It’s Friday again!

And since most of you are still partying around the world and don’t really care about what happens here, there’s no point in me making some snarky (yet extremely profound) remark about the current state of the country. You’re just not gonna read it.

You know how demoralizing it was for me to write the last two columns knowing that you didn’t even care to check them out? You bastards!

This is what you are not going to read, but I offer you nonetheless just for the sake of martyrdom:

• 

  Lionel Messi made the cover of Time magazine this week. But don't get your hopes up. So did Hitler. (Photo courtesy of Time Magazine).

  She’s back, and she’s more pissed than ever! That’s right people, everyone’s favourite President resumed her activities last Wednesday in a ceremony in Casa Rosada after a 20-day leave of absence that she spent recovering from non-cancer.  So here’s her hilarious 45 minutes comeback speech, in case you want to watch it.

• Haha! Who are we kidding, you’re not gonna watch it! And I’m so sure that you were not gonna watch it that I actually linked that to some cat blooper videos. Go on, click on it! See? Anyway, here’s the actual speech for that one freak reader who will actually sit through it. The rest of you, first watch the cat video and then check out some highlights of her speech below:

1. The President announced that for the first time in like, ever (or the last 20 years), unemployment levels fell to 6.7% 
2. She praised the authorities of the Austral Hospital and thanked them for not murdering her. Which could have totally happened since it’s run by the ultra-Catholic Opus Dei, an organisation that has condemned her to Hell since she decided to support marriage equality.
3. She suggested that her “Hey! Guess what! You didn’t have cancer after all!” diagnosis was actually a miracle. No, really, she did.
4. She replied to British Primer Minister David Cameron‘s statements about Argentina being a colonialist country and said that “when someone resorts to saying that is because they have neither reason nor argument,” and once again urged the UK to discuss the sovereignty of the Malvinas/Falklands. Yeah, because we never heard that one before.
5. She criticized foreign oil companies for a lack of investment and overpricing, which I don’t really care about because I don’t own a car.
6. She criticized environmental NGOs, saying that they are not defending the Malvinas’ natural resources enough and are letting the UK drill for oil around them. (Greenpeace didn’t like this and replied fast.)
7. She showed her throat scar on purpose so the next day “Clarín wouldn’t say that her operation was a sham.”
8. Isn’t that the most unflattering photo of her you’ve ever seen? ‘Cause I think it is.
9. That’s it, no more bullet points. Come on, scroll down.

• Remember last week when I said that “the fan” from the wonderfully vomit-inducing “Soñando por Bailar 2” was this close from snapping and going on a killing spree on his fellow contestants? Well, here’s some more evidence that I’m right, since he chose to dress like an old lady and do an alleged “comedy bit.” Sounds eerily similar to a certain horror classic, does it? No, you idiots, I’m not talking about this, I’m talking about this! Seriously, that guy is two seconds away from going postal. Should you watch the video? Probably not. It’s certainly not funny, it’s in Spanish and you won’t even get the gist of it. In fact, I don’t even know why I’m still talking about it. Looking at that guy in drag is just sad, really. Don’t bother.

• The media (that’s us) insist on making the public (that’s you) believe that Berenice Bejo, an Argentine-born (but totally French) actress nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role on “The Artist” is as Argentine as dulce de leche. However, let’s get our facts straight. First of all: she’s not. Second of all: actually that’s pretty much it. Stop trying to make it seem as if Argentina deserves any credit for her. Maybe for her hotness, but that’s it.

• The entire Argentine population celebrated that the king of all things football Lionel Messi made it to the cover of Time Magazine this week. Too bad they failed to notice  the text under the headline, “Why won’t his countrymen love him?” Ironic, isn’t it? This guy leaves his life in the football field, visits Argentina all the time, kisses the Argentine flag passionately and they still hate him. But some French chick  we never heard of is up for an Oscar and she’s instantly up there with Evita. Oh, Argentina. You attention whore.

• Eons ago, there was a mesmerizing sporting event that used to drive thousands of Argentines and visitors into a football trance. This yearly happening used to go by the name of “Superclasico,” a clash between the forces of good and evil (depending on who you followed) that mutated into an orgasmic, collective experience, leaving attendees agitated for hours after the encounter. But, alas, then River Plate got relegated to the National B last year and it all went to shit. So now you’ve got both clubs setting up a “friendly superclasico,” which means “we’re doing it because we want to milk more money out of this stupidity” and it doesn’t matter who wins or loses because it’s “just for the thrill of the game,” right? Wrong! When I play Super Mario Bros. I don’t do it because I like to stomp on evil mushrooms. I do it because I want to rescue Princess Peach! IT’S ALL ABOUT PRINCESS PEACH!

• Oh and Boca Juniors beat River Plate 2-0. Tough shit.

Have a great weekend everyone!

A really old photo from a Superclasico, probably in the 70's. Check the guys' hairdos. Ha! (Photo/Wikipedia)

“What is the Superclásico?” you ask? Well if you do then it means that you are probably a football hater. Or a woman.

Because it turns out that today is the day that the country comes to a full stop (didn’t it come full stop last week for some other reason? Whatever.) due to the derby of all footballing derbies: the match between giant teams Boca Juniors and River Plate.

Tens of thousands of locals and expats alike have been flocking towards the River Plate stadium since early this morning, many in order to get some great seats, others hoping to buy a ticket from scalpers for more than a thousand dollars.

So if you consider yourself to be a respectable football fan, you must be there tonight. Or at least get together with your friends, grab some beer and chips and watch it on TV. The game starts at 7 pm but all networks will surely be covering the pregame after 5 pm.

If you don’t, then you’re just like me: a guy who understands nothing about football and tries to hide his ignorance under a thick veil of hatred and resentment.

So enjoy, and don’t forget to dodge the bullets!

Oh, didn’t I mention the random shootouts outside the stadium?

Yeah, well.

They happen.

Let the game begin!

(Click here for a non-resentful, serious Superclasico article and here to go to the River Plate site)

Hello and welcome to a rain-delayed round up of the tenth round of the Argentine Clausura. After so much build up and hype surrounding my round up all week, when I sat down to it on Sunday the heavens opened something atrocious. I tried to write it for ten minutes but it was a nightmare: the keyboard was full of water and the words refused to flow smoothly, my fingers were continually slipping on the mousepad and worst of all my hair was getting drenched. I had to give up in the end and postpone it for today, disappointing many fans who now couldn’t read it due to the absurdly early writing time which meant most people were still at work. But hey, no-one really cares about those people right?

I will explain the nonsensical ramblings above; it is essentially a reflection of the farce around the Superclasico, which occurred earlier today. Some bright spark at the AFA decided to start the replayed game at 3:45pm, which rules out anyone who works enough to own a TV or afford a ticket from going- save those lovely fellas en la doce of course, they made it. I can’t wait to see how many colds and stomach aches spontaneously appeared at roughly 2 this afternoon, most likely an epidemic.

Photo by Rafael Alvez

Idiotic scheduling of games is nothing new in Argentina. The fact almost every game has to be shown on one channel means 5pm Friday kick offs are common, as are stadia that resembles wild west ghost towns until the working folk turn up around half time. And of course the biggest irony is that it is all done under the guise of ‘Fútbol para todos’ (football for everybody)- everybody, that is who doesn’t have a job outside of the barra brava.

And on we go to the much awaited ‘super-duper-clasíco’.

All Roads Lead to Román:

In the insanely-hyped biggest game of the Argentine football year, it was Boca Juniors which will hold the nation’s bragging rights after dispatching bitter rivals River Plate 2-0 in the Bombonera. Old wizard Juán Román Riquelme, after weeks of spouting his mouth off in the press and a very visible feud with Martín Palermo was the driving force behind los bosteros victory, setting up the first of Chilean Gary Medel’s two goals with a cleverly executed free kick. Medel had a very eventful game, scoring both before being sent off at the end for some undignified pushing and shoving. Boca coach Alves’s job is safe for another couple of weeks then, whereas opposite number Astrada will be looking nervously over his shoulder.

Racing Toil Down South:

La academia desperately needed a win on Saturday against fellow strugglers Lanús, who are having a poor season after consistent success. A horribly flat second half display however did Racing no favours as they went down in a timid 1-0 reverse. Sebastian Blanco won it for the southerners, smashing in from the edge of the area as the Racing backline parted like the sea for Moses. Racing continue in promotion, although slightly boosted by the fact all their relegation rivals lost as well.

Independiente Make History:

Nothing to do with the win, a fairly routine 2-0 runout against strugglers Rosario Central in rain that can only be described as evil. Nor with the fact they are top of the league- los rojos have been there, done that. No, it’s that possibly for the first time in recorded history Racing fans were cheering Independiente on against their relegation rivals. Something similar to the U.S’s support of Stalin in World War Two without exaggerating too much. And they obliged their hated rivals, with goals from Mareque and Nuñez in the second half keeping the rojos at the top. The real hero in a run of five straight wins has been keeper Adrian Gabbarini, who now has gone 452 minutes keeping the integrity of his net intact. In Argentine goalkeeper terms, that’s pretty much unprecedented.

Both Bosses Still Circling the Drain:

San Lorenzo and Colón both made promising starts to this years clausura, but quickly faded away into mid-table mediocrity- to the ire of glory hungry fans of both colours. Both el cholo Diego Simeone and his Colón opposite number Antonio Mohamed had hinted that a loss would see them out, and they remain with their head on the block after a 2-2 draw that served neither. Colón twice led and went into the final minutes ahead; home striker Alejandro Gómez then saved his bosses neck with a great run and shot. That was Gómez’s last action however, as in the excitement he ripped off his shirt, only to be shown a second yellow card and asked politely to leave the pitch.

Best of the Rest- The Battle at the Bottom:

It really was a torrid week for the strugglers, as all five clubs at the foot of the table were defeated. Chacarita Juniors 2-0 reverse at Huracán was enough for coach Federico Gamboa to be given the shove by the board, as Chaca remained fixed in direct relegation. They are joined there by Atletico Tucumán, who were downed at home 3-1 by South American champions Estudiantes. Birmingham-bound forward Mauro Boselli was the pincha hero, netting two to ensure the La Plata club stay in the chase for clausura and libertadores honours. One would think however he will face stronger keepers in England than Lucas Ischuk- the Tucuman number one had a nightmare and was responsible for at least two goals, yet somehow was still rated 6 by the bible-like authority of the Clarín player ratings. And finally Gimnasia missed the chance to leapfrog Racing and Central by falling 2-0 at home to Arsenal. My predictions have a knack of being wrong, but I’ll eat my hat if those five aren’t the ones at the bottom come May.

NOTE: By table I mean the three year average relegation table, not the fairly irrelevant clausura one. Hope this clears up any confusion!

Full Results of Fecha 10:

Hinchadas Gone Wild- Part One:

La Doce- The feared hardcore fans of Boca Juniors ‘paid the players a visit’ last Thursday, in anticipation of Sunday’s superclasico. Scaring the hell out of the players, the supporter-gangsters gathered them in an underground car park and urged them to improve dismal results, saying that it was ‘hurting their business’ of selling fake tickets and shirts, trips to far away parts etc. They parted with an ominous warning; that if things don’t improve they’d be back to take money as compensation.

Hinchadas Gone Wild- Part Two:

“Players, players, this is all we’re going to say. That if we see you in a club tonight, we’re sending you to hospital!!” How the Racing Fans, usually equipped with a Gandhi like tolerance for poor play, advised their heroes to spend their evening after Saturday’s disaster. Before stopping the team coach en route home and demanding answers.

Nelson Mandela Award for Truth and Reconciliation:

When it comes to diplomacy and building bridges, Sr. Maradona is usually closer in style to Nelson of Simpsons fame than the famed South African premier. However, today the hairy one entered the bombonera for the first time since his falling out with Riquelme, and even admitted that Román “broke it”(good thing I assume). Shock recall for the Boca 10 on the horizon? No chance!! Still, nice to see Diego back in his old stamping ground.

Kindred Spirits?

Boludo of the Week:

The Argentine Football Association at a canter. When you have the biggest game of the season, you do not, I repeat DO NOT put it on at a time where half the country can’t watch it!

Approaching the halfway point of the Clausura season, there is no doubt that this championship is still anybody’s. Besides making managers’ jobs about as safe and secure as a popular section on firework night, it certainly adds a level of drama and tension having two championships a year; invariably there is a surprise team coming through strong for half a year, and the title nearly always goes down to the final game.

No-one understands the fickle nature of the two season year currently like heavyweights Boca and River. Which is lucky as it leads me seamlessly just like every other Argentine sports writer onto the big one: El Superclasico is coming this Sunday.

This is a game over-hyped like no other in Argentina (for me I’d rather talk about Lanús-Racing, what are you going to do?). Tickets sell to foreigners for ridiculous amounts of money, real fans tear their hair out trying to get entrance, and the papers and TV shows fill their schedules for a week with every piece of gossip and rumour that leaks out of the camps. For Boca the game couldn’t have come at a worst time; Abel Alves’ team have lost their last two, have only won one game all year and are fourth from bottom in the table. A loss on Sunday, and I’ll eat my hat if Alves is still in the job come Monday afternoon.

River on the other hand, after a similarly atrocious start have bounced back somewhat, and two wins in three mean they have dragged themselves up into midtable. Coach ‘El negro’ Astrada does however have one particularly large thorn in his side, the ‘little donkey’ Ariel Ortega. Everyone’s second favourite short, stocky, mercurial and incredibly arrogant playmaker with a history of substance abuse has been vocal in the press about being frozen out the River team, and keeps hinting that his days are numbered. Maybe if he turned for training on time and sober he’d be in the good books, but hey. And you can forget about an Ortega fairytale on Sunday, theres only one ‘Fairytale hero’ at the Bombonera and his name is “Saint” Martín Palermo.

Martin Palermo- Film Star?!

Prediction for Sunday then? 1-1 draw. River will be winning throughout from horrific Boca defending, until Saint Martín turns up in the final minute and throws himself half way across the field to meet a corner and equalise. He’ll then end up fighting with the entire River team and be sent off. Alves will be sacked in the morning, and the papers will talk of ‘another chapter being written in the film that is Martín Palermo’s football career.’ And I will throw Clarín across the room in protest at such lazy journalism. You heard it from me first….

There is also 18 other teams that play in the Argentine Primera, let’s see how they did in the ninth round of fixtures:

Rojos Go Top with a Little Help from the Linesman:

No-one will claim that Independiente are playing vintage football now, least of all me, but they are picking up that horrible habit of winning games when playing badly that all champions need. This was proved again on Saturday when they downed Chacarita Juniors 1-0 away from home. There was a big controversy however over the goal. With just five minutes played the Chaca defence booted the ball out for a throw-in. One problem though; linesman Gonzalo Esquivel was standing inside the pitch, and the ball hit the bone-headed official and went out for a corner. And of course, Independiente went on to score from this very corner. Despite the bizarre build up to the goal the rojos were good value for the win, and now are alone at the top after four straight wins.

God Bless Big Brothers!

He might not have as big a profile as la selección hero Gonzalo, but older brother Federico Higuaín is favourite in Mendoza after his two goals steered Godoy Cruz to a 2-1 win over Atletico Tucumán, and a brief stay at the top of the table until Indpendiente played the next day. After netting the first Higuaín then won it for the home club, firing home a beauty from 35 yards to break a 1-1 tie. Tucumán now look in serious trouble, and need a miracle to avoid the drop.

Misery in el cilindro:

The first rule of being a Racing fan is never build up your illusions, as they are sure to be shattered the very week after. This was proved once more as, on the back of a stunning 2-1 win over Boca Juniors, la academia fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to Argentinos Juniors. The game was fairly even throughout, with Racing perhaps having the better possession and chances. A flowing bicho move however coupled with characteristically loose Racing defending allowed former academia man Nicolas Pavlovich to slot the ball home. To compound the pain for the home side, with seconds left forward Claudio Bieler was pulled down for a Racing penalty. Captain Yacob stepped up and it was duly saved, leaving the fans livid at the failure and whistling the team off the pitch.

Tigre Go Goal Crazy against the Bosteros:

Granted this Boca Juniors is a pale imitation of the best ones from years by, but with players such as Riquelme, Palermo and Medel they should be at least competing against clubs such as lowly Tigre, who had one of the worst aperturas last season. Instead however they succumbed to a shocking 3-0 defeat away from the Bombonera, a defeat which would have surely meant chau for coach Alves if it wasn’t for the superclasico. The home side’s hero was striker Carlos Luna, who netted every goal for a hat-trick destined to be a career highlight. Pick of the goals was the first, where the forward exchanged passes neatly before surging into the box past weak defence and firing into the bottom corner.

Full Results of Fecha 9:

Argentina’s Smallest Violin Award:

‘It appears that to Astrada I’m a disaster and all the rest of the players are phenomenal’. Ariel Ortega’s mature and thoughtful reaction to the news that he would not be called up for River Plate’s last fixture against Huracán at the weekend. It’s shocking, it seems that at River even if your last name is Ortega you can’t miss training, disappear for days on end, turn up half-drunk and continually bash the coach in the press without losing your place in the team. Madness.

Heroes of the Week:

Two brothers, two different leagues, five goals. Step forward the Higuaín brothers. While Federico was (briefly) propelling Godoy Cruz to the top with his double strike, little brother Gonzalo was busy netting a hat-trick for Real Madrid against Valladolid across the Atlantic, putting the Galacticos top on goal difference over all-conquering Barcelone. I bet their Mum is proud as punch this week.

Boludo of the Week:

Many, oh so many to choose from this week. But for sheer bone-headedness my vote goes to ex-Vélez star Mauro Zarate. The striker, currently playing for Lazio in Italy, was suspended for two games and so decided to pay a visit to the Curva Norte, home of the Rome Club’s notoriously violent and fascist ultras (think of the offspring if an English hooligan and an Argentine barra had a lovechild). This not being enough, he then was caught on camera giving the fascist salute along with the rest of the Mussolini-worshipping scum in the crowd. First Paolo di Canio and now Zarate, is a full lobotomy and Fascist membership a pre-requisite to join the Lazio forward line?

On 9th October, Pablo Martín Gómez was stopped at traffic lights on the way to his girlfriend’s house in Rosario. A motorcycle pulled up alongside his vehicle and, without saying a word, one of the riders shot the driver four times. Before falling into a coma from which he would never wake up, Gomez managed to call a friend saying: “They found me. They shot me.”

Though the incident occurred away from any stadium, investigators suspect that Gomez is yet another victim of the unrelenting violence that plagues Argentine football. In a country where the beautiful game is sacrosanct, the action on the pitch is all-too-frequently overshadowed by the brutal antics of the barra bravas (meaning ‘tough gangs’, the Latin American term for football hooligans).

According to NGO Salvemos al Fútbol (Let’s Save Football), Gómez, a former member of Newell’s Old Boys’ barra brava, was the 243rd victim of football violence in the country. Newspaper reports suggest the 29-year-old may have murdered by members of his old gang, which has been embroiled in a fierce leadership battle since long-standing chief Roberto ‘Pimpi’ Camino was imprisoned earlier in the year. The manner of his execution leaves little doubt that the modern barra brava is far more sophisticated and sinister than the band of thugs more commonly associated with football violence.

Photo by Mark Robinson

La Boca Barra Brava.

The Evolution Of The Barras

Football-related deaths are not a new phenomenon in Argentina: the first reported incident occurred in 1924, when a Uruguayan fan was shot by a Boca Juniors sympathiser. But investigative journalist and author Amílcar Romero, widely considered the country’s leading expert on football violence, identifies 1958, and the killing of River Plate fan Alberto Linker, as the first appearance of the ‘organised, professional and institutionalised’ barra brava recognised today.

The transition was supported by directors who proved willing to offer certain privileges – beginning with free entry to matches – to keep the ‘rulers of the terrace’ as an ally. With a foot in the door, barra bravas quickly extended their influence, demanding a greater input in decision-making and soliciting more and more concessions from officials, coaches and even players.

Those who didn’t follow the rules would lose the support of the stands. In a famous example, ex-Boca Juniors striker Jorge Rinaldi recalls how his life became a nightmare after he refused to attend a players’ dinner organised by La Doce (Boca’s barra): “from that moment, every time I stepped foot on the pitch I was hit by waves of insults from the stands where the barra stood. It was as if I were one of the most hated enemies and not someone defending the club that they claim to love.”

Rinaldi’s ‘no’ appears to be more the exception than the rule. Today, on top of free admission and travel to away fixtures, the barras, especially in the bigger clubs, earn a comfortable living from the sale of merchandising and refreshments, the control of parking around the stadium, and the sale of tickets (at inflated prices). This is sometimes topped up with income generated by more covert means: sales of drugs, a cut of player’s transfer fees and cash-in-hand jobs within the club.

The exact sources of finances are difficult to pinpoint, but with such a lucrative business operation on offer for those in charge, it should be of no surprise that distinct factions of the same barra compete for a bigger slice of the pie. And in a world where violence is considered capital, the consequences are almost certain to be tragic.

Gomez was the eighth casualty of intra-barra fighting in 2009. And it could easily get worse: alongside the trouble at Newell’s, the barra bravas of Estudiantes and Huracán are also involved in a long-running battle for dominance. In March of this year, competing groups within Boca Junior’s La Doce exchanged fire on a busy junction by Parque Lezama, wounding an elderly lady who was eating lunch at a nearby McDonalds.

In the most high-profile example of recent years, a dispute within River Plate’s ‘Los Borrachos del Tablón’ (the drunks in the stands) descended into a full-blown war early in 2007, allegedly over the split of the estimated $50,000 received from the sale of Gonzalo Higuain to Real Madrid. Though River president José María Aguilar distanced himself from the incidents, investigators revealed that more than half of the barra were on the club’s payroll. Among them was Gonzalo Acro, who earned $5,700 a month working at the swimming pool in River Plate’s sports complex. In August 2007, Acro was shot four times as he left a gym in Buenos Aires – an mafia-style assassination that would set a disturbing precedent.

Photo by Fabricio Di Dio

Passionate fans of the Club Atlético Platense at the stadium in Vicente López.

Fighting A Losing Battle

The evolution and escalation of violence at the hands of the barra brava clearly points to a failure on behalf of the state and security forces to stamp out hooliganism from the sport. So far, the Argentina Football Association, AFA’s main strategy involves using more police and security forces to physically keeping opposing fans apart. In top division matches, blocks of empty seats are used as a buffer zone to separate the two groups of supporters. In lower league clubs, visiting fans are barred from stadiums altogether. The latest La Plata derby between Gimnasia and Estudiantes was played out in an empty arena due to fears of fighting among the rival barra bravas.

While this approach may prevent disturbances in the stadium during a game, it is ineffective against barra brava in-fighting and besides, according Salvemos al Fútbol data, three quarters of football-related deaths occurred outside the ground. Worse still, a heavy police presence is likely to incite more violence if officers are unable to maintain order without becoming the aggressors. The 19 football-related deaths that have been directly caused by police repression is evidence that this isn’t always the case in Argentina.

Beyond the questionable capacity of those in uniform, sociologist and sports journalist Sergio Levinsky believes policies based upon exclusion only serve to reinforce a culture of incompatibility in Argentine society that stems from the series of political, economic and moral crises the country faced in the last half century.

The scars of this difficult period – particularly the seven years of state-sponsored terrorism at the hands of a brutal military regime – are visible in the world of football today. “These days, one set of fans will insult the other by saying ‘you don’t even exist, you don’t exist’. This is what the military dictatorship did with the ‘disappeared’. It imposed a certain way of looking at others, of not even recognising another person’s right to exist.” For Levinsky, AFA’s security policies reflect this social phenomenon: “It’s another way of denying existence, this time of violence in football.”

See No Evil

Levinsky’s idea of denial fits with the patent lack of political courage or conviction to eradicate football violence, neatly summed up by the inscription “todo pasa” (anything goes) on the ring worn by long-serving AFA president Julio Grondona. Club presidents, police chiefs and local government officials are quick to distance themselves from responsibility in the aftermath of a violent tragedy, preferring to protect their own image rather than work together to find a lasting solution.

In June, Interior Minister Aníbal Fernandez (now cabinet chief and official spokesman for the Kirchner government), argued that the killing of two Huracán barra bravas was not football-related, given that the attacks happened four hours after the game against Arsenal de Sarandí. When a fierce terrace brawl among River’s ‘Los Borrachos’ in March 2008 left one fan in a coma for a week, the subsequent police record stated that the man’s injuries were the result of an epileptic fit at the entrance to the stadium. Even when a subsequent investigation by sports journalist Gustavo Grabia unearthed photographs that proved that the man was inside the stadium when the fight broke out, no one launched a follow-up investigation.

Photo by Fabricio Di Dio

The Barra Brava at La Bombonera, the stadium of the famed Buenos Aires soccer club Boca Juniors.

These weak cover-ups of football violence are largely the result of widespread and entrenched corruption in Argentina, according to Pablo Tesoriere. His new documentary film ‘Fútbol Violencia S.A.’ portrays the barra brava as the “visible face” of an “anonymous society, dedicated, at whatever cost, to control the dirty side of football”. For Tesoriere, current policies are focused on the wrong area: “You won’t solve anything just by throwing barras in prison – there is a series of social networks behind them [...] We need to focus on the internal relationships [the barras have] with club presidents, trade unions and politicians.”

Traces of these shady networks are relatively easy to find. In the superclasico between Boca Juniors and River Plate at the Bombonera earlier this year, the opposing barras to temporarily put aside one of football’s fiercest rivalries to reveal giant flags supporting the Kirchner government’s campaign to make televised football available on public channels. “Clarín: Football is a passion, not a job” was the message from River’s barra brava, supposedly without a trace of irony.

Elsewhere, prominent members of Independiente’s barras are frequently photographed alongside Hugo Moyano, the leader of one of the most powerful unions in the country. The leader of Estudiantes’ barra, Fabián Giannotta, currently under arrest on suspicion of homicide, was formerly a police officer in the provincial of Buenos Aires. When current leader Mauro Martín took control of La Doce in 2007, his first task was to introduce himself to the police department in La Boca.

 

This complex overlapping of vested interests of barras, club presidents and politicians makes it almost impossible to break the code of silence that surrounds the business of football. It’s a situation that Argentina has dealt with before, says Levinsky, and on an even grander scale. “In the military dictatorship [of 1976-83], squads would kidnap people from their homes in the middle of the night, and when family members went to the police station to report it the next day, their statement would be taken by one of the kidnappers. It’s the same in football: if the police you report a crime to are involved with the barra brava, you are not going to find justice.”

Let’s Save Football

Mónica Nizzardo, founder and president of Salvemos al Fútbol, witnessed first-hand the seemingly fruitless pursuit of justice for crimes committed by barra bravas. While working in the press department at Atlanta, a third-division club, Nizzardo was shocked to discover how dominant the barra were, even arranging the player’s contracts without the board of directors ever seeing them.

“I soon realised that if I didn’t denounce what was going on, I’d become complicit,” says Nizzardo. Her decision provoked an unsavoury response. On 17th February 2004, a known member of the barra, on conditional release from jail, entered the club offices while she worked and proceeded to destroy computers and windows with a hammer. “This kind of damage costs a fortune for a small club like Atlanta,” says Nizzardo, before adding an afterthought, “and I was frightened that the hammer blows were coming my way.”

Nizzard wanted to report the crime, but no one in her club would support her. One director told her he couldn’t back her statement because “they know which one my car is”. Others, including at the local police station, warned her about washing dirty laundry in public.

Photo by DanielHP

River Plate Fans

Eventually Nizzard found an ally in former judge Mariano Bergés, who had also found himself isolated and, ultimately, frustrated in his efforts to bring barra bravas, and the club directors who support them, to justice in the 1990s. Together they founded Salvemos al Fútbol in 2006, with the explicit objective of denouncing all cases of violence and corruption to the judiciary. Most of the cases under investigation in the courts today are the result of their work.

A Glimmer Of Hope?

Progress is painstaking in the Argentine judicial system, but SAF has made some important breakthroughs. One example is Osvaldo Domínguez, a policeman and active member of the Comittee for Sports Security in the province of Buenos Aires, who was detained in September for allegedly working illicitly with the barra brava of Estudiantes. But claiming the scalp of one corrupt person is not the same as exposing the rotten core of a corrupt system.

It is ironic, given recent events, that Newell’s Old Boys could be the inspiration for change. In December 2008, notoriously corrupt club president Eduardo Lopez was finally voted out by angry fans – real fans – after ruling for 14 years without elections. It’s a small step in the scheme of things, but meaningful nonetheless as an example of how real football fans, who cheer from the terraces out of love and not for money, can induce positive change.

Argentine football can still be saved; the big question now is whether it wants to be.

For a detailed look at the evolution of Boca Junior’s infamous barra brava, read (in Spanish) Gustavo Grabia’s ‘La Doce: The True Story Of Boca’s Barra Brava’.

Photo courtesy of Pablo Tesoriere

On 23rd June 1968, Argentina’s two biggest clubs and fierce rivals, River Plate and Boca Juniors, played out a scoreless draw at River’s Monumental stadium. Moments after the whistle blew on a forgettable match, the day became etched in history, as 71 Boca fans died in a crush of people at the exit. The average age of the victims was 20.

“What interested me most in telling this story was the distinct versions of the tragedy.” I’m sat in a quiet Palermo café with Pablo Tesoriere, creator of ‘La Puerta 12’, a powerful documentary that, 40 years on, investigates the events of that day. “With passing of years, it [the tragedy of La Puerta 12] has almost become a thing of myth. Everyone believes they know what happened on that afternoon, and everyone believes they know the truth.”

A striking feature of the film, which was recently screened at the Human Rights Film Festival in Buenos Aires, is the lingering uncertainty over what caused the death of so many. Present day testimonies from survivors, witnesses, journalists and officials are littered with contradictions, showing that there is little more clarity now than in the snippets of archive media footage taken in the aftermath of the event. Did someone forget to open the door? Were the ticket barriers blocking the exit? Were the police to blame for driving back those at the front, while those behind continued to push unawares? Or was the official explanation – that this was simply an accident caused by too many people rushing to leave the stadium at once – accurate?

“What surprised me most was not the quantity of different versions of the same story, but the emphasis with which each person told their own version, as if each wanted to have their own truth be the absolute truth,” recalls Tesoriere, who spent a total of six years researching, filming and editing the documentary. “I wanted to show all the versions respectfully, otherwise it would have been a subjective documentary,” he adds.

Photo courtesy of Pablo Tesoriere

The controversy and emotion surrounding the event has provoked a strong reaction in some viewers, Tesoriere tells me, with some shouting ‘liar’ at the screen when hearing a testimony that disagrees with their own. This, he says, is pleasing. “I wanted an active audience,” he says, eyes momentarily flashing with pride, “not a passive one that would watch a film and then just leave and get on with their lives.”

The young director, who at 28 was born long after the disaster at La Puerta 12, is desperate to spark fresh debate in society, not just about who is to blame for the disaster in 1968, but about the problems and violence that continue to haunt the world of football today. “Everyone knows it [the violence] happens, but no one talks about it. This is what the documentary sought: to generate awareness and remembrance, as much as anything else to prevent another tragedy.”

A Lesson Missed

Alarmingly, what should have changed the face of Argentine football has barely left a scar. According to Tesoriere, it is a matter of fortune that there has not been a repeat of the fatal ‘accident’. “The tragedy happened 40 years ago, but we are living La Puerta 12 in the exits and entrances of stadiums today. If you go to watch a game at River today, you will live the same scenario when you leave the stadium – the crush, the exit without lights, the problems with the police…it’s practically the same, and it’s pure luck that we haven’t had another tragedy.”

Photo courtesy of Pablo Tesoriere

In both his documentary and in person, Tesoriere draws a contrast between La Puerta 12 and the Hillsborough disaster in the UK, where 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death in the stands. Two broadly comparable events with very distinct legacies. “After the similar tragedy in England, there was a full investigation. They changed the policies for entering and exiting the stadiums and the system of police control at matches. Measures were taken so that this would never happen again.”

At the Monumental stadium, the only change that came out of the catastrophe was cosmetic. Gate numbers became letters, La Puerta 12 is now La Puerta L, but otherwise remains the same. “In Argentina, we live in a society with little memory,” laments Tesoriere, “They changed the numbers into letters so that people don’t think about la Puerta 12 or remember that 71 people that died there.”

Bewildered, I ask how it could be that such a major catastrophe hasn’t prompted an overhaul of stadium security, and is barely even mentioned today? “Football in Argentina is dominated by marketing, and it’s no good to be associated with violence and death,” replies Tesoriere. “The people that handle the money aren’t interested in reflection.”

A Sign Of The Times

Argentine political history also adds an important layer of context, with the country under military rule at the time of the tragedy. “It happened in 1968, society was different then, people didn’t come out to protest on the street. Under the military government, people were scared. La Puerta 12 was declared an accident, the case was closed, and they changed the gate markings so it was forgotten about,” says Tesoriere.

Photo courtesy of Pablo Tesoriere

He acknowledges that today, things would be different, especially in light of more recent disasters, such as the fire in Buenos Aires nightclub Cromañon in 2004, which killed 194 mainly young people. “Obviously, if it happened again today, there would be more coverage, more protest, more outrage…but this isn’t the idea, the idea is to prevent it.”

And so, 40 years on, a young director is trying to remind a new generation of how ugly the beautiful game can turn, and how badly things could go wrong again. Modest and softly-spoken, Tesoriere is passionate about the subject, and as he talks, he barely notices the coffee getting cold in front of him.

To his credit, ‘La Puerta 12’ has already had an impact: after a screening at the National Congress and with the help of local NGO ‘Salvemos el Fútbol’, a memorial plaque was finally placed at the site of the tragedy. Amazingly, this is the first official gesture of remembrance for the families of the victims, who finally have a place at which they can mourn their losses. On 23rd June, the anniversary date, the documentary will be presented at Boca Junior’s La Bombonera stadium.

But Tesoriere’s work isn’t finished, and he is currently putting the finishing touches on a new documentary about the violence in football today. The idea was conceived whilst making this film: “It’s like a La Puerta 12: part II,” he explains, “and I’m making it educational, almost like an encyclopaedia. Everyone talks about violence in football, but no one knows what it is, or where it comes from, or how the police should control it. It’s like a manual.”