Club Atlético Boca Juniors

Infobox Football club
current = 2008-09_in_Argentine_football#Torneo_Apertura_.28.22Opening.22_Tournament.29
fullname = Club Atlético Boca Juniors
clubname = Boca Juniors


nickname = "Los Xeneizes", "La Mitad Más Uno", "Bosteros".
founded =April 3, 1905
ground = Estadio Alberto J. Armando
(La Bombonera),
La Boca, Buenos Aires
capacity = 57,395
chairman = flagicon|ARG Pedro Pompilio
manager = flagicon|ARG Carlos Ischia
mgrtitle = Head Coach
league = Argentine Primera División
position = 2nd
season = Clausura 2008
pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=_orangehorizontal|pattern_ra1=| leftarm1=1F2B6E|body1=1F2B6E|rightarm1=1F2B6E|shorts1=1F2B6E|socks1=1F2B6E
pattern_b2=_navyhorizontal
leftarm2=FFFF33|body2=FFFF33|rightarm2=FFFF33|shorts2=FFFF33|socks2=FFFF33

Club Atlético Boca Juniors known also as Boca Juniors or simply Boca, is one of the most popular Argentine sports clubs, best known for its football team. Its home base is the neighbourhood of La Boca, in Buenos Aires, and it hosts its home games at the Estadio Alberto J. Armando "(La Bombonera)". They are the reigning holders of the Recopa Sudamericana title.

Boca have won a record 18 international titles, [ [http://www.conmebol.com/articulos_ver.jsp?id=60718&slangab=E CONMEBOL Article] ] equal to AC Milan. Their haul includes six Copa Libertadores [ [http://www.rsssf.com/sacups/copalib.html RSSSF Copa Libertadores] ] and three World Club crowns (Copa Intercontinental) [ [http://www.rsssf.com/tablest/toyota.html RSSSF Copa Intercontinental] ] and one Copa Oro and Supercopa Masters. The club has also won 22 Argentine professional championships [ [http://www.rsssf.com/tablesa/argchamp.html RSSSF Argentine Championship] ] .

The club is a permanent fixture in the International Federation of Football History & Statistics Club World Ranking top 25, Boca is currently ranked 4th [ [http://www.iffhs.de/?10f42e00fa2d17f73702fa3016e23c17f7370eff3702bb1c2bbb6f28f53512 IFFHS Club World rankings current standings] ] and has reached the top position of the monthly ranking 6 times (mostly during coach Carlos Bianchi's tenure). [ [http://www.iffhs.de/?bca384f02788705f94b40385fdcdc3bfcdc0aec70aeed40e IFFHS Club World rankings statistics] ]

History

Foundation

On a 3 April 1905, five Italian immigrants gathered in the Plaza Solís, located in the heart of the La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/sa/football/features/newsid_2297000/2297495.stm BBC Sport article] ] Esteban Baglietto, Alfredo Scarpati, Santiago Sana, and brothers Juan and Teodoro Farenga founded Boca Juniors, the use of English language in team names was commonplace, as British railway workers had originally introduced football into Argentina. [ [http://www.fanwithaplan.com/events/football/latin_america.jsp Fan with a Plan article] ]

Boca Juniors played in local leagues and the amateur second division until being promoted to the first division in 1913, when the division was expanded from six teams to 15 [ [http://www.rsssf.com/tablesa/argall.html RSSSF Argentine divisional movements] ] . Boca were never relegated; they won six amateur championships (1919, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, and 1930). [ [http://www.rsssf.com/tablesa/argchamp.html RSSSF Argentine divisional movements] ] With the introduction of professionalism in Argentina, Boca won the first title in 1931. [ [http://www.rsssf.com/tablesa/arg31.html RSSSF List of Argentine champions and runners up] ]
*First Match: April 21, 1905. vs. Mariano Moreno.
*First international match: December 8, 1907. vs. Universal (Montevideo, Uruguay)
*First professional match: May 31, 1931 vs. Chacarita Juniors.

Team colours

The original jersey colour was pink, which was quickly abandoned for thin black-and-white vertical stripes [ [http://www.solodeportes.com.ar/shop/detalle.asp?oynprodid=1653 Solodeportes centenery edition of the shirt] ] . The legend has it that in 1906 Boca played another team that used these colors, to decide who would get to keep them. Boca lost, and decided to adopt the colors of the flag of the first boat to subsequently sail into the port at La Boca which was the 4146 ton freighter Drottning Sophia, sailing from Copenhagen [ [http://fotw.net/flags/[e-mail] Flags of the World article] ] . As the boat was from Sweden, yellow and blue were adopted as the new team colours. The first version had a yellow diagonal band, which was later changed to a horizontal stripe. [ [http://football.guardian.co.uk/theknowledge/story/0,13854,1643916,00.html Guardian Article] ]

Kit Evolution and rare kits

;First kit evolution

Professional: (23)

International Cup Titles (18)

FIFA Club World Cup::* Runners-up (1): 2007Intercontinental Cup: (record):* Winners (3): 1977; 2000; 2003:* Runners-up (1): 2001Copa Libertadores::* Winners (6): 1977; 1978; 2000; 2001; 2003; 2007:* Runners-up (3): 1963; 1979; 2004Copa Sudamericana: (record):* Winners (2): 2004; 2005 Recopa Sudamericana: (record):* Winners (4): 1990; 2005; 2006; 2008:* Runners-up (1): 2004
*sport honours|Supercopa Sudamericana|1|1989
*sport honours|Supercopa Masters|1|1992
*sport honours|Copa de Oro (CONMEBOL) Nicolás Leoz|1|1993

Records

* Boca Juniors and Milan both hold a world record 18 official international titles.

* Boca Juniors has the most official titles (domestic and international) for an Argentine football club with 40 titles in the professional era (48 including amateur titles).

* Boca Juniors were awarded the title "Campeón de Honor" (Honour Champion) in 1925, due to a highly successful tour through Europe in which the club played Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and Real Sociedad, as well as German and French teams, with an impressive record of 15 wins, one draw and three defeats. This title was declared official by the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino, thereby increasing the total number of amateur and professional titles to 48 (30 domestic and 18 international titles).

* 40 consecutive Primera División matches unbeaten - an Argentine record: from 5 May 1998 to 2 June 1999, with 29 victories and 11 draws. [ [http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/unb-boca-40.html "Boca Juniors' series of 40 matches unbeaten in the Primera División"] - RSSSF]

* Three times winner of the Intercontinental Cup (now replaced by FIFA Club World Cup), a record tied with Peñarol, Nacional, Milan and Real Madrid.

Current squad

"As of September 29, 2008"

"note: these squad numbers are for domestic tournaments only and were published in Boca Juniors´ official website."

"note 2: Mouche asked Guillermo Barros Schelotto for permission to wear number 7" [ [http://www.bocajuniors.com.ar/2008/02/11/1414.php :: CABJ :: Sitio Oficial :: ] ]

Fs player|no=|nat=Argentina|name=Martín Palermo|pos=FW

Squad changes for Apertura 2008

For information on squad changes for Apertura 2008 see the List of Argentine football transfers.

Notable players

"see also cl|Boca Juniors footballers"

Top scorers

:"see also Boca Juniors topscorers"
#Flagicon|ARG Roberto Cherro (1926~1938) 221 goals
#Flagicon|ARG Francisco Varallo (1931~1939) 194 goals
#Flagicon|ARG Martín Palermo (1997~2001; 2004~present) 194 goals
#Flagicon|ARG Domingo Tarasconi (1922~1932) 193 goals
#Flagicon|ARG Jaime Sarlanga (1940~1948) 128 goals
#Flagicon|ARG Mario Boyé (1941~1949; 1955) 124 goals
#Flagicon|PAR Delfín Benítez Cáceres (1932~1938) 115 goals

Amateur Era (1905-31)

*Flagicon|ARG Pedro Calomino (1911-13,1915-24)
*Flagicon|ARG Américo Tesoriere (GK) (1916-27)
*Flagicon|ARG Alfredo Garasini (1916-28)
*Flagicon|ARG Ramón Muttis (1923-32)
*Flagicon|ARG Ludovico Bidoglio (1922-31)
*Flagicon|ARG Domingo Tarasconi (1922-32)
*Flagicon|ARG Roberto Cherro (1926-35)
*Flagicon|ESP flagicon|ARGPedro Arico Suárez (1929-42)

Professional Era (1931-present)

1930s - 1970s

*Flagicon|ARG Francisco Varallo (1931~39)
*Flagicon|ARG Juan Elías Yustrich (GK) (1932~37)
*Flagicon|PAR Delfín Benítez Cáceres (1932-38)
*Flagicon|ARG Natalio Pescia (1933~42)
*Flagicon|ARG Ernesto Lazzatti (1934~47)
*Flagicon|ARG Jaime Sarlanga (1940~48)
*Flagicon|ARG Mario Boyé (1941~49; 1955)
*Flagicon|URU Severino Varela (1943~45)
*Flagicon|ARG José Borello (1945-50)
*Flagicon|ARG Juan Francisco Lombardo (1952-60)
*Flagicon|ARG Antonio Rattín (1956~70)
*Flagicon|ARG Silvio Marzolini (1960~72)
*Flagicon|ARG Antonio Roma (GK) (1960~72)
*Flagicon|BRA Paulo Valentim (1960~64)
*Flagicon|ARG Carmelo Simeone (1962~67)
*Flagicon|ARG Angel Rojas "Rojitas" (1963~71)
*Flagicon|ARG Alfredo "El Tanque" Rojas (1964~68)
*Flagicon|ARG Norberto Rubén Madurga (1965~71)
*Flagicon|ARG Ramón Héctor Ponce (1966~74)
*Flagicon|PER Julio Meléndez (1968~72)
*Flagicon|ARG Rubén Suñé (1969~72, 1976~80)

1970s - 1990s

*flagicon|ARG Enzo Ferrero (1971~75)
*flagicon|ARG Osvaldo Potente (1971~75, 1979~80)
*flagicon|ARG Roberto Mouzo (1971~84) (record: 396 matches played for Boca)
*flagicon|ARG Hugo Curioni (Joint topscorer Metropolitano 1973)
*flagicon|ARG Marcelo Trobbiani (1973~76, 1981~82)
*flagicon|ARG Alberto Tarantini (1973~77)
*flagicon|ARG Vicente "Tano" Pernía (1973~81)
*flagicon|ARG Jorge "Chino" Benítez (1973~83)
*flagicon|ARG Jorge Ribolzi
*flagicon|ARG Carlos Veglio (1976~78, 1980)
*flagicon|ARG Carlos García Cambón (1974~77)
*flagicon|ARG Darío Luis Felman (1975~78)
*flagicon|ARG Mario Zanabria (1976~80)
*flagicon|ARG Ernesto "Héber" Mastrángelo (1976~81)
*flagicon|ARG Pancho Sá (1976~81) (World Record 6 Copa Libertadores titles)
*flagicon|ARG Hugo Orlando Gatti 1976~89) (GK) (765 matches)
*flagicon|ARG Ricardo Gareca (1978~80, 1982~84)
*flagicon|ARG Diego Armando Maradona (1981~82, 1995~97)
*flagicon|ARG Miguel Ángel Brindisi (1981~82)
*flagicon|ARG Julio Olarticoechea (1985~86)
*flagicon|BOL Milton Melgar (1985~88)
*flagicon|ARG Jorge Comas (1986~89)
*flagicon|ARG José Luis Cuciuffo (1987~90)
*flagicon|ARG Claudio Marangoni (1988~90)
*flagicon|ARG Carlos Daniel Tapia (1985~94)
*flagicon|ARG Juan Simón (1988~94)
*flagicon|ARG Diego Latorre (1987~92, 1996~98)
*flagicon|ARG Carlos Navarro Montoya (1988~96) (GK) (Boca record: 180 straight matches)
*flagicon|ARG Juan Ramon Rocha 1979~80)
*flagicon|ARG Blas Giunta (1989~93, 1995~97)

1990s - 2000s

*flagicon|ARG Gabriel Batistuta (1990~91)
*flagicon|ARG Alberto Márcico (1992~95)
*flagicon|ARG "Beto" Carranza (1992~95)
*flagicon|URU Sergio "Manteca" Martínez (1992~97)
*flagicon|ARG "Kily" González (1995~96)
*flagicon|ARG Nelson Vivas (1994~97)
*flagicon|ARG Rodolfo Arruabarrena (1993~2000)
*flagicon|URU Rubén Da Silva (1994~95)
*flagicon|ARG Diego Cagna (1995~98, 2003~05)
*flagicon|ARG Juan Román Riquelme (1995~02, 2007)
*flagicon|ARG Claudio Paul Caniggia (1995~98)
*flagicon|GEO Georgi Kinkladze (1994)
*flagicon|ARG Juan Sebastián Verón (1996)
*flagicon|Peru Nolberto Solano (1997~1998)
*flagicon|COL Jorge Bermúdez (1997~2002)
*flagicon|ARG Walter Samuel (1997~2000)
*flagicon|COL Óscar Córdoba (1997~2001) (GK)
*flagicon|COL Mauricio "Chicho" Serna (1998~2002)
*flagicon|ARG Aníbal Samuel Matellán (1996~2001, 2004~05)
*flagicon|ARG Guillermo Barros Schelotto (1997~2007) (Boca record: 16 titles)
*flagicon|ARG Hugo Ibarra (1998~2001,2002~2003,2007-present)
*flagicon|ARG Sebastián Battaglia(1998~2003,2005-present)
*flagicon|ARG Franco Cángele (2002~04)
*flagicon|ARG Nicolás Burdisso (1999~04)
*flagicon|ARG Roberto Abbondanzieri (1997~2006) (GK)
*flagicon|JPN Naohiro Takahara (2001~2002)
*flagicon|ARG Raul Alfredo Cascini (2001~04)
*flagicon|ARG Rolando Schiavi (2001~05)
*flagicon|ARG Marcelo Delgado (2000~03, 2005~06)
*flagicon|ARG Fernando Gago (2004~06)
*flagicon|ARG Carlos Tévez (2001~04)
*flagicon|ARG Clemente Rodriguez (2001~04, 2007)
*flagicon|BRA Pedro Iarley (2003~04)
*flagicon|ARG Andrés Guglielminpietro (2004~05)
*flagicon|ARG Fernando Gago(2004~07)
*flagicon|ARG Rodrigo Palacio(2005-present)
*flagicon|ARG Daniel Bilos (2005~06)
*flagicon|ARG Federico Insúa (2005~06)
*flagicon|ARG Daniel Díaz (2005~07)

Coaches

Boca's two most successful coaches were Juan Carlos Lorenzo (1976~79, 1987), and Carlos Bianchi, (1998-2002, 2003~04). "Toto" Lorenzo won five titles with the team, including the Libertadores Cup in 1977 and 1978, the Intercontinental Cup in 1977, and the Metropolitano and Nacional in 1976. Bianchi won nine, including Aperturas in 1998, 2000 and 2003, the 1999 Clausura, the Libertadores Cup in 2000, 2001, and 2003, and the Intercontinental Cup in 2000 and 2003.

On 22 August, 2006, it was announced that Ricardo Lavolpe would take over the post of coach on September 15, replacing Alfio Basile, who has been selected to manage Argentina National Football Team. Lavolpe failed to continue Basile's chain of success, losing the 2006 Apertura championship in spite of a 4 points advantage with only two rounds to go.

Miguel Russo was hired as Lavolpe's replacement. Boca took second place to San Lorenzo de Almagro in the 2007 "Clausura" tournament, but went on to win the Copa Libertadores with a 5-0 overall rout of Brazilian Grêmio.

Chairmen

Pedro Pompilio is the current chairman of Boca Juniors.

References

External links

* [http://www.bocajuniors.com.ar/index.php Boca Juniors Official Site]
* [http://www.bocajuniorsfans.com/ Boca Juniors Forums - Foros] es iconen icon
* [http://www.bocampeonweb.com.ar/english BocampeonWeb Site] es iconpt iconen icon
* [http://www.historiadeboca.com.ar Boca's History site] es icon
* [http://www.pasionxeneize.com.ar/ www.pasionxeneize.com.ar / El Foro de la Pasión Xeneize]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/tablesb/bocajuniors.html Boca Juniors results and Statistics] at RSSSF
* [http://www.informexeneize.com.ar/biografias.htm Informe Xeneize - Biografies]
* [http://www.agrupacionxeneizes.com/ Agrupación Xeneizes]
* [http://www.estoesboca.com.ar/ Esto es Boca]
* [http://www.lamitadmas1.com.ar/ "La Mitad Más Uno"] (Half Plus One)
* [http://www.carnavalboquense.com.ar/ Carnaval Toda La Vida] (The present time and statistic) es icon
* [http://www.ArchivoFutbol.com/ ArchivoFutbol.com - Team-specific news about Argentine football]
* [http://www.meduermo.com.ar/thumbnails.php?album=86 Boca Juniors Photos]