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1976 Argentine Campeonato Nacional final

1976 Campeonato Nacional final
Players of Boca Juniors celebrating
Event1976 Campeonato Nacional
Boca Juniors River Plate
1 0
Date22 December 1976
VenueRacing Club Stadium, Avellaneda
RefereeArturo Ithurralde
Attendance69,090 [1]

The 1976 Campeonato Nacional final was the last match of the 1976 Campeonato Nacional of Argentine Primera División. It was held at the Racing Club Stadium in Avellaneda on 22 December 1976. The match was the first official final played between both clubs,[2][3][4] which are the most popular in Argentina[5] and whose long-lived rivalry is known as Superclásico.[6][7]

It was the fourth Primera División final played by Boca Juniors. The team had previously played a tiebreaker v Huracán in 1923 (when the champion was defined after four matches held),[8] 1929 (lost to Gimnasia y Esgrima LP),[9][10] and 1970 (defeated Rosario Central 2–1 at Estadio Monumental).[11]

On the other hand, this match was also the fourth league final contested by River Plate after the team had to define titles in 1932 (win vs Independiente)[12] and 1936 Copa de Oro (defeating San Lorenzo de Almagro), while the team lost to Chacarita Juniors in the 1969 Metropolitano.[13][14]

Boca Juniors won its 20th league title after beating River Plate 1–0 with a free-kick goal scored by Rubén Suñé.[4] Although official records indicate that 69,090 tickets were sold,[1] other sources state that the match was attended by many more people,[2] some of them estimating about 90,000 spectators.[4] Boca Juniors player Jorge Ribolzi spoke of it, stating that he had never again seen so many people attending a match.[2][3]

Qualified teams

[edit]
Team Previous finals app.
Boca Juniors 1923, 1929, 1970
River Plate 1932, 1936[n 1] , 1969

Bold indicates winning years

Venue

[edit]
Racing Club Stadium was the venue

The neutral venue to host the match was Estadio Presidente Perón in Avellaneda, home venue of Racing Club, which had a capacity of 95,000 spectators by then. Nevertheless, some sources estimate that the stadium largely surpassed its capacity with more than 100,000 people attending the match.[20]

That was the second all-time record attendance in the history of El Cilindro, only after the second leg of the 1967 Intercontinental Cup, when more than 120,000 supporters attended to watch the 2–1 win over Scottish side Celtic F.C..[21][20]

Road to the final

[edit]
Further information: 1976 Argentine Primera División
A Boca Juniors team of 1976

In the first stage, participating clubs were divided into four groups of 8 teams each, playing a double round-robin for a total of 16 fixtures each. The two best placed teams in each zone qualified to the next round. Teams that advanced to the next stage were Boca Juniors and Quilmes (Group A), River Plate and Banfield (Group B), Huracán and Unión de Santa Fe (Group C), and Talleres (C) and Newell's Old Boys (Group D).[1]

In quarterfinals, Boca Juniors defeated Banfield 2–1 at Racing Stadium,[22] while River Plate won over Quilmes by the same score (two goals by Oscar Más).[1]

In semifinals, Boca Juniors eliminated Huracán after a 1–0 win,[23] while River Plate earned their place in the final after beating Talleres de Córdoba 1–0.[1]

The match

[edit]
River Plate forward Leopoldo Luque v goalkeeper Hugo Gatti

The two teams played a struggling match, showing their mutual respect. The first significately attack from River Plate was a distant shot by midfielder Juan José López. The ball was barely touched by goalkeeper Hugo Gatti to avoid the first goal but conceding a corner kick to River Plate. That play caused Gatti to receive an ovation from Boca Juniors' supporters. Instead some other attempts by River Plate forwards, the score remained 0–0 at the end of the first half.[3]

At 72', defender Daniel Passarella committed a foul trying to stop Boca Juniors forward Carlos Veglio near the River Plate's penalty area. Referee Arturo Ithurralde had previously talked with the captains of both clubs about recent changes to football rules introduced by FIFA.

Players of Boca Juniors celebrating the goal

Before the match started, the referee told the captains (Roberto Perfumo and me) that (due to rule changes) it was not necessary to wait the referee blew the whistle to kick. If opponents retreated the required distance, player taking the free kick was able to shot to the goal.

— Rubén Suñé, many years after the match, when his goal had become legendary.[3][2]

As none of the River players stood in front of the ball, Suñé sent it to the goal kept by Ubaldo Fillol before the astonished gaze of Roberto Mouzo, the supposed kicker. The quick action surprissed Fillol, who remained stood while the ball flew to the goal. The goal was largely celebrated by Boca Juniors' fans in the stadium, including former player Ángel Clemente Rojas, regarded as the greatest Boca Juniors idol by then,[24][25][26] who was attending the match.[2]

Match details

[edit]
1976 Campeonato Nacional Final
Boca Juniors1–0River Plate
Suñé 72' Report 1
Report 2
Attendance: 69,090
Referee: Arturo Ithurralde

The "ghost goal"

[edit]
Sequence of the Suñé's goal, (left) taking the free kick and (right) goalkeeper Fillol watching the ball. Due to lack of film records, that goal was nicknamed "the ghost goal"

Despite the Boca–River match being broadcast on television, it was believed that there was no surviving record of that goal (only a photographic sequence published by El Gráfico served as approach). Because of that, the goal was popularly known as "the ghost goal".[27][2] Nevertheless, in November 2019, Boca Juniors announced that a record of that goal had been found. The goal had been recorded by a fan collector from Entre Ríos Province. He had taken the images directly from his television in Super 8 film while the match was being aired.[2]

A short movie depicting some moments prior to the free kick and the goal was screened at the Passion for Boca Juniors Museum of Buenos Aires. The release was attended by a select group of members and former players of the club.[28]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The 1936 season was divided into two single round-robin tournaments, "Copa Campeonato" (won by River Plate) and "Copa de Honor" (won by San Lorenzo). At the end of the season, both teams played the "Copa de Oro", a single match won by River. In its Memoria y Balance (Annual Report) published by the AFA that year, River Plate is mentioned as "1936 Champion" while San Lorenzo is only mentioned as "Copa de honor winning team".[15] In its 100th anniversary book published in 1993, the AFA listed River Plate as the only 1936 champion.[16] In 2013, the AFA included three 1936 championships on its website, mentioning River Plate as Copa de Oro and Copa Campeonato winner and San Lorenzo as Copa de Honor winner, therefore both clubs were added one league title to their honours.[17][18] Moreover, some historians consider Copa de Oro a national cup instead of a league championship, stating that it was only contested to qualify an Argentine representative to play the Copa Aldao against the Uruguayan champion.[19]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e Campeonato Nacional 1976 (National Championship) by Pablo Ciullini and Osvaldo Gorgazzi at the RSSSF.com
  2. ^ a b c d A 40 años de la única final entre Boca y River on El Gráfico, 22 December 2016
  3. ^ a b c La historia del gol fantasma de Suñé que le dio el título a Boca contra River en el Nacional de 1976 on TyC Sports, 22 December 2021
  4. ^ Clásico River–Boca por la Libertadores: ¿qué tan cierto es que Boca Juniors es el equipo del pueblo y River Plate el de la élite? by Daniel Pardo, BBC News, 23 November 2018
  5. ^ Superclásico Boca–River: los momentos más épicos de una histórica rivalidad on radioconvos.com.ar
  6. ^ Boca – River: el historial completo del Superclásico on Digital Sport
  7. ^ Campeonato 1923 on Historiadeboca.com.ar
  8. ^ Gimnasia Campeón 1929 on Gimnasia.org.ar
  9. ^ Un día como hoy, Gimnasia se coronaba campeón del fútbol argentino by Axel Laurini on El Editor Platense, 9 February 2025
  10. ^ Nacional del 70: Boca y otra vuelta en Núñez on Agencia San Luis, 23 December 2016
  11. ^ Se cumplen 89 años del primer título de River en el profesionalismo on TyC, 20 November 2021
  12. ^ Chacarita campeón Metropolitano 1969 by Alexis Viojo on Rincón del Fútbol web
  13. ^ Argentina 1969 – Metropolitano Championship by Osvaldo Gorgazzi at the RSSSF.com
  14. ^ Memoria y Balance General 1936, p. 24
  15. ^ 100 Años con el Fútbol (hardcover edition) – Argentine Football Association
  16. ^ La AFA les reconoció otro título a San Lorenzo y a River Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, Clarín, 6 July 2013
  17. ^ 77 años después: San Lorenzo y River, campeones! on Crónica, 5 July 2013]
  18. ^ Un título que 80 años después sigue generando controversia Archived 2020-11-16 at the Wayback Machine by Oscar Barnade on Clarín, 21 December 2016
  19. ^ a b El verdadero River - Boca con más gente de la historia by Alejandro Fabbri on TyC, 27 Apr 2025
  20. ^ "Los cinco partidos con más público en la historia del fútbol argentino". 90min.com (in European Spanish). 2019-04-29. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  21. ^ Boca 2 vs Banfield 1 - report
  22. ^ Boca 1 vs Huracán 0 - report
  23. ^ Los 80 de Rojitas, el ídolo más popular by Horacio Pagani on TyC, 28 August 2024
  24. ^ El ídolo de Boca Ángel Clemente Rojas
  25. ^ Qué fue de la vida de Ángel Clemente Rojas, el ídolo de Boca que rechazó a Real Madrid on Doble Amarilla. 25 February 2025
  26. ^ El de Suñé a River, un gol "fantasma" by Pablo Lisotto on La Nación, 22 December 2016
  27. ^ Histórico: apareció el gol fantasma de Suñé, que no se veía desde la final entre Boca y River del Nacional 76 by Pablo Lisotto, La Nación, 14 November 2019
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Boca v River, 22 December 1976.