'Matar O Morir', read a flame engulfed banner in the home end of La Bombonera this Sunday.

The translation: 'Kill or Die'. Welcome to the Superclasico, Argentina’s most important football match, and one of the most fiercely contested derbies in the world.

There aren’t many fixtures in world football today where players are shielded by local police as they take throw-ins and corners. Throw a paper plane these days and all carnage breaks loose. In Buenos Aires, however, the former is commonplace.

Over 70% of Argentine football fans are said to follow one of the two contenders, and the country almost comes to a stand still twice a year as Boca Juniors take on Club Atletico River Plate.

The tie is one with deep political roots and fuelled by its nation’s fiery passion for football, making it a national event, not merely a local derby. Both with origins in La Boca - a working class region of Buenos Aires - River later severed ties with the region moving to a wealthier district of the city, Nunez.

Since, Boca have been heavily associated with the working class, and River with the upper. And so rivalry ensued. The game today still reverberates with hateful undertones as this small local scrap between the wealthy and poor has grown into the most legendary clash in South American football.

The first official meeting between the two back in 1913 ended in a 2-1 victory for the then upper-class side River, known as Los Millionarios. Since, however, it is Boca who have taken the lion's share of the glory in the fixture, although the figures are astonishingly close.

Xeneizes have been victorious in 132 of 358 matches between the pair, with River winning 114 and the rest ending in draws. The most recent fixture, last Sunday, ended in a 0-0 draw, much to the displeasure of the both fans, and leaves the two sides sitting in 8th and 5th in their respective leagues.

Those positions are unusual, for the two are by far the two most successful clubs in the country’s history. The duo eclipse England’s wannabes, Manchester United and Liverpool, in terms of success, with Boca and River having won 30 and 36 Primera Division titles respectively, as apposed to United and Liverpool’s meek 20 and 18.

It is a fixture that should sit on any real football fan’s bucket list. Forget El Clasico, the Manchester and Milan Derbies, and Fenerbahce vs. Galatasaray, the Superclasico ‘makes the old firm look like primary school kick-about’.

Since 2013, however, no away fans have been allow to travel to either stadium, following the deaths of three fans during riots which saw the country's death toll due to football related violence rise to 70 since the turn of the millennium.

Both sets of supporters have voiced their dismay at the ban, but it certainly hasn’t stopped the violence. There has been a reported 17 more deaths since 2013, and the police now have further trouble dealing with scraps between followers of the same club, believe it or not. Boca’s hardcores, the Barra Bravas, are notorious for such power struggles within their own ranks.

It would be hard to argue that the action taken by the AFA has dampened the atmosphere of the tie. A bouncing Bombanera full of 40,000 Boca loyalists or an Estadio Monumental packed with 70,000 River die hards is still something special, however, with a sea of fireworks, banners and dancing fans await those who enter the arenas.

The passion from the XI on the field is evident also, and more often than not it spills over. Earlier this season, five players were sent off during a so called friendly fixture, including Carlos Tevez, who conceded the penalty that lead to the only goal in a 1-0 victory for River.

Tevez was also sent off during his early days at the club, having celebrated in front of River fans in the manner of the chicken; mocking the club’s ‘reputation’ for choking in big games. The move was said to have sparked violence between the clubs' fans once more, and went down as one of the most memorable, albeit slightly odd, moments in the derby’s recent history.

Perhaps the greatest the ever grace to derby is the immortal Diego Maradona. At 21, the Argentine signed for his dream club Boca Juniors, subsequently scoring on his debut and going on to win the Primera Division in his first season at the club.

It is his dazzling run and finish in the 3-0 victory over River that season that fans will remember most, as the future Balon d'Or winner stamped his name in Superclasico folklore, and in the process earned himself a move to European giants Barcelona. Maradona later returned to finish his career at La Bombonera.

The Superclasico is a match that invigorates a nation like no other can, and defines its country’s love for the game. Let’s hope it continues to produce the superstars of the game for the future as it has done so well in the past.

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