He said Boca fans will stop at nothing to show their allegiance.

"Money is not the issue: rich or poor, win or lose, they will always stand by their team," Mayo said.

Nonetheless, not all the club's attempts to build its brand have won over the fans. A local Boca TV channel was short-lived, along with a theme bar.

The club continues to work on new projects, however.

A few days ago, Boca announced plans to give its image to a cell phone company, and it also has plans to start construction on a private neighborhood and a cemetery in greater Buenos Aires.

Although the club's marketing plan is ahead of other popular Argentine teams like River Plate, Racing Club and Independiente, it is still lags behind the trends of teams like Real Madrid, which earned euro124 million from its global marketing efforts in the 2004-05 season.

"We want Boca to be a world brand," said Boca president Mauricio Macri, whose team has played friendly matches in Asia and also has close ties with a club team in South Korea.

Currently, fans can find Boca shirts in sport stores all over the world. In New York, a local Nike store dedicated a window display to Boca, featuring photos of fans and memorabilia explaining Boca's history.

Similarly, millions of tourists to La Bombonera stadium and pay US$200 (euro165.22) to see a match, and take a tour of the Boca neighborhood and museum promoting the "Boca sporting passion."