November should be a historic month for Argentine and South American football.
With Boca Juniors and River Plate meeting in an unprecedented Copa Libertadores final, it will be time to sit and enjoy watching one of football’s biggest rivalries playing for the continent’s most important trophy.
The games, which will be played on November 10th at La Bombonera and November 24th at Monumental de Nuñez, will also mark the last Copa Libertadores final with two legs, as the rules will be changed for a single game from 2019 onward.
Argentina can’t wait for the games, and with the rivalry now reaching peak levels, we start getting the tragic and funny stories from local football fans.
As reported by El Territorio this Monday, a house in Apóstoles was set on fire after a discussion between two friends about the Libertadores final.
According to the police, Arthuro B. said that he and former brother-in-law Oscar B., who lives with him, were at a friend’s house on Sunday. That’s where they started ‘a heated discussion, presumably due to football issues’.
During the argument, Oscar allegedly said he would return to Arthuro’s house to take his stuff and move out of the place. Minutes later, Arthuro found out that the house was on fire, and immediately blamed his former brother-in-law.
En Misiones, la conversación entre dos amigos por la final entre River y Boca se pasó de revoluciones y terminó con una vivienda envuelta en llamas ➡️https://t.co/l9bG8dHtzo pic.twitter.com/QO2faigO9I
— Diario Olé (@DiarioOle) November 5, 2018
Meanwhile, the presidents of Boca Juniors and River Plate continue working so the matches can be safe for fans. That’s why they’ve been supporting the #RivalesNoEnemigos campaign, and took the decision that both matches will not have away support. They now wait for Conmebol’s decision on the matter.
Regarding the end of the two-leg final, as South America is completely different from Europe and doesn’t have the same easiness to travel from country to country, this may be the last big Copa Libertadores final we’ll see in terms of support.
After that, if a Brazilian club plays an Uruguayan side in a single match in Colombia, the final will mostly have tourists and guests. That’s sad for South American football, but probably sounds more profitable for those who take the decisions.
In the video below, that’s how River Plate fans welcomed the team for the Copa Libertadores final against Tigres in 2015.
