r/LaLiga • u/Reading-Rabbit4101 • 8d ago
Bijection between rival clubs in Argentina and Spain
Hi, can one say that River Plate maps onto Real Madrid in that they are both relatively upper class/Establishment, while Boca Juniors maps onto Barcelona in that they are both relatively grassroots? I note that River Plate seems more of a pipeline for Real Madrid (Di Stefano, Redondo) while Boca Juniors seems more of a pipeline for Barcelona (Maradona, Riquelme). Not sure if that's statistically true though.
Two additional questions:
Does this correspondence apply to football styles (not just fan base/culture)?
Does River Plate have more links to the Spanish monarchy than Boca Junior does? Or is there no difference because both clubs were founded long after Spain got out of South America?
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u/sj_reddit_user Real Madrid 7d ago
It's always heartwarming to see all the commoners sitting in the director's box at the Camp Nou.
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7d ago
No idea about Argentina, but Barcelona is definitely NOT more grassroots than Madrid. You only have to see who have been the presidents of Barcelona in the past 20 years and the requirements to be a soci to realise this.
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u/Reading-Rabbit4101 7d ago
What do you mean soci?
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u/Free-Outcome2922 7d ago
“Soci” is “partner” in Catalan.
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u/Reading-Rabbit4101 7d ago
Thanks. Then what does it mean to be a partner of Barcelona?
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u/Free-Outcome2922 7d ago
Something that transcends football, but it is better for someone who is Catalan and a member of Barcelona FC to explain it to you.
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u/AdSuccessful2506 Athletic Club 6d ago
Everything related to Barcelona means mafia. Soci is the partner in “business”. Negreira is the most famous one.
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u/Reading-Rabbit4101 7d ago
I see, but they have less of a royal connection, right?
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u/Free-Outcome2922 7d ago
Leave royalty aside: the current king is a self-confessed fan of Atlético de Madrid ;)
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u/mondobong0 Barcelona 8d ago
I was wearing a Boca shirt in northern Argentina when a local said to me “no sos boca”. My argentinian wife said that he said it because I’m white and blond.
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u/jotakajk 7d ago
Barcelona is not grassroots at all, it is a higher class club as well. Difference between Madrid and Barcelona is about national identity, not about social classes. Both are very rich teams that appeal to a broad social spectrum. They have fans who are millionaires and fans living in slums in Juba, Mogadishu or Port Moresby
Usually Real Madrid fans do like River and yes, they have things in common
Not sure about the Barcelona-Boca thing though, neither Maradona nor Riquelme are specially loved in Barcelona. There were also many River Plate players in Barcelona (Saviola, Mascherano, Sorín, Bonano)
Football styles… I don’t think so. Barcelona usually identifies itself as being close to Dutch football, specially Ajax, and something of Arsenal and Wenger too.
Argentinian managers have not had good success at Barcelona and are not well remembered, being Tata Martino the most recent example.
In their origins, Di Stéfano Real Madrid was absolutely related with La Máquina de River being that the guy learnt to play football with Labruna and Moreno, but it is so far away now…
Current Real identity is based in having big stars and being able to win even the most unlikely matches with extremely emotional comebacks (specially in Champions League)
I dont think River or Boca have no ties at all with the Spanish monarchy. Never met a single Argentinian who cared about the Spanish king.
TLDR: No. To everything