“‘There are two stories,’ a leader of the Rat Stabbers told me. We were filing through police lines toward the cylinder, the stadium of a powerful Buenos Aires soccer team called Racing. Inside, about 60,000 enemy fans waited to crucify us. His name was Jorge Celestre—Georgie Blueskies—but he was explaining the name of his fan club, the Rat Stabbers. They were the diehard supporters of Estudiantes, a pro soccer team southeast of Buenos Aires. The first story was about some medical students—owing to their lab work, ‘rat stabbers’—who founded Estudiantes more than a century ago. It was a nice story about a studious, successful Argentina, a country that started the 20th century with futuristic dreams and progressive ambitions.” Outside Online

The barra bravas: the violent Argentinian gangs controlling football
Saturday 20 August 2011: “Like many of those living in Villa Fiorito, one of Argentina’s most dangerous slums, Jose Mendez takes his shots at glory when he can – like the day five years ago when he slung the shirt of a rival football club over his shoulder and paraded through the streets of his neighbourhood like a returning warrior. Cigarette clamped between his teeth and basketball shirt hanging off his skinny frame, Mendez recounts the fight he waged to win his trophy: the crowded streets after a big match; the other fan putting up a struggle; Mendez, pumped up on chemicals and cheap beer, knocking him down into the street, smashing his face and kicking him until he could get the shirt off his back.” Guardian

Boca Juniors players got off their bus just to fight Tigre fans
April 12 2012: “Tigre beat Boca Juniors 2-1 with the help of an 88th-minute own goal from Boca’s Rolando Schiavi. After the match, when Boca got on their team bus to head home, Tigre fans decided to give them a taunting send-off because that’s what horrible people do. The Boca Juniors players didn’t appreciate this, but instead of telling their driver to peel out and disregard anyone in the way, they made the poor decision to get off the bus and start fighting the Tigre fans. Looking like a swarm of bumblebees, the Boca players attacked while police tried to break up the two sides. Rubber bullets were fired in the air and the players were eventually shoved back into the bus, but there were no winners here. Especially among the side fighting in matching outfits.” Dirty Tackle