RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- Jonathan Arguero is a passionate fan of Buenos Aires club River Plate, which means he despises the city's other big team - archrival Boca Juniors.
He couldn't believe what he saw the other day in Rio, where he's arrived to watch Sunday's World Cup match between Argentina and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Browsing in a shop run by Rio club Flamengo, he spotted a fan of archrival Fluminense wearing - of all things - a Fluminense shirt.
"If a Boca fan arrived in a River Plate store wearing a Boca shirt, he might not leave alive," Arguero said. "I am not exaggerating. The animosity is very great. I'm using measured words here."
Brazil loves football, though attendance is poor for club matches, averaging about 15,000 - less than Major League Soccer in the U.S. One reason is that newly built and remodeled stadiums are pricing out the working-class fans. Tickets for a club match at Maracana can start at $40-50.
About 50,000 Argentines are expected in Rio for Sunday's match - most without tickets.
Some of them could be members of Argentina's hooligan gangs, called "Barras Bravas" in Spanish. Brazilian and Argentine police are trying to stop them at the border. Back home, almost every Argentine club match is tinged with some violence, in or around the stadium.
Police trying to control a rowdy crowd of Argentine fans used pepper spray to keep them from blocking a main road running in front of Rio's Copacabana beach Saturday.
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