World Soccer.—Another edition of the Argentine Superclásico will be played this Sunday, and yes: the country in the Southern Cone will come to a standstill, as will much of the soccer world, as everyone turns their attention to this matchup. The 267th Superclásico between Boca Juniors and River Plate will take place on Sunday, November 1, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time (3:00 p.m. in Argentina) at La Bombonera, and here are five things you didn’t know about this match.
Number one: a Superclásico with Boca playing at home at the Monumental. In 1984, La Bombonera was closed, and for the first and only time in history, Boca played at home at the Monumental Stadium. That day, the match ended in a 1-1 draw, with goals by Enzo Francescoli for River and Oscar Ruggeri for Boca. Argentina’s most passionate derby, played at the home of its eternal rival.
Number two: the only player to win back-to-back titles with both teams. Norberto “Beto” Menéndez holds an unbreakable record: he was a champion with both River Plate and Boca Juniors. He won three titles with the Millonarios and three with the Xeneizes. No one else has ever achieved that: winning the Argentine soccer championship while wearing the two most prestigious jerseys in the country.
Number three: Ángel Labruna, the eternal tormentor. The River Plate icon is the all-time leading scorer in the Superclásico with sixteen goals. Labruna, a River Plate legend both as a player and as a coach, made the match against Boca his favorite stage, and his record remains one of the hardest to break in the history of the classic rivalry.
Number four: the highest-scoring Superclásico in history. In 1972, the Monumental witnessed absolute madness: Boca defeated River 5–4 in a match that had it all—penalties, red cards, and nine goals in ninety minutes. It remains, to this day, the Superclásico with the most goals—a match still remembered as one of the wildest in Argentine soccer history.
Number five: Maradona, the idol who also struggled. Although Diego Maradona put on great performances for Boca against River, he never managed to score a goal against them at La Bombonera. His only goal against the eternal rival came at the Monumental in 1981. Not even the greatest of them all could settle that score at the Xeneize’s home stadium.
The 267th Superclásico between Boca Juniors and River Plate will be played this Sunday, November 1, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. It will be broadcast in South America on ESPN Premium, TNT Sports, and Disney+; in Mexico on ESPN and Disney+; and in the United States on FOX Deportes, ViX, FOX One, and Fanatiz. And don’t forget to follow all the Superclásico action and much more at futbolmundial.com.
