"Bicampeones! Bicampeones!" So shouted some Rosario Central fans, who invaded the pitch at the Gigante de Arroyito stadium after their 2-0 victory over Estudiantes de Río Cuarto on Saturday, November 7, just hours after Cagliari's victory over Frosinone . They were celebrating what would be the "bicampeonato," or second consecutive Campeón de Liga title, awarded to the team that collects the most points in the calendar year between the Torneo Apertura and Torneo Clausura (in Argentina, seasons are split in two). There's, however, a "very slight" problem: the title wasn't won by Rosario Central, but by Boca Juniors. And at the last second.
What happened? On the final day of the Clausura Tournament, the title of Champion of the League is being decided, in addition to the playoff spots. In the Tabla Anual, the calendar year standings, the standings are as follows: Boca Juniors and Argentinos Juniors each have 60 points, Rosario Central 59. Boca depends on itself: if it beats Defensa y Justicia, it's champion, because if it finishes level on points with Argentinos Juniors, it has a far more favorable goal difference . Rosario Central must hope for some sort of miracle, win its match and capitalize on a double slip-up (even a draw would be enough) by its rivals to overtake them. And that's exactly what, for long stretches of the evening, seems to be happening.
Argentinos Juniors immediately lost the title race in the first half hour: they went down two goals to Huracán and were also reduced to ten men. The match ended 0-2, turning into a duel between Boca and Rosario Central. The latter broke the deadlock late in the first half, with Julián Fernández in the 44th minute, and went into halftime at the top of the table because the Xeneizes were tied 0-0. The situation remained unchanged until the 86th minute, when Coronel doubled the lead and sealed the victory in Rosario: if Boca doesn't win, Central are champions. And when the match at the Gigante de Arroyito ended, it was still in progress at the Bombonera and tied 0-0 .
Some Rosario Central fans are timidly celebrating, knowing full well it's premature. Many are glued to the radio, like in the old days, or to their smartphones, checking out Boca's final moments in real time. Some in the stands are watching the screens in the boxes and TV booths broadcasting the match. At the Bombonera, six minutes of injury time are awarded, and at the end of the fifth minute, a harmless cross from the left looks easy prey for visiting goalkeeper Borgogno. However, Borgogno manages to get the ball out of his grasp, leaving it open just inside the penalty area, where Ecuadorian Enner Valencia pounces first and fires home . It's the title-winning goal, the one that changes the course of the championship.
The news reaches the Gigante de Arroyito in seconds, instantly transforming the Rosario Central world from ecstasy to despair . Ángel Di María, who returned to the team where he grew up a year ago, is unavailable and is shown in the stands, visibly shaken. Twelve months ago, the former Juventus player had received the Liga Champion title from the federation in a highly controversial manner, because it had been awarded at the end of the season, unintended. For two minutes, the fans nevertheless paid tribute to the players, many of whom wept as they saw their chance to celebrate on the pitch slip away at the last second. But the story doesn't end there.
At a certain point, and it's unclear on what grounds, word begins to spread that Boca Juniors didn't win. One theory is that some fans listened to a local radio broadcast, which briefly claimed that Valencia's goal had been disallowed . The result is widespread chaos: almost the entire stadium rejoices and shouts of joy, even the Rosario Central players begin running and jumping, thinking they've won. Several fans do the same, invading the pitch and shouting in front of the cameras that they're champions. All this while those watching on TV know that nothing has happened, that Boca Juniors is winning 1-0, and the commentators are explaining that what's happening at the Gigante de Arroyito has no bearing on reality. By now, however, the situation is out of control.
"There are many fans entering the field, but history says that Boca Juniors are the champions." This was the phrase uttered during the ESPN live broadcast of the match, while the footage showed hundreds of Rosario Central supporters celebrating, believing they had won the championship. Among the many, one was framed with a portable radio to his ear, evidently realizing that the title had actually gone to their rivals. It took several minutes for the team to understand what had actually happened, until disappointment (doubled, in this case) took over again. With a dramatic sporting twist: now, Rosario Central will have to play the Final Phase (the playoffs, starting in the round of 16) with the burden of having lost the championship in the 95th minute and having believed they had won it.
The images, of course, quickly spread around the world, partly because the embarrassment of the Rosario Central fans quickly went viral. Mockery abounded on social media, as did the reactions of the players of Newell's Old Boys (Rosario Central's city rivals) celebrating Boca Juniors' goal. A chapter in Argentine football history, in its own way, one that has always been full of unique and often unpredictable moments (how could we forget, for example, when the Boca Juniors-River Superclásico match in the Libertadores final was moved to the Bernabéu in Madrid). And, incredibly, it had already had a precedent in Italy: on April 25, 2012, at the Meazza stadium, some AC Milan fans began celebrating, thinking that Cesena had drawn against Juventus, with whom the Rossoneri were playing point-by-point in Serie A. A goal that, unlike Valencia's at the Bombonera, had never happened before.