Club Atlético Boca Juniors
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- Boca Juniors redirects here, for other uses see Boca Juniors (disambiguation).
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| Full name | Club Atlético Boca Juniors | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Xeneizes, Boquita | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1905 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | La Bombonera, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
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| Capacity | 57,400 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman |  Mauricio Macri |
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| Head Coach | vacant |
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| League | Argentine Primera División | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006 Apertura | 1st (lost Title playoff against Estudiantes |
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Club Atlético Boca Juniors is 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 (one more than Real Madrid, A.C. Milan and Independiente), including five Copa Libertadores and three Intercontinental Cup. The club has also won 22 Argentine professional championships.
Boca Juniors finished in joint 12th place in the list of the FIFA Clubs of the 20th Century (a ranking based on votes by the readers of a bi-monthly FIFA Magazine on December 2000). The club is also 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). As of the latest ranking (May 1, 2005 to April 30, 2006) they occupied eighteenth place.
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[edit] History
[edit] Foundation
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 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 (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.
[edit] 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. 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. [1]
[edit] Kit Evolution
- First kit evolution
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- Away and special editions
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[edit] Crest
The 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.
[edit] La Bombonera
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
[edit] 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" ("la mitad mas uno") 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.
[edit] 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 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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].
[edit] Institutional
Executive Board 2004-2007
- President: Mauricio Macri
- 1st Vice-president: Pedro Pompilio
- 2nd Vice-president: Gregorio Diego Zidar
- 3rd Vice-president: José Anunciado Cirillo
- Secretary: Luis Bartolomé Buzio
[edit] Other sports
The Boca Juniors basketball team has won the Argentine league twice (1996~97, 2003~04), the Argentine Cup (Copa Argentina 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006), the Argentine Top 4 (2004), and the South American Club Championship (2004, 2005, 2006). It also reached the 2005 national finals (losing to Ben Hur). Their home arena is the Luis Conde Arena, better known as La Bombonerita (small Bombonera).
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 player Marcelo Gigante; after playing in the second division, it returned to the A1 league in 2005.
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 Pernía 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.
[edit] Football honours
[edit] First Division: 22
[edit] International Cups
[edit] Records
[edit] Notable former players
[edit] Before 1970
[edit] 1970s and 1980s
[edit] 1990s
[edit] 2000s
[edit] Notable current players
[edit] CoachesBoca'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. [edit] Current squad
[edit] External links
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