Tag 46 - Buenos Aires

Kick-off for the match between Boca Juniors and Fortaleza in the Copa Sudamericana was only at 9 p.m. in the evening, so we still had plenty of time and started the day with a late breakfast. Then we took the bus to the "La Boca" district, where there were already loads of Boca fans. So that we didn't attract attention again in the evening and it is customary here to go to the stadium wearing the club's colors, we strolled through the numerous (unofficial) "fan shops" and got a jersey (Maradona) and a sweater for little money.

We walked a bit through the streets and around the stadium before we drove back to the apartment. On the way we stopped at a sandwich shop in Palermo (La Sanguchería 10-25), which is known as one of the best in the city. They were actually really delicious!

A good two hours later we finally set off for the meeting point in the San Telmo district, which was only a 20-minute walk from the stadium.

When we changed at the bus station and also in the morning at the stadium, we were constantly offered tickets for the game. However, we had organized these in advance through the guys from the first game at Chacarita, as there are a lot of fake tickets in circulation for Boca in particular. In the end, we didn't want to take the risk, even though they were obviously much more expensive. In a pub, we met Francisco and the rest of the group, which was larger this time than at the last game. After beer and burgers, we went to the stadium and the streets were packed with Boca fans, people selling beer and food and getting in the mood for the game. At the stadium, we had to go through a lot of checks, but they were never really checked, and we finally stood in front of the entrance to the huge La Bombonera stadium. We went up a lot of stairs to the third tier, from which we (finally) had an incredible view of the pitch and the stands. Only at South American Cup matches are away fans allowed, and many of them travelled from Brazil. Shortly before the match began, the entire stadium started singing, which was incredibly impressive and happened frequently during the match. Boca played very well, had a ton of chances but didn't manage to score until the 55th minute. When the time finally came and Boca scored to make it 1-0, the stadium went completely crazy.

After the goal, the performance dropped off massively and Fortaleza equalized shortly before the end. It was a shame and it seemed we were unlucky again.

Nevertheless, the fans in the standing blocks sang and celebrated long after the game had ended. For us, it was then time to leave the stadium and walk through the crowds back to the pub, from where we took an Uber to the apartment.