Boca Juniors facts for kids

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For other uses, see Boca Juniors (disambiguation).

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Boca Juniors

Full name

Club Atlético Boca Juniors

Nickname(s)

Xeneize (Genoese)
Azul y Oro (Blue and Gold)
La Mitad Más Uno (Half plus One)

Short name

Boca

Founded

3 April 1905; 120 years ago

Ground

La Bombonera

Capacity

57,200

Chairman

Juan Román Riquelme

Manager

Fernando Gago

League

Primera División

2023

7th

Home colours

Away colours

Third colours

Club Atlético Boca Juniors, often called simply Boca Juniors, is a famous sports club from Buenos Aires, Argentina. It's best known for its men's professional football (soccer) team. Since joining the top league in 1913, Boca Juniors has always played there. This makes them one of the few teams never to be relegated.

Boca Juniors has won a lot of titles, more than any other Argentine club. They have 35 national league championships and 17 national cups. In 1925, they even won an honorary title for their successful trip to Europe.

Internationally, Boca Juniors has won 22 major titles. This includes 18 titles organized by CONMEBOL, which is the football association for South America. They are ranked third in the world for international titles, after Real Madrid and Al Ahly. Boca Juniors has often been in the top 25 of the IFFHS's Club World Ranking. They were even named the top South American club of the first ten years of the 21st century (2001–2010).

Boca Juniors has a huge rivalry with River Plate. Their matches are called the Superclásico, and it's one of the biggest rivalries in the world. Boca's home stadium is called the Estadio Alberto J. Armando, but everyone knows it as La Bombonera. Many talented players from Boca's youth academy have gone on to play for top teams in Europe.

Besides men's football, Boca Juniors also has professional women's football and basketball teams. They also have amateur teams for many other sports like bocce, boxing, chess, field hockey, futsal, gymnastics, handball, martial arts, swimming, volleyball, weightlifting, and wrestling. Boca Juniors has the most members of any club in Argentina, with over 315,000 fans!

Club History

The first known photo of Boca Juniors from 1906, after winning a championship.

Boca Juniors was started on April 3, 1905, by a group of Italian boys from Genoa. They met at Esteban Baglietto's house to create the club. Other important founders included Alfredo Scarpatti, Santiago Sana, and the brothers Juan and Teodoro Farenga.

In 1913, Boca was finally promoted to the top football league, the Argentine Primera División. This happened when the Argentine Football Association decided to add more teams to the league.

In 1925, Boca Juniors went on its first trip to Europe. They played 19 games in Spain, Germany, and France, winning 15 of them. Because of this successful tour, the Association called Boca "Campeón de Honor" (Champion of Honour). Over the years, Boca became one of Argentina's most popular teams, with fans all over the world.

Team Kit and Badge

The first three jersey designs used by the team in the early 1900s, displayed at the Boca Juniors Museum.

Some jerseys worn in the 1990s and 2000s are also on display.

The club's official website says their first jersey was white with thin black stripes. Then it changed to light blue, and later to another striped design, before they chose their famous blue and gold colors. However, some people believe Boca's first jersey was pink, but there isn't much proof for this.

A popular story says that in 1906, Boca played against Nottingham de Almagro. Both teams had similar shirts, so they played a match to decide who would keep the design. Boca lost. They decided to use the colors of the first ship that sailed into the port of La Boca. This ship was Swedish, so Boca adopted the yellow and blue from the Swedish flag. The first blue and yellow jersey had a diagonal yellow stripe, which later changed to a horizontal one.

Over the years, Boca Juniors has worn some unique alternate jerseys. For example, they once wore an AC Milan-style shirt in a match. When Nike became their kit supplier in 1996, they added two thin white stripes around the gold band, which caused some debate. Nike also made a silver jersey for a special tournament in 1998. For the club's 100th anniversary, Nike released special versions of old jerseys, including the 1907 diagonal stripe shirt. Other unusual colors included black and white stripes (like Juventus FC) and purple.

The pink away jersey released for the 2013–14 season caused the most controversy. Fans really disliked it, so its first use was delayed. Instead of pink, Nike later designed a bright yellow shirt for that season. In 2016, the club wore a black jersey for the first time.

Adidas became Boca's kit supplier in January 2020, and this agreement will last until 2029.

Kit Evolution

Here are some of the uniforms the team has worn over the years:

1905

1905–06

1906–07

1907–12

1913–present

Kit Suppliers and Shirt Sponsors

Period	Kit Manufacturer	Shirt Sponsors
1980–83	Adidas	–
1983		Vinos Maravilla
1984		Dekalb
1985–89		Fate
1989–92		FIAT
1992-93		Parmalat
1993–95	Olan	Parmalat
1996	Olan	Quilmes
1996	Topper
1996–01	Nike
2001–03		Pepsi
2003–04		Pepsi & Goodyear
2004–05		Red Megatone & Goodyear
2006		Megatone & Goodyear
2007–09		Megatone & UNICEF
2009–11		LG & Total
2012–14		BBVA & Citroën
2014–16		BBVA & Huawei
2016–18		BBVA & Huawei
2018–19		Qatar Airways & Axion
2020–21	Adidas	Qatar Airways & Axion
2021–22		Qatar Airways
2022–23		None
2023–		Betsson & Directv

Club Badge

The club has had five different designs for its badge over time. The first known emblem was from 1911. In 1932, the club decided to add a star to the badge for each top league title they won. These stars first appeared on official documents in 1943.

In 1996, a new badge was introduced, which changed the horizontal band. The emblem with the stars has been a regular part of Boca Juniors uniforms since 1993.

1911–14
1915–32
1925–26
1932–96
1996–present

Home Stadium

The official grandstand of the Estadio Ministro Brin y Senguel, where Boca Juniors played from 1916 to 1924.

The Boca Juniors stadium in Brandsen and Del Crucero, opened in 1924. It was later taken down to build La Bombonera in the same spot.

Boca Juniors played in several places before settling at their current home, La Bombonera. Their first ground was in the old Buenos Aires port, but they had to leave in 1907. They used a few other grounds before moving to the intersection of Ministro Brin and Senguel streets in 1916.

In 1924, they moved to Brandsen and Del Crucero streets to build a new stadium. This stadium was used until 1938, when the club decided to build a completely new one with concrete stands.

Building Boca Juniors' current stadium began in 1938. Boca played their home games at another stadium until La Bombonera was finished on May 25, 1940. A third level was added in 1953, which gave it the nickname La Bombonera (meaning 'The Chocolate Box'). The stadium is known for vibrating when Boca fans jump and cheer. People say, "La Bombonera does not tremble. It beats."

La Bombonera can hold 57,200 people. Boca Juniors usually plays in front of a full stadium because the club is so popular. Tickets are hard to get, especially for the Superclásico game against River Plate.

**List of Boca Juniors Venues**
Field / Venue	District	Period
Dársena Sud	La Boca	1905–07
Isla Demarchi	Puerto Madero	1908–12
Wilde	Wilde	1914–15
Ministro Brin y Senguel	La Boca	1916–24
Brandsen y Del Crucero		1924–38
La Bombonera		1940–present

Club Supporters

Boca Juniors' supporters showing their flags at La Bombonera in 2009.

Boca Juniors is often seen as the club for the working class in Argentina. This is different from their rival, Club Atlético River Plate, who are thought to have more upper-class fans.

Boca Juniors claims to be the club of "half plus one" (la mitad más uno) of Argentina's population. A survey in 2006 showed that about 40% of Argentines support Boca, which is still the largest share. They have the second-highest number of club members worldwide, after Bayern Munich.

The Boca-River Superclásico rivalry is one of the most exciting football matches in the world. Fans use fireworks, confetti, flags, and paper rolls to show their support. Both sets of fans sing passionate songs against their rivals. Sometimes, these games can get very intense. The English newspaper The Observer even listed the Superclásico at La Bombonera as one of the top 50 sporting events you must experience.

Both clubs started in the poor riverside area of Buenos Aires called La Boca. However, River Plate moved to a wealthier area in 1923. Boca Juniors has won more official matches against River Plate.

Nicknames

Boca Juniors supporters during a night Copa Libertadores game against Pumas.

Boca fans are known as Los Xeneizes (the Genoese). This nickname comes from the immigrants from Genoa, Italy, who founded the team and lived in La Boca.

Many rival fans call Boca Juniors' fans Los Bosteros (the manure handlers). This name came from the horse manure used at a brick factory where La Bombonera now stands. Even though it started as an insult, Boca fans are now proud of this nickname.

The team's shirt is also called la azul y oro (the blue and gold), because of the team's colors.

The nickname "La 12" (the twelfth player) for Boca Juniors' fans started in 1925. During a European tour, a wealthy Boca fan named Victoriano Caffarena traveled with the team and helped them a lot. The players called him "Player No. 12" because he was so supportive. Today, "La 12" refers to the main group of Boca Juniors supporters.

International Fans

Boca Juniors has fan clubs (called Peñas) in many Argentine cities and in other countries like Russia, Ukraine, Spain, Israel, and Japan. Boca Juniors is especially popular in Japan because of their success in the Intercontinental Cup there in the early 2000s. Fans worldwide are also drawn to Boca because of their international titles and famous players who later played in Europe.

Players

Notable Players

This section lists players who have played in at least 100 matches or scored at least 35 goals for the club.

1905–1930s

Pedro Calomino (1911–13; 1915–24)
Alfredo Elli (1916–28)
Américo Tesoriere (1916–27)
Domingo Tarasconi (1922–32)
Roberto Cherro (1926–35)
Pedro Arico Suárez (1929–42)

1930s–1970s

Francisco Varallo (1931–39)
Delfín Benítez Cáceres (1932–38)
Ernesto Lazzatti (1934–47)
Jaime Sarlanga (1940–48)
Mario Boyé (1941–49; 1955)
Natalio Pescia (1942–56)
Antonio Rattín (1956–70)
Silvio Marzolini (1960–72)
Paulo Valentim (1960–64)
Orlando (1961–65)
Ángel Clemente Rojas (1963–71)
Alfredo Rojas (1964–68)
Rubén Suñé (1967–72; 1976–80)
Julio Meléndez (1968–72)

1970s–1990s

Enzo Ferrero (1971–75)
Roberto Mouzo (1971–84)
Vicente Pernía (1973–81)
Alberto Tarantini (1973–77)
Hugo Gatti (1976–88)
Ernesto Mastrangelo (1976–81)
Ricardo Gareca (1978–80; 1982–84)
Oscar Ruggeri (1980–84)
Diego Maradona (1981–82; 1995–97)
Alfredo Graciani (1985–91; 1993–94)
Diego Latorre (1987–92; 1996–98)
Carlos Navarro Montoya (1988–96)
Juan Simón (1988–94)
Blas Giunta (1989–93; 1995–97)

2000s–Present

Rodolfo Arruabarrena (1993–00)
Claudio Paul Caniggia (1995–98)
Juan Román Riquelme (1995–02; 2007–14)
Roberto Abbondanzieri (1997–06; 2009–10)
Guillermo Barros Schelotto (1997–07)
Jorge Bermúdez (1997–02)
Óscar Córdoba (1997–01)
Martín Palermo (1997–00; 2004–11)
Walter Samuel (1997–00)
Mauricio Serna (1998–02)
Hugo Ibarra (1998–01; 2002–03; 2007–10)
Sebastián Battaglia (1998–03; 2005–13)
Nicolás Burdisso (1999–04)
Marcelo Delgado (2000–03; 2005–06)
Clemente Rodríguez (2001–04; 2007; 2010–13)
Rolando Schiavi (2001–05; 2011–12)
Carlos Tevez (2001–04; 2015–16; 2018–21)
Fernando Gago (2004–07; 2013–18)
Claudio Morel Rodríguez (2004–10)
Daniel Díaz (2005–07; 2013–16)
Rodrigo Palacio (2005–09)
Gary Medel (2009–2011)
Guillermo Fernández (2012–15; 2020; 2022–)
Cristian Pavón (2014–22)
Darío Benedetto (2016–19; 2022–)
Frank Fabra (2016–)
Agustín Rossi (2017–23)
Jorman Campuzano (2019–)
Cristian Medina (2020–)
Luis Advíncula (2021–)

FIFA World Cup Participants

These players were part of their national teams for a FIFA World Cup while playing for Boca Juniors:

Roberto Cherro (1930)
Mario Evaristo (1930)
Ramón Muttis (1930)
Arico Suárez (1930)
Alberto Mario González (1962, 1966)
Silvio Marzolini (1962, 1966)
Antonio Rattín (1962, 1966)
Antonio Roma (1962, 1966)
Diego Maradona (1982)
Julio Olarticoechea (1986)
Carlos Tapia (1986)
Juan Simon (1990)
Alejandro Mancuso (1994)
Jorge Bermúdez (1998)
Óscar Córdoba (1998)
Mauricio Serna (1998)
Roberto Abbondanzieri (2006)
Rodrigo Palacio (2006)
Juan Roman Riquelme (2006)
Gary Medel (2010)
Claudio Morel Rodríguez (2010)
Martín Palermo (2010)
Fernando Gago (2014)
Agustín Orión (2014)
Wílmar Barrios (2018)
Nahitan Nandez (2018)
Cristian Pavón (2018)

Coaches

The first recorded coach for Boca Juniors was Mario Fortunato. He used to be a player before becoming a coach. Fortunato helped Boca win five titles, including four league championships. He coached the team in different periods: 1930–1936, 1946, and 1956.

Carlos Bianchi is the most successful coach in Boca Juniors' history. He won nine titles, including three Copa Libertadores and two Intercontinental Cups.

Juan Carlos Lorenzo, known as El Toto, won five titles with Boca. This included the Copa Libertadores in 1977 and 1978, and the Intercontinental Cup in 1977.

Alfio Basile also won five titles, just like Mario Fortunato and Toto Lorenzo. With Basile, Boca won two national titles and three international cups within two years.

Current Coaching Staff

Position	Staff
Head coach	Fernando Gago
Assistant coach	Fabricio Coloccini
Assistant coach	Diego Cogliandro
Goalkeeping coach	Cristián Muñoz
Fitness coach	Roberto Luzzi
Fitness coach	Cristian Aquino
Team doctor	Rubén Argemi
Team doctor	Lucas Logioco
Kinesiologist	Leonardo Betchakian

Last updated: 15 October 2024
Source: Boca Juniors – El Plantel

Club Leadership

Juan Román Riquelme is the current President of Boca Juniors. He was elected in December 2023 with a record number of votes. Jorge Amor Ameal is the club's vice-president.

Honours and Trophies

Senior Titles

Keys

Record
^(s) Shared record

Type	Competition	Titles	Winning years
National (League)	Primera División	35	1919, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1930, 1931 LAF, 1934 LAF, 1935, 1940, 1943, 1944, 1954, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1969 Nacional, 1970 Nacional, 1976 Metropolitano, 1976 Nacional, 1981 Metropolitano, 1992 Apertura, 1998 Apertura, 1999 Clausura, 2000 Apertura, 2003 Apertura, 2005 Apertura, 2006 Clausura, 2008 Apertura, 2011 Apertura, 2015, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2022
National (Cups)	Copa Argentina	4	1969, 2012, 2015, 2019–20
	Supercopa Argentina	2	2018, 2022
	Copa de la Liga	2	2020, 2022
	Copa Jockey Club	2	1919, 1925
	Copa Ibarguren	5^(s)	1919, 1923, 1924, 1940, 1944
	Copa Estímulo	1^(s)	1926
	Copa Británica	1^(s)	1946
International	Intercontinental Cup	3^(s)	1977, 2000, 2003
	Copa Libertadores	6	1977, 1978, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007
	Copa Sudamericana	2^(s)	2004, 2005
	Recopa Sudamericana	4	1990, 2005, 2006, 2008
	Supercopa Libertadores	1	1989
	Copa de Oro	1^(s)	1993
	Copa Master	1^(s)	1992
	Tie Cup	1	1919
	Copa de Honor Cousenier	1	1920
	Copa Escobar-Gerona	2	1945, 1946

Other Titles

Boca Juniors has also won other independent leagues and friendly tournaments:

Liga Central de Football: 1906
Copa Barone : 1908
Copa La Reacción: 1909
Copa Riachuelo: 1910
Copa Consejo Deliberante: 1922
Copa Cervecería del Norte: 1926
Copa Standart: 1926
Copa Banco Comercial: 1927
Copa Intendencia de Tandil: 1927
Triangular Nocturno: 1940
Copa Jorge IV: 1945
Gobernación de Mendoza: 1954
Trofeo "Joyería Grossi": 1954
Torneo de Buenos Aires: 1962
Torneo Triangular Buenos Aires: 1963
Torneo Cuadrangular de Montevideo: 1963
Mohammed V Trophy: 1964
Copa 60th Anniversary Boca Juniors: 1965
Trofeo Ciudad de San Sebastián (Spain): 1966
Copa Rio de la Plata: 1970
Trofeo Ciudad de Valladolid (Spain): 1975
Cuadrangular de los Grandes: 1985
Trofeo Naranja: 1985
Trofeo Isla de Tenerife: 1993
Vodafone Cup (England): 2004
Copa 100 Años de Atilio García (Uruguay): 2014
Antonio Puerta Trophy (Spain): 2016
Maradona Cup: 2021

Records and Facts

Armenian stamp honoring club’s 3 Intercontinental Cup titles.

Seasons in Top League: 111 years. Boca Juniors has never been relegated since their first season in 1913.
Largest Win (Domestic): 11–1 against Tigre on June 7, 1942.
Largest Win (International): 7–0 against Bolívar on April 26, 2007, in the 2007 Copa Libertadores.
Worst Defeat (Domestic): 0–7 against San Isidro on October 10, 1915.
Worst Defeat (International): 1–6 against Palmeiras in the 1994 Copa Libertadores.
All-time Top Scorer: Martín Palermo with 236 goals.
Top Scorer in One Tournament: Domingo Tarasconi with 40 goals in 33 games in 1923.
Most Games Unbeaten (Domestic): 40 matches (from 1998 to 1999).
Most Games Played: Roberto Mouzo with 426 matches.
Player with Most Titles: Sebastián Battaglia with 17 titles.
Goalkeeper Record: Esteban Andrada went 864 minutes without letting in a goal.
International Cups: Boca Juniors is tied for the 4th club in the world with 18 international cups won.

Other Sports Sections

Women's Football

The Boca Juniors women's football team plays in the top league in Argentina. They have won the championship a record 27 times. They even won 10 championships in a row from 2003 to 2008! While they haven't won an international competition yet, they finished second in the 2022 Copa Libertadores Femenina.

Basketball

The Boca Juniors basketball team started in 1929. They have won the national league title three times (1996–97, 2003–04, and 2006–07). They also won five Copa Argentina titles. Internationally, Boca Juniors won three South American Club Championships in a row (2004, 2005, and 2006). Their home court is called the Estadio Luis Conde, or La Bombonerita (meaning 'small Bombonera').

Field Hockey

In 2022, Boca Juniors announced they would start a field hockey section for both men and women. In 2023, they opened a new hockey field. Vanina Oneto, a famous Argentine field hockey player, was appointed as the manager for Boca Juniors Hockey.

Futsal

Boca Juniors has a men's futsal team that plays in the top futsal league in Argentina. They are the second most successful team in the league, with 13 titles. Their women's futsal team also plays in the top league and won the first tournament in 2004, and again in 2014.

Volleyball

Boca Juniors has a men's professional volleyball team. They won the Metropolitan championship three times in the 1990s. The team was stopped for a while due to lack of sponsors but later returned. In 2023, it was announced that Boca Juniors' volleyball team would play in the top Argentine league again after almost 8 years.

Boca also has a women's volleyball team. They play in the Liga Femenina de Voleibol Argentino and have won the tournament a record 8 times.

Other Sports

Boca Juniors also has athletes who compete in other sports like judo, karate, taekwondo, wrestling, weight lifting, and gymnastics.

Merchandising and More

A street vendor selling Boca Juniors themed items in La Boca.

Boca Juniors offers more than just sports to its fans. In 2003, they became one of the few football clubs in the world to have their own TV channel, Boca TV. It broadcast sports shows 24 hours a day.

In 2006, Boca Juniors launched its own taxi fleet in Buenos Aires. They also created their own brand of wine called "Vino Boca Juniors." In 2012, Boca Juniors opened the first themed hotel for a football club anywhere in the world, located in Buenos Aires. The rooms are decorated in the club's colors with photos of famous players.