River Plate vs Boca Juniors to have ‘peaceful’ radio broadcast for fans with heart conditions
THE SUPERDERBY (Superclásico) between Boca Juniors and River Plate is known worldwide for being one of the worlds fiercest and most passionate local derbies.
The Buenos Aires rivals meet in the Copa Libertadores final tonight and one radio station has decided to offer a special commentary aimed at keeping fans with heart issues calm.
AM550 Radio Colonia will broadcast a measured version of the two-legged contest on November 10 and 24 with the aim of reporting the live games peacefully, as reported by Clarin.com.
The Argentine Society of Cardiology are behind the transmission, while Eduardo Caimi and Leonardo Uranga are the ones tasked with avoiding raising listener's heart-rates.
Cardiologist Gonzalo Díaz Babio will also feature during the live broadcast to offer advice on how to avoid stress during moments of high drama, including goals, penalties and red cards.
The station also plans on replacing background noise from the stadium with Zen music while commentators Caimi and Uranga have instructed not to raise their voice or increase their tempo.
A special pre-match Spotify playlist has already been scheduled before the match with a list of soothing football songs designed at lowering nerves and anxiety.
River Plate and Boca Juniors together command more than 70% of all Argentine football fans but the two clubs have never before met each other in the final.
But, they have competed in 15 previous Copa Libertadores finals with Boca winning six and River Plate seizing three, the last of which came in 2015.
Radio audience figures are expected to be vast owing to the ban on away supporters in either leg but there has been no official confirmation on what's anticipated for Radio Colonia's calm version.
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One Boca Juniors fan has already incurred the wrath of an animal rights organisation after painting his dog ahead of the Copa Libertadores final.
Both legs will be shown live on FreeSports with coverage of the first game on Saturday, November 10 starting at 8pm.
If you are watching on BT TV, it will be on channel 95. For Sky customers, it will be available on channel 422.
Meanwhile, Virgin Media subscribers can view it on channel 533.