Club World Cup team guide – Boca Juniors: A global brand, Cavani and a coach returning for his third stint

New York Times

09-06-2025

Not many South American clubs can boast widespread brand recognition outside of their own continent. Boca Juniors can.
Maybe it's the kit, that striking golden band across princely blue. Maybe it's the stadium, a powder keg in the shape of a chocolate box, the kind of place to which people make pilgrimages. Maybe it's the badge, the constellation of stars and the collegiate lettering. Maybe it's the power of woozy, half-baked memories — of Diego Maradona, Juan Roman Riquelme, Martin Palermo, romantic figures of all different persuasions.
It is, of course, all of these things, plus a few more intangibles. Boca are just one of those mythic, mystical sporting entities, revered not only by their fans but by people who have never even seen them play.
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Boca have won 35 domestic league titles. They have won the Copa Libertadores (South America's premier continental competition) six times — four since the turn of the millennium — and the old Intercontinental Cup, which was succeeded by the old Club World Cup, on three occasions. Their trophy cabinet speaks for itself.
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The last couple of years have been difficult, however, defined by friction behind the scenes and underperformance on the pitch. Defeat against River Plate in the Superclasico in April brought everything to a head: Riquelme, now club president, sacked coach Fernando Gago and, a month later, turned to veteran Miguel Angel Russo in a bid to put Boca back on track.
It is fair to say that the Club World Cup is not coming at the best time.
Boca snuck in via the back door, taking the sixth and final South American qualification spot courtesy of their place in the CONMEBOL confederation's four-year ranking of its clubs.
Boca only appointed Russo at the start of June, so the likelihood is that they will still be feeling their way into his methods when the Club World Cup begins. The 69-year-old is a pragmatist, generally favouring simplicity, in both formation — 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 are his usual bankers, although 4-3-1-2 may suit this squad better — and style of play.
Expect a broadly defensive approach, with a renewed emphasis on grit and physicality — qualities that some Boca fans feel have been missing in recent years.
Russo has plenty of credit in the bank with the Boca fans: this is his third stint in charge at La Bombonera and during his first spell, they won the 2007 Libertadores. He is seen as a manager of the old school: demanding, passionate, much more of a player-whisperer than a tactical whizz.
His intimate knowledge of Boca is seen as a big plus, as is his friendship with Riquelme. The hope is that he will have the personality to unite a squad that has not always been the most harmonious.
In a fairly joyless 2024 campaign, Boca's brightest light was Edinson Cavani. Now 38, the former Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United striker is understandably not the athlete he once was.
He does, however, retain killer instincts in the penalty box, as well as the never-say-die attitude that made him such a hit in European football. His form has dropped away a little this year, but if Boca need someone to rise to the occasion in the U.S., Cavani still looks their best bet.
The fans are most excited about Milton Delgado, a central midfielder who broke into the senior squad last season. While not the most physically impressive — he looks like he would have to run around in the rain to get wet — the 19-year-old is an excellent all-rounder, capable of breaking up attacks on the edge of his own box and dictating the play when Boca have possession. He is energetic, has good technique and reads the game extremely well.
One of the most popular — and less profane — songs at La Bombonera is Boca Mi Buen Amigo. It goes like this:
Boca, my good friend,
This campaign, we will be with you again,
We will cheer for you with all our hearts,
These are your fans who want to see you as champions,
I don't care what they say,
What others say,
I follow you everywhere,
I love you more and more.
Easy one: River Plate. Like so many rivalries, this comes steeped in its own lore and stereotypes: River the rich kids from the Belgrano neighbourhood, Boca the plucky upstarts, street fighters from the wrong side of the tracks.
The animosity between the two clubs — Argentina's biggest by a margin — usually translates to heated, red-card-strewn matches. Sadly, violence has been a theme off the pitch, too; the chaotic scenes ahead of the second 2018 Copa Libertadores final, which led to the match being relocated to Madrid, shocked the wider world but were far from out of the ordinary.
The architecture of La Bombonera — three tiers sweeping around three sides of the ground, plus a vertical fourth wall of viewing boxes — is so iconic that it's hard to imagine it being any other way. That fourth side, though, to the east, was more of a fudge than a design choice: the residents of what is now Del Valle Iberlucea street were not willing to allow their homes to be bulldozed to make way for a stand, so architects had to be creative. Even now, 85 years after the stadium opened, there are occasional whispers that it may one day be 'completed' — ie, turned into a full bowl.
Because they like former Manchester United players? Boca have no fewer than four: Cavani, Ander Herrera, Marcos Rojo and Sergio Romero. Beyond that, with no real promise of absorbing football, it's ultimately going to come down to vibes. Honestly, just look at that kit, still magnificent all these decades later, and try to keep your heart from speeding up.
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(Top photos: SOPA Images, Alejandro Pagni/Getty; design: Kelsea Petersen/The Athletic)