All words and images by Joey Corlett
We jumped into our taxi in La Boca, the driver looked back, confirming our destination.
“El Cilindro?”
We excitedly replied, “Yes!” The fella’s smile shifts to a frown…
“Really?”
We nervously stammer back, “Yeaaah?” The driver noting our uncertainty.
“To see Racing?”
Replying again, “Yeaaah?” just before his frown flips back to a smile.
“Ahhhhh, I’m Independiente, the King of Cups!” then bursting into laughter!
A nice moment of jesting before he took us south for our first foray into the barrio of Avellaneda.
Arrival in Avellaneda
Ducking off the highway, we were immediately greeted by a mural, “Eterno ∞, Gracias Diego.” With him depicted in his usual gambeta style and headshot. The national team colours he was painted in matched our intended destination, as Racing Club adopted the same colours as a deliberate homage to the national flag.
We’d find ourselves drowning in a sea of albiceleste as we disembarked from our car. Buses with batches of fans flying past, hanging out of the windows with flags as their trumpets and drums added to the building atmosphere. With many more fans wandering past the bootleg merch sellers and drink kiosks, all flowing in the direction of the stadium.
Pre-Match Build-Up
After passing through the many bag, ID and ticket checks, we’d find the setting sun had begun to coat everything in a wonderful orange hue, a lovely contrast to the light blue stadium. Making our way up to the Tribuna Alta Norde, we were gobsmacked by how vast the place was and how the ongoing renovations could see even more fans pack themselves in.
As the players came out of the tunnel, a ripple of noise moved around the Estadio Presidente Perón. The Barra Brava unveiled firstly a banner stating “Eternamente Gracias” to manager Gustavo Costas before then reeling that in and presenting an even bigger banner with “La N°1 Te Ama” (The No. 1 we love you, No.1 being one of the biggest Barra Brava group), a spectacular show before the game even kicked off.
Kick-Off and Chaos
Racing Club faced a tricky Central Cordoba side but took complete control in the 1st half. But with each missed opportunity and incredible saves the tension began to build from the very beginning. Looking around our stand was a mixture of hands-on heads, nail-biting and frustrated shouts of “hijo de puta” as another shot flashed over.
La Academia would have the ball in the net, and finally, the pressure turned into jubilation. All before VAR would step in, ruining the celebrations for a correct offside call. That didn’t stop the home fans from bellowing “concha de tu madre” at the referee. Thankfully, just moments later, everyone’s stress would be relieved as Racing would finally take the lead right before halftime.
Nerves and Relief
Despite restarting in the same form, Racing would be pegged back as VAR informed the referee of a wayward handball, and he pointed to the spot. The feeling of anxiety was all around as Leonardo Heredia stepped up, but all he could do was stroke the ball in the arms of the goalkeeper, Gabriel Arias. Igniting even bigger celebrations than taking the lead!
El Primer Grande Triumphs
El Primer Grande (The First Big) would see out the 1-0 win with the Popular end going wild in triumphant style, letting out all that was left of their nervousness with singing. It had been tough work, but they got the job done.
All our thanks to Joey Corlett.
To see more of Joey’s work, please visit joeycorlett
You can also check out his podcast here: thejourneymenpodcast
