Club World Cup Profile: Boca Juniors

The next South American team that will feature on the global stage of the Club World Cup is Argentinean football giant Boca Juniors. The club has won 74 trophies in its history as a club, the most of any team in Argentina. The Argentine Primera División club is competing in Group C of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup alongside Bayern Munich, Auckland City, and Benfica. They open their CWC campaign on June 16th against Portuguese side SL Benfica at Hard Rock Stadium with kickoff set for 6:00 PM ET.

Route to Qualification:

Boca Juniors did not compete in last year’s Copa Libertadores. However, their 2023 run to the final (despite their 2-1 loss to Fluminense) left them with enough points for qualification for this year’s CWC via the ranking pathway. Uruguayan side Nacional’s loss to Brazilian side Sao Paulo in the last 16 of this year’s Copa Libertadores secured qualification for Boca Juniors.

Historical Facts:

1905- Boca Juniors was founded by Italian immigrants in La Boca, Buenos Aires.

1907- Former club president Juan Rafael Brichetto proposed that blue and yellow would be the colors associated with the club. The decision to choose these colors was reportedly inspired from a Swedish ship named the Drottning Sophia that docked in the port of Buenos Aires and was flying a Swedish flag. Since then, the club has always been using the colors of blue and yellow.

1913- The club’s first ever season in the top division of Argentina. They finished in fifth place and had a record of 8W-2D-4L.

1919- The Argentine side won their first ever Primera División title.

1940- The distinguished stadium La Bombonera became Boca’s new stadium.

1977- Boca Juniors won their first ever Copa Libertadores title against Cruzeiro. The winner was decided by who wins the most out of two matches. In the two matches of the finals, both sides won one game each by a score of 1-0. A third match needed to be played. The third match ended goalless at the end of regular time but Boca Juniors won 5-4 on penalties to ultimately become champions of Copa Libertadores for the first time in their history. It was the Argentine powerhouse’s first of six Libertadores titles. Five more titles would follow in 1978, 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2007.

1981- Argentina and world football legend Diego Maradona was signed by Boca for $4M after spending five years at Argentinos Juniors. One year later, he joined FC Barcelona for an approximately $7.6M transfer fee. Maradona would make a fairytale return to Boca in 1995 before retiring in 1997 with an illustrious playing career.

1996- Boca Juniors signed Juan Román Riquelme from the Argentinos Juniors for a fee of $800,000. He made his first team debut on November 10 in a 2-0 win over Unión de Santa Fe. Riquelme is a club legend and is also adored by Argentina as he is regarded as one of the all-time best Argentinean football players. He had 76 goals and 81 assists in 299 appearances for the club. Riquelme’s legacy is longlasting at Boca as he is currently the president of the club.

1998- Carlos Bianchi was appointed as manager of Boca. Under his leadership, Boca went through a successful period as a club as he led the team to three Copa Libertadores titles in just four years and also managed to lead his team to achieve a historic 2-1 upset over Real Madrid in the 2000 Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo. Martin Palermo scored the two decisive goals for Boca.

2022- Boca Juniors won the Argentina Primera División with 52 points and a record of 16W-4D-7L. They also won the Copa de la Liga Profesional after a 3-0 win over Tigres. Marcos Rojo, Frank Fabra, and Luis Vázquez were the goalscorers. Since 2022, Boca has not added any silverware to their trophy cabinet.

Merentiel is vital for Boca at the CWC (photo courtesy of FIFA)

Most Important Player: Miguel Merentiel

Miguel Merentiel is currently Boca’s most important player. The 27 year old Urugyan forward has seven goals and three assists in 21 matches in all competitions for the Argentine side so far this season. Merentiel is a player with great composure and movement in the final third.

Potential Breakout Player: Camilo Rey Domenech

Camilo Rey Domenech is a potential breakout player to watch from Boca during the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Domenech has played a decent amount of minutes for Boca this season with 1,013 minutes played in all competitions so far. The 19 year old Argentine midfielder is a dynamic player with great technical ability. He has great vision and is capable of making great passes with the ball.

Season Outlook:

It has been an interesting season for Boca Juniors. After Fernando Gago was sacked as manager of Boca in April 2025, Mariano Herrón has been serving as the interim manager. The Argentine side finished second in Group A of the Apertura of the Primera División with 24 points and a record of 7W-3D-4L. They managed to reach the quarterfinals after a penalty shootout win against Lanus following a 1-1 draw at the end of regular time. However, they ended up losing 1-0 to Independiente in the quarterfinals. The Clausura of the División will begin for Boca on July 13 against Argentinos Juniors with kickoff TBD.

Boca was eliminated from the 2025 Copa Libertadores in the qualifying rounds in a 4-5 loss to Alianza Lima on penalties following a 2-2 aggregate score after two legs.

At the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, Boca aims to achieve glory. “Boca’s aim at every tournament they play in is to win, because that’s what history demands of the club and because it’s a huge club that aspires to win every competition it’s involved in. So that’s our ambition, to give a good account of ourselves, have a good tournament, and gradually, step by step, get closer to what could be a historic achievement for us as a group and as a club”, said Boca Juniors forward Edinson Cavani.