River Plate's red band has become iconic, but its origin is not entirely clear. The most popular story is that the players tore off a piece of red cloth from a carnival float in Buenos Aires and then tied it over their all-white jerseys. Other versions suggest the band was created to distinguish River's shirts from Villa Devoto's, another team from Buenos Aires. However, there are also sources that point out that the red and white colors are the same as those in Genoa's flag. Immigrants from the Italian city made up a large part of the population in the La Boca neighborhood, where River was founded in May 1901, which could explain the red and white colors. It is also worth noting that there is a Uruguayan River Plate – which also plays in red and white. In this case, however, the colors are a tribute to the Uruguayan revolution of 1904.
River Plate's red band has become iconic, but its origin is not entirely clear. The most popular story is that the players tore off a piece of red cloth from a carnival float in Buenos Aires and then tied it over their all-white jerseys. Other versions suggest the band was created to distinguish River's shirts from Villa Devoto's, another team from Buenos Aires. However, there are also sources that point out that the red and white colors are the same as those in Genoa's flag. Immigrants from the Italian city made up a large part of the population in the La Boca neighborhood, where River was founded in May 1901, which could explain the red and white colors. It is also worth noting that there is a Uruguayan River Plate – which also plays in red and white. In this case, however, the colors are a tribute to the Uruguayan revolution of 1904.