Pitchside at La Bombonera

In the UK, it’s almost impossible to talk to anyone about Argentina without them mentioning Boca Juniors. The club is known worldwide for its colossal size and unbelievable support.

Everything about Boca Juniors entices football fans from all corners of the globe. The iconic blue and yellow kit, the passion that’s ejected from the stands every time they play at home, and of course, one of the most noticeable football stadiums in the world: La Bombonera. 

To get to the point in the story where I am standing pitchside at La Bombonera, I first need to go back five years in time, to the catalyst of the string of events which would lead me there.

Deep into the covid is where I got hooked on Argentinian football. Watching clips of fans singing their hearts out in the stands, staying up late to watch games, and studying which young players looked like they could make the move over to Europe. I was enthralled by the passion and love that the people of Argentina had for their football, something that I felt was dying in England. It was back then when I started to dream about going to watch a game in the flesh, with La Bombonera being my stadium of choice. But, unfortunately that’s all it was—a dream.

Fast forward a year and a half later, and after spending three months in Argentina, I was—as what seems to be a theme in these blogs—lucky enough to watch a crucial Copa Libertadores game in the iconic stadium.

It felt as if all those late night dreams about visiting La Bombonera were coming true. 

Taking in the sounds and sights of La Boca pre game is something I’ll never forget, getting a bite to eat at Bar El Estaño 1880 and already feeling an undeniable buzz of excitement build in my stomach. We were surrounded by Boca fans discussing their predictions for the game, as well as starting a few Boca related chants.

From the bar, it’s just a two block walk to the stadium, and as you step out into the street you’re greeted by music, the smell of barbeque, and waves of match going fans. You get the feeling as if you’re being swept up in a sea of blue and yellow as you walk to La Bombonera.

Although this first game isn’t the main focus of this blog, I have to say that it was probably the best football experience I’ve had from the stands.  As the players made their way onto the pitch my eyes started to water at the passion being thrown towards them from all 50,000 people in the stadium. There was an elderly lady crying behind me, a toddler jumping on a seat to my left, and countless red faced, middle-aged men near enough bursting from their passionate singing. 

It was all very surreal, even more so when the final whistle blew and the stadium erupted. Boca had scraped a 1-0 win courtesy of a superb Alan Varela volley from the edge of the box. The victory saw them reach the knockout stage of the Libertadores—it’s safe to say their fans left the stadium rather happy. 

From that night on the 26th of May, 2022, it was a whole two years before I got to experience La Bombonera pitchside. Something that wouldn’t have been possible if I hadn’t sent an instagram DM sat in a plane returning to England from Buenos Aires. I sent that DM to the company I now work for, not expecting any response at the time, but looking back now, it may have been the most important message I’ve ever sent. 

Again, fast forward another seven months and I’m back in La Boca, racing towards La Bombonera to make it in time to get accreditation for the game. After a swift drop off, I met with Casper (the person who had made this whole thing possible), and we rushed off to get accredited. Unfortunately for us, the panic of arriving in time was all for nothing as we had to wait—a very anxious—45 minutes for our access to the stadium. 

Accredited and ready to enter, we made the same walk down to the stadium that I had made two years prior, with a real cyclical feeling to the whole event. However, at the turnstile to enter disaster struck. 

A simple beep and green tick allowed entry into the stadium for the thousands of people in front of me, with the clicking of the turnstiles being an almost monotonous stream of noise. But as I went to scan in, a big red cross hit me in the face. The turnstile system had gone down. My already nervous demeanor was amplified into a state of panic at this point, why out of all the people here did this have to happen to me? Maybe my luck had run out. 

What followed was nothing short of comedic, as various people frantically tried to reboot the system in a 15 minute window, which—to me at least—felt like an eternity. Finally after many, many heated discussions and attempts, they somehow got the turnstiles back up and running. Now it was time to enter. 

Just as I’ll never forget walking onto the stands in La Bombonera, I definitely won’t forget walking onto the pitch for the first time. The endless crowd almost feels as if they’re on top of you, it’s a daunting task to look right up as rows upon rows look almost vertical. 

We stood behind the goal in the warmup as the Boca players fired in shots to the keeper, it’s only then when you realise the true force behind a professional footballers strike, I winced a few times even with the safety of the net in front of me. 

The moment it really hit me that I was living the most privileged moment of my life was when I looked into the crowd to wave at the familiar faces which sat in the seats I had been sitting in two years earlier. At that moment I remembered sitting in my bedroom during Covid dreaming of just visiting La Bombonera, let alone standing on the pitch.

The stands exploded as the players made their way onto the pitch, massive flags and banners masked over all the fans as they continued to sing underneath them. Once again I was moved to the edge of tears. La Bombonera is a unique football stadium. The pure joy that lives within the blue and yellow walls is incomprehensible unless you’ve witnessed it first hand. A place every football fan must visit.

Gracias a Casper, Tin, y Juan… aguante ByCM.