Club Atlético River Plate

If you are a British football fan, upon hearing of FC River Plate, you probably don't immediately think of one of Argentina's most successful football clubs. The club with 38 league titles, 16 national cups, and 18 international titles. The club that holds the highest average attendance of any club in the world (84,000!). That probably isn’t what jumps to mind.

Furthermore, upon hearing of where they are based – the Belgrano District of Buenos Aires – your mind probably again leaps to a more nautical and military-minded topic.

It is for both those reasons – the famous Royal Navy victory at River Plate in 1939 – and the 1982 sinking of the Battleship Belgrano by HMS Conqueror – and The Sun newspaper's infamous "Gotcha!" headline the following day – that it is well worth a look at this club, its history, and the region it represents.

So let's #GetTheBadgeIn for the giants that are

Club Atlético River Plate.

Let's go straight to the badge. A shield bearing the club's initials (CARP – see above) and a red stripe, going diagonally across a white shield. This is a direct reflection of the team's iconic kit – and makes them look a little like they're all wearing sashes as they run about the pitch.

In terms of design, it looks like a modern, crisp and minimalist design. However, it has very old and disputed origins.

One popular tale says that during a local carnival, some of the early players found a red ribbon and pinned it diagonally on their plain white shirts, creating the first red stripe. Another suggestion is that the red colour was a nod to the Italian city of Genoa (which has a St George's flag on the city crest), since many of the club’s founders were Italian immigrants from that region. And here, like with Palmeiras in Brazil, we see the impact of that wave of Italian migration to Latin America during the 1800s – that brought pasta and football – amongst other things.

Whatever the exact origin, the red “band” became a proud symbol of the club – so much so that one of River’s nicknames is “La Banda” (Spanish for “the Stripe” or “the Band”), referring to the red stripe on their kit.

So that's the badge. What of the club?

River Plate was founded on 25 May 1901 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The club began in the port neighbourhood of La Boca, which, interestingly, is the same area that later became home to their great rivals, Boca Juniors. The club’s name “River Plate” is of course English – it comes from the English name for the city’s river, the Río de la Plata. According to legend, one of the founders saw some cargo crates at the Buenos Aires docks labelled “The River Plate” (perhaps left by British sailors), and he decided this would be a unique name for the new club. This English name stuck, giving the club an international-sounding identity from the very start.

The team earned promotion to Argentina’s top division in 1908, and by 1914 River had won its first major title. Over the following decades, River Plate became one of Argentina’s most successful and popular football clubs. In the 1930s, the club gained the nickname “Los Millonarios” (The Millionaires) after spending then-huge sums of money to buy star players. This big spending and the move to a wealthier district cemented River’s image as a rich and ambitious club. River Plate dominated much of the 20th century in Argentine football – they won so many championships (28 official tournaments by 1999) that they were honoured as “El Campeón del Siglo” (The Champions of the Century) in Argentina.

Throughout its history, the club has produced and featured many famous players, including legends like Alfredo Di Stéfano (who played in the 1940s before becoming a star in Europe) and more recent heroes like Enzo Francescoli, Ariel Ortega, and Marcelo Gallardo. With its long list of victories and star players, River Plate is regarded as one of the football giants of Argentina and of South America.

River Plate’s home stadium is the monumental Estadio Monumental (officially named Estadio Antonio V. Liberti) in the Núñez district of Buenos Aires. It is the largest stadium in Argentina, with a capacity of around 84,000 spectators.

One of the most defining aspects of River Plate’s identity is its fierce rivalry with Boca Juniors. Matches between River Plate and Boca Juniors are known as the “Superclásico,” and this derby is often called one of the most intense and famous rivalries in world football. The BBC has ranked the Superclásico among the top sporting experiences in the world.

Buenos Aires, as a city, grew fast on the back of its football-loving Italian migrants during the 1880s. As the main port city, it was central to Argentina’s export-driven economy, especially during the 19th-century agricultural boom (beef and wheat). Wealth poured in, making Buenos Aires one of the richest cities globally by the early 1900s.

Politically, it was these dock and factory workers that gave birth to a form of Argentinian soft socialism known as Peronism, after their President Juan Perón (whose wife was Evita – which is where that "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" song comes from).

So that's the club and city. However, I should probably map out a little more about why River Plate has strong naval connections in British eyes.

The Battle of the River Plate was the first major naval victory for the British in the Second World War – and it all came down to some underhand trickery. In 1939 the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee broke out into the Atlantic to cause havoc on the shipping lanes. The Royal Navy was terrified that Hitler would do this, so sent dozens of ships after her. Three British cruisers – HMS Exeter, Ajax, and Achilles – caught up and chased their German prey south down into the Atlantic. These smaller vessels could do no more than chip away at Graf Spee and keep well out of range of the devastating German guns.

However, they were able to do enough damage that Graf Spee put into Montevideo in Uruguay – sailing up the River Plate to get there. Holed up in this neutral port, the rules of war said she would have to leave within 72 hours.

The three British ships waiting for her didn't fancy their chances in a straight fight, so flooded the radio waves with false chatter between themselves and – what sounded like – a larger British fleet on its way down to reinforce them.

The German captain had to now make a decision. Not confident they could take on the combined might of the three cruisers plus whatever was over the horizon, he decided to take his crew off and scuttle (sink) his own ship.

He must have felt really silly when he discovered the ruse – but by that point it was too late, and the Royal Navy was celebrating its first big catch of the Second World War – and all because of some underhand tomfoolery by their radio officers.

Graf Spee was sunk by fake news.

So there you have it. A team of Italian migrants, inspired by their Genoan roots, and representing the working men of the Argentinian capital. Today, it is by many measures the biggest club in all of world football. Not half bad. Not half bad at all.