Blue & Gold Passion

Daniel Williamson

Description

Today, La Boca teems with tourists, drawn like moths to a flame for the sizzling steaks, street theatre and brightly painted pastel-coloured homes. On matchday the noise from the barrio's most famous landmark, the unique La Bombonera stadium - home of Boca Juniors - reverberates around the working-class neighbourhood. The cathedral of world football has provided the canvas for some of the sport's greatest artists to create their masterpieces. Diego Maradona, arguably the greatest-ever exponent of the beautiful game, Juan Roman Riquelme, the last number ten, and Carlos Tevez are just three of the legends to wear the iconic shirt. Blue & Gold Passion chronicles the history of the famous Buenos Aires institution, from its foundation by five Italian immigrants in 1905 to the 2018 Copa Libertadores clash with arch-rivals River Plate, which made worldwide headlines. All the glory, the idols, the trophies, the highs and lows are covered in this first comprehensive English-language celebration of one of the world's greatest football clubs.

Sujets

• Argentina
• Argentine

Informations

• Publié par: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 07 septembre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781785317484
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2020
Pitch Publishing
A2 Yeoman Gate
Yeoman Way
Durrington
BN13 3QZ
www.pitchpublishing.co.uk
Daniel Williamson, 2020
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Any oversight will be rectified in future editions at the earliest opportunity by the publisher.
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Print ISBN 9781785316531
eBook ISBN 9781785317484
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Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. The Foundation
2. La Nuestra 1.0 - The Dawn of Professionalism
3. The 1950s
4. The Swinging 60s - The Birth of the Copa Libertadores
5. La Nuestra 2.0 - The Lorenzo Era
6. Maradona and the 1981 Metropolitano
7. Alegre and the 1992 Apertura
8. Maradona and the President
9. The Viceroy and the Magician
10. 2000
11. 2001
12. 2003
13. 425 Days
14. Riquelme s Return
15. Twin Peaks
16. La Gran Final
17. A New Dawn
Bibliography
For my three girls: Greta, Frieda and Lottie.
Acknowledgements
THANKS TO Jane at Pitch Publishing for giving me the platform to write this book, and have it published. Duncan at Olner Design took a vague description of how I wanted the book s front cover to look and brought it to life in a way I could never have imagined.
The seed for this book was planted when I discovered that Steven Scragg was having a book published by Pitch. Seeing the promotional material for the excellent Frozen in Time inspired me to think about ideas for a book of my own. Steven has been a great help throughout the process, from my initial pitch to completion.
My wife, Greta, has been supportive, encouraging, and has remained patient throughout the process.
Although I m the one that has dedicated countless hours to this project, and my name will adorn the front cover, there are many people that have contributed and with whom I have collaborated. It is common to encounter negativity on social media, but any time I have reached out dozens of people, often strangers, have offered their help, wishing for nothing in return.
Matt Evans has provided daily support and proofreading. I look forward to reciprocating and helping Matt with his book which he is currently in the process of writing.
Gabriel Aguero, founder of the Boca in English Twitter account and podcast, has also provided enthusiastic support and proofreading. I interviewed Gabi about his favourite player, Juan Rom n Riquelme. His Boca in English colleague, Buenos Aires-based journalist Francisco Aure, was also interviewed for the book.
Patricio C rdoba has been passionate about the project from day one and, crucially, was instrumental in introducing me to two former Boca Juniors players. His father, Carlos Cacho C rdoba, won the 1981 Metropolitano championship alongside a young Diego Maradona; Alfredo Oscar M rquez emerged from the famed youth system and was part of the squad that won the 1976 Nacional championship under the tutelage of the legendary Juan Carlos Toto Lorenzo.
Journalist Nick Dorrington gave me the mobile phone number of Jos Maria Su rez who won five trophies in six years in the famous blue-and-gold shirt, including the 1977 Intercontinental Cup. Su rez was interviewed for chapter five.
Jorge Ruso Ribolzi, who I contacted on Twitter, discussed his memories of his time at La Bombonera. In total he won ten titles with the club: five as a player and, later, five as part of Alfio Coco Basile s coaching staff.
Club historian Guillermo Schoua discussed the club s early years and his mind-bogglingly detailed website, Historia de Boca, was a vital tool during the research process.
Rio de Janeiro-based Englishman Tim Vickery has inspired me over the years with his passionate coverage of South American football. It was an honour to discuss some of Boca s Copa Libertadores clashes against Brazilian sides - from Santos in 1963 to Gr mio in 2007 - with Tim.
Lucas Guerrero (Muy Boca), V ctor Fucci and Sebasti n Sellaro (Somos Boca), Diego Tomasi (author of El Ca o Mas Bello Del Mundo ), and freelance journalist Leandro Cordobez discussed Boca s history with me. Their words are also included in this book.
Thanks to Euan McTear (LaLiga Lowdown), Chris Lee (Outside Write), and Gabriel Aguero and Francisco Aure (Boca in English) for inviting me on to their podcasts in April and May 2020 to discuss Boca s history and the process behind the book. Thanks to Maxi Kronenberg from Clar n , Argentina s biggest daily tabloid, for interviewing me about the book for their website and taking my story to Argentina.
Thanks to Seth Burkett, Dr Marieke Riethof, Andr s Burgo, Informaci n CABJ, Vicente Ponce, and everyone else who supported the project in any way. Last, but not least, I want to send a sincere and huge thank you to all of the people who pre-ordered the book, parting with your money during a bizarre period of economic uncertainty which, as you are reading this in September 2020 and beyond, I m hoping is over.
Introduction
WITH TWO games of the 2019/20 Superliga Argentina season remaining, Boca were three points adrift of their fiercest rivals, River Plate. Marcelo Gallardo was odds-on to lead his team to what would be his 20th title with the club as a player and manager. Even if Boca won both games, River would need just four points from the last six available to be crowned champions.
In the penultimate fixture of the season River were held to a 1-1 draw by Defensa y Justicia. Meanwhile, 500km away in Santa Fe, a rampant Boca destroyed Col n 4-0 with goals from Guillermo Pol Fern ndez, Eduardo Salvio, Carlos Tevez, and Ram n bila. The lead was cut to just one point, but the destiny of the title was still in River s hands: they merely needed to match, or better, Boca s result on the final day of the season.
Standing in River s way were Atl tico Tucum n, managed by Ricardo Zielinski, the architect of their downfall in 2011 when Belgrano sent them to the second division. Tucum n took the lead on 19 minutes but River pegged them back after 35 minutes through Mat as Su rez. With Boca and Gimnasia goalless at La Bombonera, going into the half-time break River retained their one-point lead and were champions as things stood.
Following clever work down the left, the ball fell to bila whose outstretched foot prodded the ball in the direction of Tevez who was hovering around the edge of the box. Boca s captain took one touch before rifling the ball straight down the goalkeeper s throat, the power and swerve too much for the Gimnasia custodian to handle. Amidst the deafening noise in La Bombonera, Boca s iconic home since 1940, Tevez rolled back the years, scaling the fence behind the goal that separates the fans and the pitch, a replica of a celebration he performed earlier in his career.
Twenty nervous minutes later, and with no further goals in Tucum n nor Buenos Aires, Boca were champions, something which had seemed so unlikely a week or two earlier. The party spilled out of the stadium and on to the narrow streets of La Boca. As is customary, thousands of fanatics gathered around the Obelisco, a famous landmark in downtown Buenos Aires. A sea of blue-and-gold stopped traffic on the Avenida 9 de Julio, one of the widest thoroughfares in the world and a major artery through Argentina s capital city.
After returning from China to sign for Boca for the third time, Tevez was considered finished by many, yet he was enjoying a new lease of life in 2020. Miguel ngel Russo, who coached the club to the Copa Libertadores in 2007, was back for his second spell in the hot seat. Before the game Gimnasia coach Diego Maradona was presented with a plaque containing the new replica shirt with Maradona 10 printed on the back as the fans in the packed stands sang his name in homage. Seconds before kick-off Tevez planted a good-luck kiss on El Diego s lips and, as events in the 72nd minute showed, the gesture worked. Following the match Maradona was disappointed to be on the losing side but moved and humbled by the tributes in his honour.
In the directors boxes, the biggest icon in Boca s history, Juan Rom n Riquelme watched on in his new role as vice-president, attempting to keep a poker face whilst sipping on his yerba mate but cracking a slight smile as the celebrations rumbled on. Riquelme was part of the successful ticket, headed by Jorge Amor Ameal, himself president between 2008 and 2011, which won the elections of December 2019.
Tevez, Russo, Maradona, Riquelme, and Ameal all shared one thing in common: they had left the club and come back in some capacity. Amongst hundreds of other key figures that have been touched by the club throughout its 115-year history, Boca is in their blood. The passion for the blue and gold burns for eternity. It is exactly this passion that I hope to harness in this book.
The journey of Club Atl tico Boca Juniors began in 1905 when the club was founded by five boys of Italian stock. Soon, the legend spread beyond the borders of the barrio , throughout the capital city, and would later touch all four corners of the Argentine Republic. Today, 69 major titles later, the club is truly global.
The story of Boca s foundation, how the famous colours were adopted, the history of La Bombonera, the iconic players and managers, and the plethora of titles accumulated by the club, are all covered in this book, the most comprehe