the two fans in the Kempes, the special condiment that gives heat and color to the Superclásico in Córdoba

The most important match in Argentine football will once again have both fans in a stadium after 6 years. The fans of River and of Boca They will share the stands at the Kempes de Córdoba, something that is no longer common, due to the prohibition that has been in place on visitors for more than a decade and because from 2018 to the present they had not faced each other inside or outside the country.

“Come on mouth!!!”some shout when they see a blue and yellow t-shirt in the central streets of Córdoba. “Hold on River!!!”return those who wear the red band on their chest.

The effervescence of the Superclásico began to be felt on Saturday night, with the arrival of many River and Boca fans. And in the center of the city, steps from the Patio Olmosthe duel of fans broke out with pure singing.

“I am Bostero and Boca that is the joy of my heart, I would give my life to be champion,” the Xeneizes fans intoned as if they were in the Bombonera. And they continued: “Despite the gas, the blows received, I will always be by your side, dear Boca Juniors.” And the car horns were added.

On the other side, River’s team responded with a song that aimed directly at their eternal rival. “People wonder, what happened to Boca? What happened to Boca that no longer exists? Now I’ll tell you, what happened to Boca, that lost the Cup, died in Europe and no longer exists”… , the River Plate people intoned as if they were in the vicinity of Udaondo and Figueroa Alcorta.

But not. They were not in Buenos Aires. The Superclásico moved to La Docta. And the last time that the two fans shared a city and stadium in the country happened on March 14, 2018 when River won the Argentine Super Cup against Boca in Mendoza. And outside of Argentina, in the final of the Copa Libertadores in Madrid, on December 9 of that year, when Millonario beat Xeneize 3-1.

“It gives me great expectations that both fans are in the stadium, we are going to win the Superclásico there too”predicts Federico, a member of the River branch in this province from Córdoba who was at the reception for the Núñez team. “Let everything end like the last time we shared the court, in Madrid, heh”wishes Rodrigo, who traveled a few kilometers from Río Cuarto to see his idols up close.. “I am excited to have the Superclásico in our city and I will be in the stands leaving everything to cheer more than the bosteros”says Victoria, from Buenos Aires by birth, from Córdoba at heart and by adoption, who is also part of the “Córdoba next to River” subsidiary.

On the other hand, there is also an extra adrenaline rush from having the rival fans in front of you. “We are going to show them once again what a party in the stands is.”“says Martín, who arrived from Buenos Aires flagged in blue and yellow. And his friend Fernando redoubles: “We are going to make ourselves heard more. And I hope we end up celebrating a victory.” And Lucas, who arrived from Villa Luzuriaga, feels confident: “The Boca stands are going to be a party and we are going to pass. If it is not in the 90 minutes, it will be in the penalties, but we pass.”

For the fans, it will surely be special that they are both fans at Kempes. If you go further back in time, you remember that the last Superclásicos with both partialities in the Bombonera and the Monumental, they were 1-1 in the 2013 Final and 2-2 (the day the River fans raised a party favor to the Centenario Alta, where the Boca supporters were ) from Initial 2012.

Until that moment, it was common to see fans of both teams not only in the stands of their stadiums, but also throughout the interior of the country, when the summer friendlies were played, whether in Mar del Plata, Mendoza or Córdoba, as reflected the president of Boca Juan Román Riquelme in the press conference given by leaders and players of both clubs on Friday at noon at the AFA grounds in Ezeiza.

And what’s more: When the official classics were played, whether in Núñez or La Boca, the visitors had a great presence. They gave Boca the entire Centenario stand (the popular one, at the top and the lower seats) and River two trays (high and the middle one) from the stand that faces the Riachuelo.

However, this was modified from 2005, when the former president of Boca Mauricio Macri decided to only give the tray to River fans to guarantee more places for members xeneizes (and also wanted to have fewer visitors in Argentine football) and the leadership millionaireheaded by José María Aguilaradopted the same position and began to give a Centenario playpen to the Boca fans, so that the River fans could also occupy a large part of that tribune.

Currently, there are still no visitors but the possibility of these crossings occurring on neutral ground in the League Cup It gives the possibility that they will meet again in a stadium, something that could not happen in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. In any case, the regulations were different and in the quarterfinals there would have only been an audience from Boca, since before the first head-to-head of this competition was played on the field of the best classified and in that case it was Miguel Russo’s team, so it was played in the Bombonera.

Due to the pandemic, the fans were also unable to see each other in the round of 16 of the Argentine Cup when they crossed paths in the City of La Plata. Both matches ended tied and Boca advanced by winning on penalties.

And there was no chance that between the final in Madrid and the pandemic they could be from tribune to tribune in a summer friendly since, mysteriously, after the clash at the Bernabéu, those games were stopped being played.

Six years later, now River and Boca fans are in the same stadium again. The presence of red and white and blue and yellow at the same time in the stands will be another of the condiments that this special meeting has, which will leave one on the road and the other will advance in the League Cup. There will be that coming and going from the stands, with the songs from one side and the other.

“Take it, give it to me, he who doesn’t jump, Madrid died.”, will be intoned on one side. “And he sees it, and he sees it, the one who doesn’t jump went to B”, they will return from the other side. And so the typical folklore of Argentine football can be palpitated, well understood. May passion not be confused with violence. So that there are many more River-Boca, with both fans in the stadium.