World capital of football

Long before I arrived in Buenos Aires, I knew that the main focus of my visit to the city would be local football. No other city in the world has more professional clubs, more unique stadiums and more crazy fans of all kinds of cult clubs than Buenos Aires. Boca Junios, River Plate, Racing Club, San Lorenzo - even if you're not a fan of the round ball, you've at least heard of one of the city's big clubs. Football here is much more than just a sport and a pastime; the clubs are firmly anchored in their respective districts and also fulfill a social function. In addition to the stadium and the football department, there is usually a fairly large selection of other sporting activities to be enjoyed in the club and so a large proportion of the residents of the district are connected to the local club in some way. Tennis, swimming, padel, boxing, basketball and so on - there are plenty of sports facilities and if you don't do any kind of sport, you can at least take the time to go to the local clubhouse for a quick chat or a long dinner with your neighbours. Even in the larger area around the club facilities you will find a whole lot of paintings and graffiti in the respective colours and with reference to your beloved sports club.

The fascination and passion associated with ball sports here cannot be easily put into words. Often the proverbial last shirt is given for the club, football is king above all else and is also a more than welcome distraction from the often very hard everyday life in the crisis-ridden country. To illustrate the madness with a short example: another German who I met in Buenos Aires and with whom I attended a few games told me about an encounter with a supporter of the club from Quilmes: with incredible hospitality, we were invited to an afternoon asado in the garden before the game - after the culinary feast, we were given a short tour of the house. Given the general condition of the floor, you didn't want to take your shoes off and the furnishings were rather spartan. In the bedroom, however, the wardrobe was opened and the well over 100 different Quilmes jerseys - some still wrapped in foil and meticulously folded - were proudly presented. The priorities here are therefore very clear. ;)

If you then make your way to the stadium, you will find yourself at a kind of fair. All kinds of utensils in the club's colors are on offer, there is grilling and drinking. The large number of cut-off Coca-Cola bottles is striking - the national drink of the Argentinians, Fernet Branca - mixed with cola and served in halved bottles is a must here before every game. A huge amount of this strange-tasting bitter liqueur is consumed here every day on match days.

This is just a brief preview and intro - if you want a detailed insight into the madness, I recommend the documentary "Ecstasy and Shock - Football Capital Buenos Aires" from YouTube. In total, over 30 games were attended in the greater city area - including the "Big Five" of Argentine football - Boca, River, Racing, San Lorenzo and Independiente, and some of them found themselves in corners that the average Argentine would probably not step foot in if there wasn't a good reason. But there was one - and in most cases the overall package was fascinating and absolutely worth seeing. A small selection of some of the games attended with all sorts of interesting side stories can now be found here:

19.03.2024 – Argentinos Juniors – Rosario Central:

The first game in Argentina, Diego Maradona's youth team against the reigning Argentinian champions. After getting tickets for entry (the Argentinos have a special tourist ticket office and a separate area for football tourists), we went into the stadium and the heavens opened. There was an unbelievable downpour until shortly before kick-off. We stuffed our bodies under the much too short roof construction with all sorts of other Europeans and waited for the situation to improve. On the other hand, in the uncovered stands, all the supporters retreated into the mouth holes and it seemed quite questionable whether the game could take place under these conditions. Fortunately, the heavy rain abated a little shortly before kick-off and the game could go ahead. The other stands also slowly filled up and we were able to experience for the first time what the much-praised fan culture in Argentina can do. An absolute highlight, both visually and acoustically. The Barra's performance was like a concert and between the background music and the really good football game, you had the feeling that you were at an opera performance rather than in a stadium. That really made you want more. 90 minutes of an absolutely top atmosphere and then a quick trip to the club's own Diego Maradona Museum. The Argentinos Juniors are the ball magician's youth club and so they proudly display all kinds of relics from Maradona's life.

21.03.2024 – San Lorenzo de Almagro – Godoy Cruz 1:0

San Lorenzo – the first stadium visit to one of the 5 big clubs in Argentine football.

After the demolition of their home stadium, "El Gasometro" in Almagro in 1981, San Lorenzo has now been playing in exile far away from their own district for over 40 years. For years, fans have been trying to return to the club's place of origin and roots, and it currently looks as though this ambitious goal could be realized in the future. However, promises and plans are a tricky thing in Argentina, and it will be interesting to see whether this can actually be implemented. Due to the distance between the district and the stadium, a huge convoy of people moves through the city in buses and cars on match days, and it is fun to watch the hustle and bustle and the buses decorated with all kinds of flags, while various instruments and the singing skills of the fans accompany the scenery.

The area around the stadium is not exactly the best and standing in front of the main stand you have a good view of the villa behind it. The area does not look inviting and so after a quick beer purchase on the other side of the street you decide to watch from a distance. In the stadium itself you have a wonderful view of the city and the approaching sunset from the top of the back straight. At the same time you can see the Barra of San Lorenzo entering the stadium (a wonderfully loud and melodic spectacle) and as the game progresses you are amazed at the large selection of different songs that the fans are loudly singing. That was really good, the performance in the stands definitely made a lasting impression (in contrast to the hustle and bustle on the pitch). Since the taxi and Uber situation was quite precarious after the game, a local resident decided to drive us back to Palermo for a small sum - Argentina, you like that kind of thing.

22.03.2024 – CA Independiente – Deportivo Laferrere 3:0

Cup game – in Argentina that means a neutral stadium and, in contrast to the league games, fans from both camps are allowed in large numbers. The big Independiente against the lower-class club from a suburb of the city – what was a clear story for the favorites on the pitch was exactly the opposite in the stands. The whole town had traveled there and an estimated 4,000 Laferrere fans made themselves at home in the guest section of the Lanus stadium. What a crazy bunch, what chaos and what noise throughout the entire game. Clear point win for Green-White! The game was interrupted several times because some Laferrere fans made themselves comfortable right at the top of the fences around the pitch. An absolutely brilliant spectacle and despite the defeat, the team's performance was celebrated to the full. A few days later we visited Laferrere for another home game, with a similar result: not as many this time (the cup game was of course much more important) but also very loud and crazy. This bunch from the outskirts of town is awesome. At one of the last home games, some of the fans arrived heavily armed (YouTube: Leferrere armados) and made a good impression, but when we visited, everything remained quiet.

25.03.2024 - Almirante Brown – Gimnasia de Mendoza 0:0

We were advised against visiting the Almirante area beforehand: too dangerous, too dark characters, too fucked up. But since other football tourists had already made it back to the city unscathed, we decided to visit anyway. The trip to Isidro Casanova in the west of the greater Buenos Aires area turned out to be a real treat in summer temperatures of around 25°. With a meager game and a missed penalty for the home team, the fence was rocked to cool down the heated tempers. The very good performance by La Barra de Brown, the color combination, the shabby old box with its various stands, various absolutely cool flags and graffiti on and in "El Fregata" and a constantly high mob factor - all of this was absolutely convincing. During the game, we were approached several times by Almirante supporters, asking us why we were here. They were visibly proud to note that we were interested in the local football club and even the club's own football channel wanted to record a short interview with us. So once again everything was completely different to what we had imagined and expected and it was a very pleasant experience to see how happily the people welcomed us here.

31.03.2024 – Nueva Chicago – Almirante Brown 1:0 and CA Independiente – Atletico Tucuman 1:1

A double match visit to Saturday and quite a big contrast: while in the first match, lower-league Nueva Chicago welcomed their opponent Almirante Brown in the district classic, the second match was also the second visit to one of the big clubs. Independiente, seven-time winners of the Copa Libertadores, welcomed Atletico from Tucuman. At the Clasico in League 2, the panoramic view of the packed main stand offered a beautiful spectacle for the eyes and ears. The importance of this Clasico is too high to keep a low tone. After a decent intro with a lot of smoke, things became a little more civilized as the game progressed, before the winning goal for Chicago in the 81st minute brought the place back up to temperature. That was decent! After the game, straight into the Uber and off to the next game. As time was short and there was a large crowd around Independiente's stadium, we decided to make a quick move, with the result that an overlooked edge on the curb hit me hard in the face. Luckily, only minor injuries - phew - it really could have turned out differently. So we got back up and went to the ticket counter. Then came the next surprise: because you get milked properly, with a ticket price of 50,000 pesos (about 50 euros) for the cheapest entry at the no-socio rate, we entered the concrete box in Avellaneda already feeling rather sour. In line with the terrible performance of their own team, the Barra(s) also decided to support on a low flame today. Great stadium - unfortunately, the rest could be improved a lot.

02.04.2024 – Central Cordoba – Quilmes AC 3:1

Cup match in Temperley: Central Cordoba from Santiago del Estero against the club from Quilmes.

The brewers from Quilmes (the local and very tasty beer from the greater Buenos Aires area) had already been visited at a game and the support was found to be absolutely fantastic. The same scenario again here: numerous, melodic, loud and absolutely wild. A wild brawl shortly after kick-off relaxed the completely overcrowded Quilmes stand. Some of those involved fled afterwards, the rest continued to raise the alarm. Business as usual in Temperley.

05.04.2024 – CA Velez Sarsfield – Argentinos Juniors 0:0

What a cool and impressive place, the Velez stadium. Several matches were played here during the 1978 World Cup. It's just wonderful to look at all the old huts that are still used for regular matches. If you decide to make the rather strenuous trek all the way up to the Platea Sur of El Fortin (as it is colloquially called), you will be rewarded with a spectacular view of the stadium and the surrounding area - assuming you don't suffer from vertigo. I can't remember ever having stood so high up in a stadium, it's pretty spectacular to see. Otherwise: very good intro, level of play rather poor, atmosphere quite OK depending on the game. Absolutely recommended here, the Pancheria directly behind the stadium: top service and the best Choripan for a small sum - that gets a 10 out of 10.

06.04.2024 – CA San Telmo – CA Chaco For Ever 2:0

Second game on Isla Maciel (which isn't actually an island) and after the first visit to Dock Sud was quite relaxed, this time we were warned by locals against visiting. The San Telmo stadium is in the middle of the barrio and is reportedly one of the most feared and dangerous areas in the greater Buenos Aires area. None of the people we spoke to beforehand would voluntarily set foot in this area. However, there were also reports from other Germans who had been here and reported a pretty wild but ultimately problem-free game visit. So we trusted the German and got into the Uber. On the way to the island we briefly discussed the possibility of a pick-up with the Uber driver, but the colleague at the wheel showed little interest and pointed out the possibility of calling a taxi or Uber after the game. Various sources said that this was probably not possible from the island but the colleague would know in the end and so we trusted the report and jumped out of the vehicle near the stadium. Wow, it's a wild area here. As we reported, we found ourselves in the middle of the barrio. Simple and sometimes wildly cobbled-together buildings, sinister figures and all kinds of trouble - and in the middle of it all, two gringos looking for the ticket booth. Well, that could be something. After a quick visit around the stadium and all kinds of scrutinizing looks from the residents, we found the ticket office. Everything went smoothly and we were off to the living room!

Here again an absolutely flawless performance by the Barra. In addition to the wildest dance and singing, they also performed some songs that they had never heard before. So, soak up the atmosphere for 90 minutes and then get out of here as quickly as possible. That turned out to be not so easy, however, because long before the final whistle I realized that there were no taxis, Ubers or any other transport services available in the barrio. So the only option was to go to the bus station, which took us right through the district. As we left the stadium, we were stopped by the police and told that the route we had taken was not safe and that we should please take another route to the bus stop. No sooner said than done, and we passed all sorts of strange characters, right through the district. At the bus stop, we observed the surroundings while waiting for the bus and were eyed up by a local who was apparently just dropping off his mother-in-law at some kind of art school. The colleague asked us in surprise what we were doing here. Our answer that we were waiting for the bus out of the district made him shake his head in surprise. He made it clear to us that this was absolutely not a suitable place for us and more or less pushed us into his car to drive us off the island. On the short drive over to San Telmo, the good man then gave a monologue about the situation in his district. It was not possible to understand everything, but the constant expression "Peligroso = dangerous" indicated that he thought it was a completely stupid idea for us to hang around on the island. Anyway, we gave the gentleman a tip for his services and arrived back on the other side of the river in San Telmo. In the end, everything turned out well, although I have to admit that the area around the stadium is not a place where you want to spend any longer than absolutely necessary.

07.04.2024 – Racing Club – CA Lanus 2:0

Racing Club - what a legendary club and what an impressive stadium. El Cilindro - the cylinder, located right next to the stadium of Independiente, the big competitor in Avellaneda and surrounded by numerous stories and myths. One of them is the story of the 7 dead cats (if you're interested, google "Racing Club and the curse of the seven cats"). Back to the day's program: Having arrived at the stadium and still without tickets, we immediately took over the local restaurant and ordered a decent Choripan from the grill. We asked the grill master for tickets and after a short while a young man from the Barra appeared and asked us if 20,000 pesos for entry was okay for us. Perfect! So we quickly devoured the Chori (the young man made it clear to me several times that I should eat my meal in peace and that he had absolutely no stress about waiting) and then headed towards the cylinder.

At the stadium, a door was simply opened for us and we walked calmly into the large arena with our "guide". When we arrived in the block (which was actually the guest block), we were given brief instructions on how to climb over a fence onto the main stand, then we handed over our money and that was it. Best entry - really great! There was a brief queue at the fence, as all sorts of other visitors had the same idea, and then we climbed out of the rather overcrowded block onto the platea with a short artistic performance. When the game started, the entire stadium was there, everyone was going crazy, singing and celebrating - what an amazing atmosphere. Add to that this beautiful stadium nestled in the picturesque sunset and a game of a very high standard. It almost couldn't be better. An incredible number of details inside the cylinder captivate the curious eye, all the crazy and incredibly friendly people, all the flags and colors, the children playing next to the pitch (yes, the Argentinians like to bring their whole family to the stadium) and the Barra in such a good mood. I don't know how many people I exchanged brief words with that day, how many of the fans threw their arms around me when I celebrated a goal and how many kids looked curiously and with wide eyes at the strange-looking gringo, in any case it was the best stadium experience of my entire trip up to that point. With a lot of emotions and full of impressions, we then headed back to our accommodation - racing - that was really, really great!

For Berni – my Rostock companion – this was the last game in Argentina and also the last day of our four-week trip together. What a wonderful and eventful time we had and what an emotional day at the end – you have to let that sink in first.

09.04.2024 – Boca Juniors – Sportivo Trinidense 1:0

After the first attempt to watch a game in the world-famous chocolate box (La Bombonera) failed due to the South American mentality of our contact person, today was the second attempt and let me tell you this much: This time it worked. Since there is almost no way for visitors to buy tickets through regular channels for a visit to one of the most famous stadiums and one of the most glorious clubs on the South American continent, you need a contact and preferably one who doesn't charge horrendous prices in the three-digit range. It is still expensive, but that is the price you are willing to pay to be part of the Boca Juniors myth for once. Several hours before kick-off, I set off for the stadium with two other Germans. We already had the tickets in our pockets and so we could fully immerse ourselves in the hustle and bustle around the stadium. The ceremony that takes place here on match day is legendary and has the character of a folk festival. Thousands of people meet in their respective groups to get in the mood for the actual game. The group flags are hung in the surrounding trees or on the facades of houses, people sing, play music, grill, drink and celebrate. The experience in the area around the stadium alone is absolutely worth a visit and I have rarely seen such a crowd with all the crazy sideshows in the run-up to a game. The entire district is covered in blue and yellow and every little person feels like they play a key role in the wonderfully chaotic hustle and bustle.

After thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere, we went into the stadium and after a few checks and gates we found ourselves in the box of chocolates. A magical moment after having looked at countless photos, videos and reports about this place over the years. Awesome - this architecture, the three-tiered standing terraces, the backdrop in general and of course the myth, all of this leaves you frozen for a moment. When you take your seat in the main stand, however, you also notice that a large proportion of the seats in this area are occupied by visitors who, just like me, want to see a Boca game and who have also obtained tickets in some dubious way. There are even ushers who lead people to their seats, as one-time visitors often find it quite difficult to find their way around the wide arena. In the end, it's all a huge and lucrative business and quite a few of the actual season ticket holders will probably finance their lives with the income from ticket sales. But that is just the standard practice here and I will leave it to others to judge whether it is all morally acceptable. The atmosphere is generally quite good, but there is no real wow factor. Perhaps that is also due to the rather unattractive competition of the Copa Sudamericana (comparable to the Euroleague in Europe), but the real goosebumps moments in terms of atmosphere are unfortunately rare today. Although it is very impressive to watch the Barra of Boca - the so-called La Doce (La 12) at work and it does get very loud at times, I personally miss the complete singing of the songs in block strength, as I was used to from some small clubs and especially from Racing. But that is complaining at a very high level and it remains an absolutely impressive experience. After the final whistle, everyone surrendered themselves to the magical place for a few minutes in awe and then it was off to the pub - the impressions of the experience were exchanged over a few beers.

11.04.2024 – CA River Plate – Club Nacional de Football 2:0

Copa Libertadores – the South American equivalent of the Champions League. River Plate from Buenos Aires against the Nacional team from neighboring Montevideo. As it is also quite difficult to obtain tickets for River Plate through regular channels, I bought the tickets online through an official agency. The price here, at 39 euros for an international game, is quite reasonable and otherwise buying tickets online was completely straightforward. The real drama then took place when I picked up the tickets on the morning of the match day (a colleague from Germany accompanied me) at the official ticket office at the stadium. Immediately after we had received the tickets, I was stopped quite violently by a man in dark clothing. While he blocked my way, he put on a police vest and demanded that I show my ID. While I wanted to know the reason for this, other figures in uniform joined us and my colleague was also called in. Like a raiding party, the document was vehemently demanded and the order was reluctantly followed with gritted teeth. After a while, the reason given was that we had probably bought tickets illegally. We calmly showed the cops the official website, the emails and the payment confirmation and pointed out that the card transfers were legal. After about 30 minutes and showing all the documents to all sorts of people, we were told that we were victims of a so-called card mafia and that the police had intervened in time to protect us from further problems. What unbelievable nonsense! We pointed out the official website several times and also the fact that we had picked up the tickets at the official point of sale, but the men and a woman who had been brought in to help us didn't take logic very seriously and demanded that we hand over the tickets with all sorts of completely nonsensical explanations. We refused, of course, and the discussion became increasingly heated and aggressive. These idiots in uniform were seriously trying to get us to hand over the tickets using the most outrageous of reasons. During this dubious event we advised two Germans how we were going to get out of this situation, but good advice was hard to come by, because uniforms beat any logical argument, and it's no different in Argentina. We took a photo of the tickets and then tried one last time, and with the utmost emphasis, to make it clear that we were the wrong people to contact about the uniformed officers' behavior and referred them to the official sales point, which was about 20 meters behind us. To no avail, the cops wouldn't let us go and demanded the tickets with increasing aggression. When they finally threatened to arrest us, we finally had to give in and, swearing loudly and shouting all sorts of abuse, handed over the officially purchased tickets. After all, we're still in a foreign country, no idea what else these idiots are capable of. This spectacle lasted almost two hours in total, what a load of crap. So what now? First we left, sat down in front of a kiosk and got some advice. After all, everyone really wanted to see the game. The colleague had a ticket in stock, which he took for his girlfriend and which the cops hadn't noticed. In general, however, we couldn't explain the whole situation; apart from the fact that there were some dubious machinations behind it, the whole thing made no sense at all. Several locals we consulted confirmed our suspicions and said that this was probably common practice in some police circles here and that they then resell the tickets at a high price on the black market. Of course, I can't confirm this theory 100% from my own experience, but for me it would be the only logical explanation for all the madness that had gone on beforehand. However, there was still the problem with getting in; after all, we only had one ticket (thanks to Kevin's girlfriend, who gave up her ticket in favor of her partner) and the black market prices for this game were immensely high. The Argentinians advised us to get to the stadium early and try to get in somehow, after all I had a photocopy of my ticket with the barcode on it and this was what ultimately entitles me to entry. So a good 2.5 hours before kick-off I went back to the stadium, pulled my hood over my head (to protect myself from further harassment from the uniformed officers I already knew) and marched through several security checks. My pulse was pretty high and I actually spotted one of the gentlemen just before the ticket scanner, but luckily he was busy on his phone. Long live the digital world. :) My pulse was still in the red zone after that and I quickly spied on the ticket inspector with a practiced eye at the scanner, who would probably cause the least problems in the event of a possible argument. I showed my ID, had a photo of the ticket on my phone ready, said some stupid saying to distract me and swiped my cell phone with the barcode over the scanner - an extremely long 0.5 seconds and "beep", the turnstile opened. Phew, and without any complications or questions. I would never have thought it would be so "uncomplicated". Kevin followed shortly afterwards with his girlfriend's ticket and we disappeared into the distance of the stands. What a relief and what a joy to have outwitted the cops. Possibly and hopefully they had to put up with unpleasant questions afterwards as to why entry did not work for one of the tickets sold. After all, the barcode is blocked after the first scan and no further entry is possible. That would be great, but the story will probably never be completely resolved for us. In the stadium we then bridged the time until kick-off by eagerly staring. It's a real blast, the largest stadium in South America, with its almost 90,000 seats. The away section was also quite full, several thousand Nacional fans made the relatively short journey across the Rio de la Plata to support their team. Unfortunately we couldn't see it because the away section was directly above us. It was a pretty funny spectacle, though, as the two groups kept shouting insults at each other for almost the entire game. In general, the number of people in the stadium was pretty impressive, especially when the whole place started singing in unison. It really came across as brutal. Unfortunately, it happened far too rarely, and you could feel the tension and that the actual Barra, the Borrachos del Tablon, weren't in the stadium. The exact reasons for this can be found out pretty easily on the Internet. All in all, despite the history and the rather tough support, it was a good stadium experience. You can do it like that.

13.04.2024 – CA Huracan – Atletico Tucuman 4:0

I set off to Huracan with Daniel from Rostock, with whom I had already attended several games in Buenos Aires. The stadium is probably one of the most beautiful in Buenos Aires with its impressive architecture; the whole building is more like a museum than a stadium. Shortly before kick-off, the heavens opened and it rained heavily. Old stadiums are nice to look at, but often have no roof, so being there in heavy rain or other adverse weather conditions is not particularly pleasant. You could admire the impressive building and the really good game to some extent, but it was not a pleasure. The rain jacket did its job, but unfortunately everything else I was wearing was completely soaked. After warming up at half-time in the catacombs, you could see the heavy rain lashing through the mouth holes and walking up to the stands for the second half just felt awful, so completely wet and back out into the weather. Yes, football has to hurt sometimes and so we bravely held out until the end of the game before trudging back to our apartment like a wet poodle.

I could write a lot more about all the crazy characters, the brief encounters with all the people, about the chock-full, cut-off Coke bottles full of Fernet that you get handed by complete strangers. About the grill masters who put the burgers together with their bare hands while the cigarette is smoking in the other. About the entry controls that always opened as if by magic when you pulled out your ID from Germany and much more. But there are countless reports on this topic online and anyone who is interested can read plenty of material there. From my point of view, that's it on the subject of football in Buenos Aires, I've already written far too much about it. :)