Category:Multi-platform softwareLife and sport in Maradona’s Argentina
David Goldblatt travels to La Boca, home of Argentina’s most famous football team, to learn how the game is played by the country’s real stars and how he gets access to the fans behind the scenes
La Boca is one of the most ethnically diverse neighbourhoods in Argentina. Over the last 40 years its population has changed from European to largely Hispanic and the building and style of the town’s houses reflect these different inhabitants. It was in this part of town, nestled next to the busy port of Buenos Aires, that Juan Perón, a trade union leader, created the Football Association in Argentina in the 1930s.
Today, just across the River Plate from the centre of the capital, thousands of people line the cobbled streets in La Boca on Saturday nights as fans gather for Argentina’s match against England. Most of these fans are not Argentines, they’re visitors, but it is their faces and their colourful scarves that make La Boca feel like Argentina.
The British football fans who take over the city for international matches will find it hard to miss the fans of the other football team in La Boca, the Newell’s Old Boys team, the oldest team in Argentina. In football, Newell’s Old Boys are on par with Liverpool, a comparison the club would have scoffed at before the British invasion.
Sitting in the stadium, the echoes of the neighbouring city are ever present, most notably the deep boom of the boats on the River Plate that brings in millions of tourists and Argentines alike.
The Argentineans sitting with us seem relaxed and happy and it’s easy to see why they are enjoying the match. The stadium is full to the rafters with flags from the supporters’ club around the perimeter. The game has just been drawn. As we leave the stadium, our eyes are drawn to the illuminated façade of the Maracanazo monument, a giant bronze replica of the Maracanã stadium, the Brazilian equivalent of the ‘FIFA World Cup stadium’, where Argentina played their own epic 3-2 win over Brazil at the 1958 World Cup finals.
We drive down the same avenue where the game is played, past the façade of the presidential palace, and then we turn into one of the most famous streets in the city ac619d1d87
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