Soccer-Boca fans turn Miami Beach into Boca Beach ahead of Club World Cup start

By Julien Pretot

MIAMI BEACH, Florida, June 15 - More than a thousand Boca Juniors fans turned a slice of Miami’s coastline into “Boca Beach” on Sunday, draping the shores of Bark Beach in blue and yellow on the eve of their team’s Club World Cup debut.

With drums pounding and chants echoing over the white sand, supporters grilled meat, waved flags and drank “fernet con coca” — the bitter Argentine aperitif mixed with cola — as bemused Floridians looked on during their usual Sunday dip.

Beer flowed for hours under the Florida sun, with police observing calmly from a distance.

Several dozen fans made their way from downtown Miami to join the seaside celebration, bringing more banners and unmistakable Argentine energy.

The colourful display injected a much-needed dose of passion into the newly expanded Club World Cup, giving the tournament a proper World Cup atmosphere amid concerns that fans might turn their backs on the revamped format.

Some 61,000 fans, however, filled the Hard Rock stadium for the opening game on Saturday as Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami played African giants Al-Ahly.

More than 80,000 attended Champions League winners Paris St Germain’s 4-0 drubbing of Atletico Madrid at the Rose Bowl on Sunday.

“Wherever you go, Boca is here,” Gaston San Paul, a Boca fan who flew in from Entre Rios, Argentina, told Reuters. “Wherever we are we do this,” he added, referring to the ‘Banderazo’, a fan gathering destined to mark territory ahead of a game.

Boca Juniors will face Portuguese side Benfica on Monday at the Hard Rock Stadium in their opening match of the 32-team competition, which is being staged in the United States for the first time.