"Boca has always been divided, but now the division has deepened further because there are no sporting results. There are those who love Riquelme and those who do not love him, due to the club's politics and opposition." Tato Aguilera, a journalist from TyC Sports, summarizes in a conversation with this newspaper the situation of one of the biggest clubs in Argentina, America, and the world. Boca Juniors debuts today against Benfica in the Club World Cup, amidst a deep institutional crisis but with thousands of fans in the streets of Miami. Because a 'bostero' is like that: "They are crazy about their club."
Boca Juniors' season is dramatic, as have been their recent years. The Buenos Aires team has not won the Libertadores since 2007, losing in the final in 2012, 2018, and 2023, and has not won a national competition since the league title in 2022. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, and the last six months have been a constant fall towards the edge of La Bombonera, with Juan Román Riquelme, the club's ultimate idol and president, increasingly questioned by fans who will love him eternally but who also want to win.
Boca was eliminated in the Libertadores preliminary stage against Alianza de Lima and lost in the quarterfinals of the Apertura tournament against Independiente, confirming the sporting and institutional crisis that led to the dismissal of Fernando Gago, who was on the bench: "Let them all go," chanted the Bombonera stands that day.
And now, the Club World Cup appears as a balm for all their problems, but also with the pressure to do something interesting to make up for the recent results. Leading the team is Miguel Ángel Russo, the coach who made them champions of America in 2007.
"Boca arrives renewed with Russo's signature, but in football terms, it's a mystery," explains Gastón Garnica from Direct TV. "Being eliminated from the Libertadores in that way is unthinkable for a club like Boca, it is a very significant sporting failure," adds Aguilera.
"Riquelme is the club's greatest idol and has faced criticism, but the people are with him," assures Garnica, although Aguilera is not so sure: "The opposition generates a very large movement on social media that also spills over into public events. At La Bombonera, a section chanted 'let the Board go,' pointing at Riquelme."
However, in the streets of Miami, Boca fans surpass all. "They have unconditional love for the club, that's how a Boca fan is. They are crazy in love with the club," says Aguilera.
And all the while, River Plate smiles with appearances like Mastantuono's, recently signed by Real Madrid for 63 million, which surely helps to rebuild the team after his departure following the Club World Cup. Alongside him, names like Julián Álvarez or Enzo Fernández, young players who have come from River and have left a lot of money to continue competing. Boca, meanwhile, is seeking the same, although the clauses they have received for their young players are cheaper.