League games in Ecuador and Bolivia had been a little disappointingly attended and the Estadio Monumental wasn't full, but well over half of the 100,000 seats were occupied by an amazing set of fans, so there was no disappointment at all. Football is huge in Argentina and an article I read said that 40% of Argentinian football fans claim to be Boca supporters and 34% River Plate supports. On the evidence we have seen, the Superclassico (River vs Boca) must be the biggest, most passionate derby match in the world by some distance.
As we climbed up the stand, there was a strong smell of weed being smoked, not just by a few fans, but great numbers of them, who had come to sing and get stoned. As the video below shows, the fans were chanting in huge numbers before they even got in to the ground. Just before kick-off, a procession of supporters bounced into the stand, banging drums, singing, carrying a long banner and filling a large section that had been left empty for them. After the banner came a section of red and white brollies, then big, waving flags. The sound doesn't come through well on the video clip, but the whole section of about 15,000 fans behind the goal were singing and chanting loudly, non-stop throughout the game. The only quiet period was half time when everyone sat down glassy eyed to have another joint. We felt a little at odds with the mood at this point as we were perky and chatting excitedly.
River Plate went one goal up early on but Lanus got one back at the start of the second half.Lanus defended very well and caused lots of problems on the counter attack with some excellent wide play. In the end, River Plate were lucky to hold on for a draw and the home fans vented their disgust with loud booing and screaming obscenities. Boca had drawn earlier on and the River players had the very cheek to do no better. Boo! As upset as they were, we loved it. We went to the game with Max, a friend from England, over in Buenos Aires learning Spanish. None of us had experienced an atmosphere like it before watching our own teams (Liverpool, Derby or even the mighty York). Hopefully we'll make it to see Boca at home next week to see how the fans compare.
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