After weeks of knowing that they would win the title, Boca Juniors fans could finally celebrate this weekend as their team clinched the Apertura crown with a 3-0 win against Banfield.
The championship is Boca's first since 2008, when they also won the Apertura, and the 24th league title they have won in the professional era. The title also means that Boca will return to the Copa Libertadores, a competition they have not participated in since 2009.
The Apertura had been in their hands for some time and was virtually guaranteed after Racing Club flopped in their crunch clash with Julio César Falcioni's team last month, but Boca's win against Banfield mathmatically secured the title on the same day that Corinthians and Nacional won their respective leagues in Brazil and Uruguay.
Now that Boca have their hands on the silverware, SAF.co.uk takes a look at how they swept all before them.
Week 1: Olimpo (D 0-0). Boca's campaign started with a tricky away fixture to Olimpo, who had surprised everyone with a strong performance in the 2011 Clausura. Boca played out a goalless draw on a small, unkempt pitch and, speaking after the game, Juan Román Riquelme asserted that "neither team did much to win, and when you can't win, you have to not lose".
Week 2: Unión (W 4-0). This was the only game in which Boca scored more than one goal until Week 7, cruising past promoted Unión with goals from Lucas Viatri (2), Riquelme and Nicolás Colazo. The match also gave Boca fans their first opportunity to mock relegated rivals River Plate by chanting that "we'll never play with the chickens again".
Week 3: Newell's Old Boys (W 1-0). With hindsight, Newell's Old Boys should not have been much of a test for Boca - the club have only won one of their 17 games. However the only difference between the sides was a well-worked goal by Pablo Mouche four minutes from time, but a narrow victory without conceding a goal was to be a sign of things to come from Falcioni's side.
Week 4: San Lorenzo (D 1-1). The first real test of Boca's season saw a rare moment: Agustín Orión picking the ball out of his own net after conceding. Boca's fearsome defensive record (four conceded in 17 games) was the basis for their success in the Apertura. For once, Boca were not top of the league after the game; Atlético Rafaela set the pace with nine points from four games.
Week 5: Independiente (W 1-0). Boca are used to picking up points at Independiente - el Rojo have only won one home game against Boca since 2004. Another one goal win was enough this time for the visitors; veteran defender Rolando Schiavi scored the only goal of the game, hooking home a second half corner to keep Boca's momentum going.
Week 6: San Martín (Won 1-0). Another 1-0 win and another late goal for Boca; Walter Erviti broke the deadlock with 15 minutes remaining to give them a narrow win against promoted San Martín. The result was a little misleading though, as Cvitanich, Rivero and Riquelme all hit the woodwork, but the three points put Boca on top of the table on their own after Atlético Rafaela only drew with Newell's.
Week 7: Lanús (Won 2-1). An early Viatri goal was cancelled out by an own goal by Juan Insaurralde, but another goal from Erviti after an hour ensured Boca stayed a point clear at the top. The victory was hard-fought; although Orión was not tested many times, Lanús worked hard and played well but could not make enough incisions in the final third.
Week 8: Estudiantes (Won 1-0). Boca might have felt they were playing Estudiantes a week too late. Five days earlier, Estudiantes had ended their nine-game winless run in the league by beating Argentinos Juniors, but los Xeneizes won 1-0 thanks to Clemente Rodríguez's 17th minute goal. The win also put daylight in the shape of four points between Boca and nearest rivals Racing Club.
Week 9: Argentinos Juniors (Drew 0-0). Like Estudiantes, Argentinos were also on a terrible run going into their match-up with Boca. Without a league win in nine attempts and with just seven goals in the same time (three of which came in the game against Estudiantes), Boca must have fancied their chances but could only play out a goalless draw. Racing couldn't take advantage though; they drew 0-0 with San Lorenzo.
Week 10: Tigre (Won 1-0). Boca made it 20 games unbeaten with yet another 1-0 win, this time over Tigre courtesy of an own goal from Diego Castaño. Their lead at the top of the table increased to five points after Racing drew in the clásico with Independiente, dropping behind Atlético Rafaela who moved into second.
Week 11: Belgrano (Drew 0-0). Despite a goalless draw against Belgrano, Boca's rivals could not make up any ground as Racing drew with San Martín and Estudiantes thrashed Atlético Rafaela. Falcioni was happy enough with the point, stating that "we could not extend our advantage, but those behind us could not reduce it either".
Week 12: Colón (Won 2-0). A double salvo from Nicolás Blandi was enough to see off the challenge of Colón; although Boca were missing some of their key players, such as Riquelme and Viatri, the likes of Blandi and Cristian Chávez put in fine performances against a Colón side who had only won one of their last eight home games. Meanwhile, Racing Club drew again, but Atlético Rafaela kept some sort of pressure on Boca with a win against Argentinos.
Week 13: Atlético Rafaela (Won 3-1). With a five point lead over Atlético Rafaela, Boca could put one hand on the Apertura crown with a win against their nearest title challengers, and they did so in comfortable fashion. The game was essentially over after 16 minutes, by which time Blandi had scored another two to put Boca 2-0 up, while Chávez added a third late on. Boca led Rafaela by eight points in the table, with Racing trailing in their wake 10 points behind.
Week 14: Vélez Sársfield (Drew 0-0). Vélez were in good form heading into this match, having won four consecutive games before losing to Argentinos the week before (in which Vélez were reduced to nine men). Boca should have taken all three points from the game, but Schiavi saw his penalty kick saved by Germán Montoya. Despite the draw, Boca remained eight points clear of second-place Racing Club, with Atlético Rafaela only drawing against Belgrano.
Week 15: Racing Club (Drew 0-0). The clash was billed as something of a title showdown, though Racing had to win and still rely on Boca throwing away more points than they had all season to realistically have a chance. Boca attacked, Racing counter-attacked while seeing their numbers steadily reduce (Agustín Pellettieri and Teo Gutiérrez were both sent off), but the game finished 0-0 with Boca much the happier. With four games remaining, Boca were still eight points clear.
Week 16: Godoy Cruz (Won 2-1). By this stage it was a matter of how many games it would take for Boca to be mathmatically clear of the chasing pack, with Tigre now supplanting Racing Club in second place after they lost their first game of the season against Belgrano. An early goal from Dario Cvitanich and a penalty from Schiavi put Boca in control against Godoy Cruz, and Ariel Rojas' late goal was merely a consolation for the Mendoza side.
Week 17: Banfield (Won 3-0). With Tigre's game against San Lorenzo postponed, Boca only had to draw at home against bottom club Banfield to win the title (and ironically, Falcioni had won the 2009 Apertura with Banfield at the Bombonera). In the end it was a walkover; former Banfield striker Cvitanich scored twice in the first half to set the home fans dancing in the stands - even if Cvitanich himself did not celebrate against his old team - and Diego Rivero put the icing on the cake with a third in the second half.
Boca's Apertura victory was certainly aided by their rivals' failings; although it is unfair to have expected Atlético Rafaela to maintain a title challenge, given that their primary objective this season is to remain in the division, the lack of adventure and attacking intent from Diego Simeone's Racing Club meant their title aspirations at the start of the campaign soon fell away into nothing. Though they have only lost one game in 17, 10 draws was not enough to keep pace with Boca. Other title charges from the usual suspects fo Estudiantes and Vélez Sársfield did not materialise for one reason or another (these could quite easily be topics of discussion in their own right!) while off-field issues at San Lorenzo mean they are battling off relegation rather than trying to claim their first title since the 2007 Clausura.
However, this should take nothing away from Boca Juniors. They were undoubtedly the best team in the Apertura - by some distance - under the leadership of the pragmatic, if not exciting, Falcioni. When Riquelme was injured, Boca remained strong and saw the likes of Chávez, Viatri and Mouche deliver sterling performances when it was needed.
