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Club Atletico Boca Juniors
Club Atletico Boca Juniors is a popular Argentine sports club, 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 Estadio Alberto J. Armando (La Bombonera).
Boca have won a South American record 17 international titles, second only to AC Milan in world football who have 18. Their haul includes six Copa Libertadores and three World Club crowns (Copa Intercontinental) and one Copa Oro and Supercopa Masters. The club has also won 22 Argentine professional championships.
The club is a permanent fixture in the International Federation of Football History & Statistics Club World Ranking top 30 and has reached the top position of the monthly ranking 6 times (mostly during coach Carlos Bianchi's tenure).
History
Foundation
On 3 April 1905, five Italian immigrants gathered in the Plaza Solis, 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 had originally introduced football into Argentina.
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 . With the introduction of professionalism in Argentina, Boca won the first title in 1931.
First Match: April 21, 1905. vs. Mariano Moreno.
First international match: December 8, 1907. vs. Universal
First professional match: May 31, 1931 vs. Chacarita Juniors.
Team colours
The original jersey colour was pink, which was quickly abandoned for thin black-and-white vertical stripes. The legend has it that in 1906 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 which was the 4146 ton freighter Drottning Sophia, sailing from Copenhagen. As the boat was from Sweden, yellow and blue were adopted as the new team colours. The first version had a yellow diagonal band, which was later changed to a horizontal stripe.
Kit Evolution and rare kits
;First kit evolution
;Rare models and special editions
(*)this model was worn just for 2 matches during a summer tournament in 2005.
Crest
The club have had five different crests in their history, the outer 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 and internationally (bottom part). A new star was added to the corresponding section whenever Boca wins a title. To the delight of fans, the crest had to be modified several times in recent years. In 2007 the club changed its crest to include only 3 stars, one for each Intercontinental Cup / Club world title .
La Bombonera
Boca Juniors used several fields before settling on the current grounds on Brandsen. Their first ground was in la Darsena Sur but it was vacated in 1907 because it failed to meet the minimum requirements of the league, they then used three pitches in the Isla Demarchi area between 1908 and 1912. Between 1914 and 1915 the club moved away from La Boca for the only time in their history, moving to Wilde in the Avellaneda Partido of the Buenos Aires Province but a relatively poor season and low attendances in 1915 forced them to move back to La Boca.
On May 25 1916 Boca opened their new stadium on the intersection of Calle Ministro Brin and Calle Senguel they stayed there until 1924 when they moved to their current location on Calle Brandsen and Calle Del Crucero.
Construction work on the concrete structure of their current stadium started in 1938 under the supervision of Engineer Jose L.Delpini. Boca played their home matches in the Ferrocarril Oeste field in Caballito until the structure was completed in 1940. A third level was added in 1953, giving the ground its nickname La Bombonera ('The Chocolate Box'). The side opposite the Casa Amarilla railway platforms remained mostly unbuilt until 1996, when it was upgraded with new balconies and VIP booths. Three sides of the Bombonera are made up of traditional sloping stadium stands, but the fourth side had to be built vertically, with several seating areas stacked one on top of the other, to stay within the stadium's property. La Bombonera is renowned for vibrating when fans start to jump in rhythm; in particular, the unique vertical side will sway slightly, leading to the phrase "La Bombonera no tiembla. Late" ("the Bombonera does not tremble. It beats.").
The Bombonera currently has a capacity of around 61,000, the club's popularity make tickets hard to find, especially for the Superclasico game against River Plate. There are planned improvements for the stadium, including measures to ease crowd congestion, use of new technology in the stadium and improved corporate facilities.
Darsena Sud: 1908 - 1912
Wilde: 1914 - 1915
Brins y Senguel: 1916 - 1924
Brandsen: from 1924
Fans
Boca Juniors is traditionally regarded as the club of Argentina's working class, in contrast with the supposedly more upper-class base of cross-town archnemesis Club Atletico River Plate .
Boca Juniors claims to be the club of "half plus one" ("la mitad mas uno") of Argentina's population, but a 2006 survey placed its following at 40%, still the largest share.
The Boca-River Superclasico rivalry is one of the most thrilling derbies in the world. Boca have won 114, River 102 and there have been 100 draws. After each match (except ties), street signs cover Buenos Aires, at fans' own expense, "ribbing" the losing side with humorous posters. This has become part of Buenos Aires culture 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 (Manure Handler) 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 ultimate 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 "Bosteros". There is a society which dedicates its entire life to the team which is known as la numero 12 or La Doce
International
Penas (fan clubs) exist in many Argentine cities, and abroad, in countries such as Spain, Israel [*] and Japan.
Boca Juniors are particularly popular 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,Claudio Paul Caniggia, Gabriel Batistuta, Juan Roman Riquelme and Carlos Tevez.
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 immigration and its plan to create a Boca USA for 2008 either in New York or Miami.
Facts
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, as well as the official Boca's cemetery.
Boca has its own fleet of taxis operating in Buenos Aires.
Another of Boca Juniors' products is the Boca Wine..
Superclasico
Main article: Superclasico
Boca Juniors have had a long standing rivalry with River Plate. The Superclasico is known worldwide as one of world football's fiercest and most important rivalries. It is particularly noted for the passion of the fans, the stands of both teams feature fireworks, coloured confetti, flags and rolls of paper. Both sets of supporters sing passionate songs (often based on popular Argentine rock band tunes) against their rivals, and the stadiums are known to bounce with the simultaneous jumping of the fans. Sometimes the games have been known to end in riots between the hardest supporters of both sides or against the police. The English newspaper The Observer put the Superclasico at the top of their list of 50 sporting things you must do before you die.
The two clubs both have origins in the poor riverside area of Buenos Aires known as La Boca. River however moved to the more affluent district of Nunez in the north of the city in 1923.
In the overall match historial, Boca Juniors has beaten River Plate more times (6561)
Institutional
Executive Board
President: Pedro Pompilio
1st Vice-president:
2nd Vice-president: Gregorio Diego Zidar
3rd Vice-president: Jose Anunciado Cirillo
Secretary: Luis Bartolome Buzio
Other sports
Basketball
The Boca Juniors basketball team has won the Argentine league three times , five Argentine Cups , the Argentine Top 4 (2004), and three South American Club Championships . It also reached the 2004/2005 national finals (losing to Ben Hur). Their home arena is the Luis Conde Arena, better known as La Bombonerita (small Bombonera).
Volleyball
Boca Juniors has a professional volleyball team that won the Metropolitan championship in 1991, 1992 and 1996, and achieved the second place in the 1996/97 A1 season. Because of a lack of sponsors, the team was disbanded, but later it was reincorporated through the coaching of former Boca player Marcelo Gigante; after playing in the second division, it returned to the A1 league in 2005.
Other
Starting 2005, the Argentine Turismo Carretera stock-car competition league spun off the Top Race V6 category, in which teams are sponsored by football teams. Veteran race pilots Ortelli and Bessone and former Boca player Vicente Pernia drive for the Boca team; Ortelli finally won the first Top Race V6 championship for Boca Juniors.
Women Football Titles 8: 1992, 1998, 1999, 2000 (unbeaten), 2001 Apertura, 2002 Clausura, 2003 Apertura, and 2004 Apertura.
In Futsal, Boca has won 4 Championships: 1991, 1992, Clausura 1997, and Apertura 1998.
Boca representatives also compete in other disciplines such as judo, karate, taekwondo, and weight lifting.
Football honours
{| width="100%" |width="50%" valign="top"|Amateurs (6)
First Division: 23
International Cups
;International Conmebol Titles (17)
Records
Boca Juniors held the world record 17 official international titles, until they lost the most recent 2007 FIFA Club World Cup against Milan who now hold 18 titles.
Boca Juniors have the most official titles in Argentine football, both in the professional era, with 40 titles (46 including amateur titles).
Boca Juniors were awarded the title "Campeon de Honor" (Honour Champion) in 1925, due to a highly successful tour through Europe in which the club played Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad, as well as German and French teams, with an impressive record of 15 wins, one draw and three defeats. This title was declared official by the Asociacion del Futbol Argentino, thereby increasing the total number of official titles to 47.
40 consecutive Primera Division matches unbeaten - an Argentine record: from 5 May 1998 to 2 June 1999, with 29 victories and 11 draws.
Three times winner of the Intercontinental Cup (now replaced by FIFA Club World Cup), a record tied with Sao Paulo, Penarol, Nacional, Milan and Real Madrid.
Current squad
As of February 12, 2008
note: these squad numbers are for domestic tournaments only and were published in Boca Juniors official website.
note 2: Mouche asked Guillermo Barros Schelotto for permission to wear number 7
Notable players
see also
Top scorers
see also Boca Juniors topscorers
Roberto Cherro (1926-1938) 221 goals
Francisco Varallo (1931-1939) 194 goals
Domingo Tarasconi (1922-1932) 193 goals
Martin Palermo 181 goals
Jaime Sarlanga (1940-1948) 128 goals
Mario Boye 124 goals
Delfin Benitez Caceres (1932-1938) 115 goals
Amateur Era (1905-31)
Pedro Calomino
Americo Tesoriere (GK) (1916~27)
Alfredo Garasini (1916~28)
Ramon Muttis (1923~32)
Ludovico Bidoglio (1922~31)
Domingo Tarasconi (1922~32)
Roberto Cherro (1926~35)
Pedro Arico Suarez (1929~42)
Professional Era (1931-present)
1930s - 1970s
Francisco Varallo (1931~39)
Juan Elias Yustrich (GK) (1932~37)
Delfin Benitez Caceres (1932-38)
Natalio Pescia (1933~42)
Ernesto Lazzatti (1934~47)
Jaime Sarlanga (1940~48)
Mario Boye
Severino Varela (1943~45)
Jose Borello (1945-50)
Juan Francisco Lombardo (1952-60)
Antonio Rattin (1956~70)
Silvio Marzolini (1960~72)
Antonio Roma (GK) (1960~72)
Paulo Valentim (1960~64)
Carmelo Simeone (1962~67)
Angel Rojas "Rojitas" (1963~71)
Alfredo "El Tanque" Rojas (1964~68)
Norberto Ruben Madurga (1965~71)
Ramon Hector Ponce (1966~74)
Julio Melendez (1968~72)
Ruben Sune
1970s - 1990s
Enzo Ferrero (1971~75)
Osvaldo Potente
Roberto Mouzo (1971~84)
Hugo Curioni (Joint topscorer Metropolitano 1973)
Marcelo Trobbiani
Alberto Tarantini (1973~77)
Vicente "Tano" Pernia (1973~81)
Jorge "Chino" Benitez (1973~83)
Carlos Garcia Cambon (1974~77)
Dario Luis Felman (1975~78)
Mario Zanabria (1976~80)
Ernesto "Heber" Mastrangelo (1976~81)
Pancho Sa (1976~81) (World Record 6 Copa Libertadores titles)
Hugo Orlando Gatti 1976~89) (GK) (765 matches)
Ricardo Gareca
Diego Armando Maradona
Miguel Angel Brindisi (1981~82)
Jorge Comas (1986~89)
Jose Luis Cuciuffo (1987~90)
Claudio Marangoni (1988~90)
Carlos Daniel Tapia (1985~94)
Juan Simon (1988~94)
Diego Latorre
Carlos Navarro Montoya (1988~96) (GK)
Juan Ramon Rocha 1979~80)
Blas Giunta
1990s - 2000s
Gabriel Batistuta (1990~91)
Alberto Marcico (1992~95)
Sergio "Manteca" Martinez (1992~97)
Cristian "Kily" Gonzalez (1995~96)
Nelson Vivas (1994~97)
Rodolfo Arruabarrena (1993~2000)
Ruben Da Silva (1994~95)
Diego Cagna
Juan Roman Riquelme
Claudio Paul Caniggia (1995~98)
Juan Sebastian Veron (1996)
Nolberto Solano (1997~98)
Jorge Bermudez (1997~2002)
Walter Samuel (1997~2000)
Oscar Cordoba (1997~2001) (GK)
Mauricio "Chicho" Serna (1998~2002)
Anibal Samuel Matellan
Guillermo Barros Schelotto (1997~2007)
Franco Cangele (2002~04)
Nicolas Burdisso (1999~04)
Roberto Abbondanzieri (1997~2006) (GK)
Raul Alfredo Cascini (2001~04)
Rolando Schiavi (2001~05)
Marcelo Delgado
Fernando Gago (2004~06)
Carlos Tevez (2001~04)
Clemente Rodriguez
Pedro Iarley (2003~04)
Andres Guglielminpietro (2004~05)
Daniel Bilos (2005~06)
Federico Insua (2005~06)
Daniel Diaz (2005~07)
Coaches
Boca's two most successful coaches were Juan Carlos Lorenzo , and Carlos Bianchi, . 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 22 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. Lavolpe failed to continue Basile's chain of success, losing the 2006 Apertura championship in spite of a 4 points advantage with only two rounds to go.
Miguel Russo was hired as Lavolpe's replacement. Boca took second place to San Lorenzo de Almagro in the 2007 Clausura tournament, but went on to win the Copa Libertadores with a 5-0 overall rout of Brazilian Gremio.
Chairmen
Pedro Pompilio is the current chairman of Boca Juniors.
External links
www.pasionxeneize.com.ar / El Foro de la Pasion Xeneize
Boca Juniors results and Statistics at RSSSF
La Mitad Mas Uno (Half Plus One)
Carnaval Toda La Vida (The present time and statistic)
ArchivoFutbol.com - Team-specific news about Argentine Soccer
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Club Atletico Boca Juniors
