2006 Clausura.
The stadium
Boca Juniors used several fields before settling on the current grounds on Brandsen Street. Construction work on the concrete structure started in 1938; during the erection of the stands, Boca played their home matches in the Ferrocarril Oeste field in Caballito until 1940. A third level was added in 1953, and the nickname La Bombonera ('The Chocolate Box') was born. The side opposite the Casa Amarilla railway platforms remained mostly unbuilt until 1996, when it was upgraded with new balconies and VIP booths. La Bombonera is renowned for its vibrating when fans start to jump in rhythm.
- Dársena Sud: 1908 - 1912
- Wilde: 1914 - 1915
- Brins y Sengüel: 1916 - 1924
- Brandsen: from 1924
The Fans
Boca Juniors is traditionally regarded as the club of Argentina's working class, in contrast with the supposedly more upper-class support base of cross-town rivals Club Atlético River Plate. Boca fans are known for valuing sacrifice and loyalty in good times and bad. River Plate fans, in contrast, are known for demanding attractive play from their team.
As of August 2005, the club has about 61,000 card-carrying members. Registrations are currently halted because of the limited stadium capacity. Boca claims to be the club of "half plus one" of Argentina's population, but a 2006 survey placed its following at 40%[1], still with the biggest minority.
The Boca-River Superclásico rivalry is one of the most thrilling derbies in the world[2]. As of March 2006, Boca leads with 113 victories, 90 draws, and 93 losses against River. After each match (excepting ties), street signs cover Buenos Aires, at fans' own expense, "ribbing" the losing side with humorous remarks. This has become part of Buenos Aires cultural ever since a Boca winning streak in the 1990s.
Nicknames
Boca fans are known as los xeneizes (the Genoese) after the Italian (especially Genoese) immigrants who founded the team and populated La Boca in the early 20th century. The word "xeneize" is Genoese dialect for the standard-Italian word "genovesi," which means "Genoese."
The name bosteros (horse-shitters) originates from the horse manure used in the brick factory that occupied the ground where La Bombonera stands. Originally an insult used by rivals, Boca fans have taken to wearing it with pride.
Following the team colors, Boca's shirt is also called la azul y oro (the blue-and-gold).
Boca's supporters are known as la número 12 or La Doce (player number Doce or 12, meaning "the 12th man") because of the influence they have on rival teams -- especially in home games -- where the stadium literally pulsates with their cheering.
International
Peñas (fan clubs) exist in many Argentine cities, and abroad, in countries such as Spain, Israel and Japan.
Boca have fans throughout Latin America, especially in Colombia and Peru, which are the home countries of many top players, parts of the USA due to Latin inmigration, and also in Japan because of the club's success in recent years at the Intercontinental Cup held in Japan. All over the world, fans are drawn to Boca by the club's international titles, and by the successes of Boca players who went on to play in European football such as Diego Maradona, Gabriel Batistuta and Juan Román Riquelme.
Others
Boca Juniors was the fifth football club in the world to have its own TV channel, opened in 2003. Boca TV broadcasted 24 hours a day, featuring sports programs and talk shows. The channel was closed in 2005.
There is a line of Boca coffins available for dead fans
[3], as well as the official Boca's cemetery[4].
Boca has its own fleet of taxies[5].
Another of Boca Juniors' products is the Boca Wine.[6].
Football Titles
Amateur
First Division: 7
1919, 1920, 1923, 1924, Copa de Honor 1925, 1926, 1930
Professional
Local (23)
First Division: 22
1931, 1934, 1935, 1940, 1943, 1944, 1954, 1962, 1964, 1965, Nacional 1969, Nacional 1970, Metropolitano 1976, Nacional 1976, Metropolitano 1981, Apertura 1992, Apertura 1998, Clausura 1999, Apertura 2000, Apertura 2003, Apertura 2005, Clausura 2006.
Copa Argentina: 1
1969
International (16)
Copa Libertadores: 5
1977, 1978, 2000, 2001, 2003
Intercontinental Cup: 3
1977, 2000, 2003
Recopa Sudamericana: 3
1990, 2005, 2006
Copa Sudamericana: 2
2004, 2005
Other International Cups: 3
Supercopa 1989, Copa Masters 1992, Copa de Oro 1993
Records
40 consecutive Argentine-league matches unbeaten. (Argentine record) From 5 May 1998 to 2 June 1999, with 29 victories and 11 ties[7].
Coaches
Boca's two most successful coaches were Juan Carlos Lorenzo (1976~79, 1987), and Carlos Bianchi (1998-2001, 2003~04). Toto Lorenzo won five titles with the team, including the Libertadores Cup in 1977 and 1978, the Intercontinental Cup in 1977, and the Metropolitano and Nacional in 1976. Bianchi won nine, including Aperturas in 1998, 2000 and 2003, the 1999 Clausura, the Libertadores Cup in 2000, 2001, and 2003, and the Intercontinental Cup in 2000 and 2003. On 22nd August, 2006, it was announced that Ricardo Lavolpe would take over the post of coach on September 15, replacing Alfio Basile, who has been selected to manage Argentina National Football Team.
Current squad
As of August 6, 2006
1 GK Aldo Bobadilla
2 DF Matías Agustín Silvestre
3 DF Claudio Marcelo Morel Rodríguez
4 DF Hugo Benjamín Ibarra
5 MF Fernando Rubén Gago
6 DF Daniel Alberto Díaz
7 FW Guillermo Barros Schelotto
9 FW Martín Palermo
10 MF Guillermo Andrés Marino
13 GK Javier Hernán García
14 FW Rodrigo Palacio
15 DF José María Calvo
16 FW Marcelo Alejandro Delgado
19 MF Neri Raúl Cardozo
21 MF Sebastián Battaglia
23 MF Jesús Dátolo
24 MF Juan Ángel Krupoviesa
25 GK Pablo Migliore
27 MF Pablo Ledesma
28 MF Jonatan Ramón Maidana
29 MF Andrés Franzoia
Boca Latest news
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