Get ready for unbelievable football experience - Boca Juniors vs River Plate is considered to be the biggest game in the world!!!

Join me as I dive into the heart of this jaw-dropping, action-packed game in a stadium full of wild fans and ultras!

As an American soccer fan, I feel extremely grateful for the opportunity that destiny offered me, to see a Superclasico in a BIG match - a knockout stage fixture in the Argentine Primera Division! Even more meaning, energy, passion, and madness than usual!

Si hablas español, no la sudes te tenemos cubierto. Ven conmigo y experiencia Boca Jr. versus River Plate en el Superclásico. En este video verás el atmosférico electrizante, los fanáticos apasionados, y la rivalidad icónica entre estos clubes Argentinos. Únete conmigo para las celebraciones antes del juego, festejos y porras durante el juego, y la emoción del último chiflado. Esta fue una experiencia única en la vida, en la Bombonera. ¡Amo Argentina y arre Boca Jr!

It will give you chills ( "piel de la gallina" as the Argentines call it - "chicken skin")...it will make you emotional. It will make you sing and scream until your throat bleeds. You will hum the songs in your head for months on end. Whether it's a Superclasico at "La Bombonera" of Boca (considered the greatest sporting occasion in the world by some), or at the massive 80,000 capacity "El Monumental" of River, it is all anyone in Argentina can talk about for weeks.

Both sets of fans - La Doce (The 12th Man) of Boca and Los Borrachos del Tablon (The Terrace Drunkards) of River Plate set the tone for a charged, electric atmosphere. Waves of sound, songs, chanting smashing into each other above a pristine, verdant green pitch. Like a lightsaber fight in Star Wars - two forces combatting each other, fighting, clawing, inch by inch to gain ground.

I went solo on this adventure, but quickly met a group of like-hearted Boca fans that I'll call the Tucuman boys. They adopted me at the "previa" pregame festivities and even showed me how to properly drink a Fernet and Cola - the traditional drink of Argentine football (other than mate, of course!)

I felt like I'd known them for years and it was joy to see them experience the match like kids - jumping, singing, crying tears of joy and relief, telling jokes, getting into trouble... The power of this match transported them to another place, another universe. It is truly difficult to describe - and is best to be experienced.

Boca president Juan Roman Riquelme was seen cheering in the post match celebrations, and I'm sure Boca legend Diego Armando Maradona was watching (and helping) from heaven above.

Although I feel drawn to the color, the vibrancy, the lunacy of Boca Juniors, I hold immense respect for River Plate and their fans, who have also been hospitable, kind and welcoming to me during my journey here in Argentina. Their tifo during halftime and their post-goal jumping and cheering was incredible to witness, and they are a worthy adversary in soccer's most fanatic South American derby / rivalry.

I did my best to include lyrics to the songs (as far as Google translate and my faltering Spanish would allow), to illuminate the madness, passion, and seething fire present in Argentine football. Apologies to anyone offender by the language, but this is the reality and it deserves to be shared with the world.

As an avid football fan watching South American football from afar for over 15 years, this day felt like a pilgrimage, an homage, an act of faith and obedience to this wild, crazy, silly game played with a round ball. And it represented a resounding crescendo to 8 weeks of exploration into soccer culture in Argentina. Any groundhoppers, football addicts, or curious travellers MUST make a priority of seeing a Boca or River match when passing through Buenos Aires. It's worth the trip, I promise!

I cannot thank the Tucuman boys, my Boca platea Bosteros who jumped and cheered and hugged with me, and all the football aficionados of Argentina who have welcomed this Yankee from Philadelphia, this cousin of Rocky Balboa (LOL!!), with open minds and hearts into the corazon of one of the world's most hopelessly addicted and unique footballing cultures.

Watch more of my Argentina futbol experiences:
First Time at La Bombonera
   • FRONT ROW to Passion & Madness: My Fi...  
Argentina v Chile at Copa America
   • AMAZING PREGAME / PREVIA - Argentina ...  
Huracan Match
   • BALLOON CLUB? Argentina’s most unique...  
San Lorenzo Match
   • ONE OF THE BEST atmospheres in South ...  

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