The Weekend Watch: Superclasico Time

GAME OF THE WEEK

River Plate v Boca Juniors.

When: 1720 local, 1520 EST.
Where: El Monumental, Buenos Aires.

Why: Because it’s one of the biggest derbies in world football, that’s why. Up there with Galatasaray – Fenerbahce, Celtic – Rangers, Roma – Lazio and Red Star – Partizan as the intracity rivalries which can, on occasion, usurp entire seasons. And for River Plate, that may be the case, because despite being Clausura 2008 champions (coming in second was Boca, making it an especially sweet championship), this year’s Apertura has gone well past rocky start into disaster area. They currently sit in 18th place and have only won 1 of their 9 games.

But what they can look forward to is playing at El Monumental, which they turned into a fortress in the spring, and one can only imagine the furor of derby drunk supporters will fuel the adrenaline. In 10 home games in the Clausura, they dropped only 2 points, winning 9, drawing one. This year hasn’t gone quite as spectactularly, but derbies a different atmosphere altogether.

As far as Boca are concerned, they’ll want to grab a skin at River’s home pitch while bumping their slim lead in the over all series a bit further ahead. Right now it stands at 66 for Boca, 61 for River and 55 split between the two in Argentina league matches. After that, they can both go back to worry about league standings and all that hogwash.

And as ever, the atmosphere and drama, both on and off the pitch, will rule the day.

2004 Copa Libertadores semifinal:

River win last October:

Streaming: Here.
Betting: Odds on Bet Offside.

And this has little relevance, but Boca does have some incredibly clever ads:

Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid

When: Saturday, 2000 local, 1400 EST.
Where: Vicente Calderon, Madrid.

Why: It’s the Madrid derby, of course. Atletico’s been a tale of two different teams this year, scoring 8 and only conceding 1 at home, while featuring a -5 goal differential away from home (much of that thanks to Barca). They’ll be quite happy to be playing this one at home, but Real Madrid is still Real Madrid. They’re back on track after their early stumble and, as usual, looking like one of the best teams on the planet.

Streaming: Here.

Hibernian v Hearts

When: Sunday, 1500 local, 0900 EST.
Where: Easter Road, Edinburgh.

Why: All city derbies, all the time. This time coming from Edinburgh, Scotland, where Hearts and Hibernian combine to make up one of the oldest derbies in the game, having played their first over 130 years ago. They’re both above-average, currently fighting it out for European spots, so it should be quite the show.

Streaming: Here.

AS Roma v Internazionale

When: Sunday, 2030 local, 1430 EST.
Where: Stadio Olimpico, Rome.

Why: Two teams once considered sympathetic to each other’s causes have quickly become rivals and turned what is typically the battle of #1 v #2 into a derby type atmosphere. Inter is where it expected to be, up at the top of the table, and Roma has struggled amidst a rash of injuries. But the Giallorossi have a penchant for coming up big against big teams and Francesco Totti will make his return in front of the home faithful, so it’s anything but a foregone conclusion.

Streaming: Here.
Betting: Odds can be found on Bet Offside.

Futsal World Cup Final: Brazil v Spain.

When: Sunday, 1030 local, 0930 EST.
Where: Rio De Janeiro

Why: Futsal WC final, yes, but this one’s an all-encompassing battle of the very short history between Spain and Brazil, who have combined to win all 5 Futsal World Cups to date (Brazil the first three and Spain the last two). But even more, they’ve played in the final twice thus far, each nabbing a win. With the game in front of their home crowd, Brazil’s got to be the favorite to take home the best of three.

Streaming: Here.

Know of any other big games from around the world this weekend? Share the knowledge in the comments.

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Category: World Football