By Tim Vickery for BBC.comBuenos Aires is calling to the faraway towns this week. In Argentina and all over South America, plenty of attention will be given to the modestly entitled 'superclassico' - the Buenos Aires derby between River Plate and Boca Juniors.
Both clubs grew up in the working class docklands area of the Argentine capital. River have long since fulfilled the immigrant dream and moved out to the leafy suburbs. Boca have defiantly stayed put. The strength of the rival identities helps give the game its flavour. Over the years, the game has acquired a weight of tradition that makes it important even when it isn't - like this Tuesday.
After a run of disappointing results, River have just sacked coach Angel Cappa, looking for a quick pick-me-up before the game. Boca could well part company with Claudio Borghi if they are beaten. But there is very little at stake.
The clubs are 11th and 13 respectively in the table. They are not going to win the title or qualify for the Copa Libertadores, the continent's Champions League. River are flirting with relegation (worked out on an average of points over three years) but they still have well more than 20 games to save themselves, including another 'superclassico.'
It doesn't receive anything like the same amount of interest but something more important for the future of Argentine football could be happening hundreds of miles from Buenos Aires, over to the west near the border with Chile in the city of Mendoza.
A club from that region called Godoy Cruz lost on Sunday to a last-minute goal. Even so, a strong finish to the season should ensure they qualify for next year's Libertadores - an achievement which could have great significance.
Argentina is a huge country but, like many of its neighbours, is highly centralised. A giant port dominates a feeble hinterland. Football shows the trend with great clarity. Of the 20 clubs in the first division, 14 are from greater Buenos Aires, with another two from nearby La Plata. The rest of the country hardly gets a look in. Rosario is the only other city with a major national and international footballing tradition.
The only times the title has eluded the clubs from Buenos Aires or La Plata, it has gone to either Rosario Central or Newell's Old Boys. If this was England, it would be like restricting the title to the London clubs and a couple from Birmingham, only Argentina is a much bigger place.
Colon of Santa Fe are a provincial club now established as mid-table regulars. Otherwise, the representatives of cities such as Cordoba, Tres Arroyos, Jujuy, Tucaman, Bahia Blanca and San Juan share the same experience. They are promoted, only at best to hang on for two or three years before suffering relegation. Often they go straight back down.
Unable to consolidate themselves, these clubs cannot build a following or invest in a structure that generates major players. And while Argentine football is so restricted to Buenos Aires, it is clearly..Read full story
