Boca Juniors is traditionally regarded as the club of Argentina’s working class, in contrast with the supposedly more upper-class base of cross-town arch rival Club Atlético River Plate.
Boca Juniors claims to be the club of “half plus one” (la mitad más uno) of Argentina’s population, but a 2006 survey placed its following at 40%, still the largest share. They have the highest number of fans, as judged by percentage in their country.
The Boca-River Superclásico rivalry is one of the most thrilling derbies in the world. Out of their 327 previous meetings, Boca have won 121, River 105 and there have been 101 draws. After each match (except draws), street signs cover Buenos Aires at fans’ own expense, “ribbing” the losing side with humorous posters. This has become part of Buenos Aires culture ever since a Boca winning streak in the 1990s.
Boca fans are known as Los Xeneizes (the Genoese) after the Genoese immigrants who founded the team and lived in La Boca in the early 20th century.
Peñas (fan clubs) exist in a number of Argentine cities and abroad in countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Spain, Israel and Japan.[55]
Boca Juniors are particularly popular in Japan because of the club’s success in recent years at the Intercontinental Cup held in Japan
. All over the world, fans are drawn to Boca by the club’s international titles, and by the success of Boca players who went on to play in European football such as Hugo Ibarra, Rodolfo Arruabarrena, Diego Cagna, Enzo Ferrero, Roberto Abbondanzieri,Nicolás Burdisso, Fernando Gago, Diego Maradona, Claudio Caniggia, Gabriel Batistuta, Juan Román Riquelme and Carlos Tévez.
Boca have fans throughout Latin America and also in parts of the United States where there has been Latin immigration and where in July 2007, after the club had toured pre-season, it was reported that the club were considering the possibility of creating a Boca Juniors USA team to compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) with New York City, Miami, Los Angeles and Arizonamentioned as possible locations.
