Boca Juniors coach Amr Mokhtar recalls Argentina’s extraordinary football atmosphere

Amr Mokhtar, the Egyptian assistant coach at Boca Juniors, says he has never experienced an atmosphere like the one surrounding football matches in Argentina anywhere else in the world.

Mokhtar, who works under manager Rodolfo Arruabarrena, spoke about his experiences in Argentina after helping Boca Juniors win the first part of the league season and finish top of the Argentine league’s aggregate table.

“I cannot describe the feeling I had after we were crowned leaders of the aggregate table in Argentina,” Mokhtar told Modern Sport.

“The Argentine league has three champions in every season and we won the title for the first part. We played every match until the final minute. We knew Rosario had gone out to celebrate at their own stadium, but we scored in the last minute and the stadium shook.”

Boca Juniors had dominated their match against Defensa Central but struggled to turn that control into goals.

“We controlled the match against Defensa Central from start to finish, but the ball refused to go in until the final minute,” Mokhtar said.

He added that the celebrations continued long after the final whistle, with players remaining at the ground alongside supporters.

“We stayed in the stadium for almost five hours after the match to celebrate with the fans. I have not seen these scenes anywhere in the world. The supporters are frightening at every match, and away fans are not allowed into the stadiums, so the entire ground supports one team.”

Mokhtar also recalled that his first day in Argentina coincided with Egypt’s match against Argentina – a fixture he jokingly suggested could have ended his stay before it began.

“My first day in Argentina was the day of the Egypt against Argentina match, so it could have been my last day there,” he said.

He met the Boca squad and players before watching the game with them at the club. The reaction of his team-mates left him expecting a difficult evening for Egypt.

“On my first day there, I met the team and the players, then we watched Egypt against Argentina together at the club. All the players were telling me that Egypt had no chance and that there would be no contest.”

Mokhtar said he remained silent throughout the match, even when Argentina scored, and described a tense moment at half-time.

“I did not say a word during the whole match, even when we scored. At half-time I went to the bathroom and heard someone joking, saying: ‘If we lose, we will kill the Egyptian.’”

According to Mokhtar, Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes later told him Egypt had provided one of the toughest tests Argentina faced at the World Cup.

“Paredes told me that Argentina’s hardest match in the World Cup was against Egypt. He also told me that Imam Ashour and Haissem Hassan had been a surprise for him.”

Mokhtar said Paredes did not regard Mohamed Salah as a surprise because Argentina had already been fully aware of his threat.

“Paredes did not mention Mohamed Salah as a surprise against Egypt because they already knew him. They had a complete plan during the match to stop Salah, but they were surprised when the danger shifted to Haissem Hassan.”