Since 2013, Argentine league matches have been played without visiting supporters. The colour palette of the derby has been reduced. Many have welcomed the change as more family-friendly, with more tickets for club members. A reporter who began going to the Bombonera with cousins as a teenager recalled taking a 10-year-old brother without telling their father. The family still remembers the anecdote fondly; for the boy it was particularly unpleasant.
On a recent Sunday, tickets were selling for half a million pesos, about £240. Rain was forecast, so Boca distributed blue and yellow umbrellas that opened in sync and matched firework smoke organised by the club.
After a Boca bus was attacked with stones and crowd control collapsed around the inner ring at River’s stadium, fans were ordered to stay in place for nearly five hours while authorities discussed options. The match was cancelled and moved to Madrid.
That feature was later shelved. The reporter instead became a witness that Barritta had not been involved in an incident, with work published in a human rights journal, and interest in football violence lost its wide-eyed fascination.
Journalists now sit at desks at the same height as the middle tier of the traditional home end, where La Doce still leads the rhythm. Some reporters wear Boca colours and cheer with the crowd.
The derby does not always produce the best football. It is often caught in hype and media frenzy, with massive banners and flags blocking much of the pitch.
Pyrotechnics were once smuggled in by La Doce, Boca’s hardcore organised group, which also timed blue and golden balloons as players emerged from the tunnel.