Revival complete for resurgent River
 |
| AFP |
River Plate’s third Copa Libertadores triumph sets the seal on an extraordinary revival for one half of Argentina’s big two. Four years on from suffering relegation to the second division, Los Millonarios have become the first team ever to hold all three CONMEBOL club titles at the same time: the Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana and Recopa Sudamericana.
In this week’s second leg of the 2015 Libertadores final, played in front of a buoyant capacity crowd at the Estadio Monumental, River saw off Mexico’s Tigres to win the biggest club crown in Latin American football for the first time since 1996.
The last River side to land the trophy contained current coach Marcelo Gallardo, who was a fresh-faced, 20-year-old fringe member of a fabled team what featured club idols such as Enzo Francescoli and Ariel Ortega.
The champions
In completing their unprecedented clean sweep of CONMEBOL titles, River demonstrated their ability to compete and triumph in the face of adversity.
The group phase of the 2015 Libertadores proved to be quite an ordeal for the Argentinian heavyweights, who advanced to the knockout stage with the worst record of the 16 qualifiers. That they went on to become the first side with such a status to go on and win the title is all down to their considerable tactical nous and mental resolve.
Key to River’s success in the latter stages of the competition were the midfield tandem formed by Matias Kranevitter and Leonardo Ponzio and the defensive solidity provided by goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero and the centre-half pairing of Jonathan Maidana and Ramiro Funes Mori. From the Round of 16 onwards, Gallardo’s side conceded a mere two goals.
They were no less effective up front, where the Uruguayan Carlos Sanchez was a constant thorn in opposition sides on the right, and where the opportunistic Rodrigo Mora and talented Teofilo Gutierrez also excelled. Then, when the Colombian made the move to European football, Lucas Alario proved a more-than-able leader of the line.
The lessons
A vital factor in runners-up Tigres’ run to the final was the players’ insistence on prioritising the Libertadores over the league. Coach Ricardo Ferretti listened to his squad, which contains a number of South American players, and the results are there for all to see, with the Mexicans proving unbeatable in their seven home matches, winning four and drawing three, and sweeping into the final in impressive fashion.
Another notable aspect of this year’s competition was the continued poor form of Brazil’s representatives, who have now gone two seasons without success, with Atletico Mineiro their last champions in 2013. Not a single Brazilian team reached the last four in 2014, while only Internacional managed to progress that far this year, a surprisingly low return for a nation that has produced six Libertadores champions since 2005.
The key moments
There were no fewer than three seminal moments in River’s cup-winning campaign, the first of them their late comeback away to eventual final opponents Tigres on the penultimate matchday in the group phase.
Trailing 2-0 with just four minutes remaining, the Argentinians were all but out of the competition. Two late goals secured them an ultimately priceless point, however, with River completing their escape act on the final matchday thanks to a 3-0 defeat of San Jose and to Tigres’ thrilling away win at Juan Aurich.
Their second big step towards the title came with the last-16 win over in-form crosstown rivals Boca Juniors, who had won all six of their group matches, while the third was their 3-0 win away to Brazil’s Cruzeiro in the quarter-finals, a stunning result that came after River had lost the first leg 1-0.
The key players
Jonathan Maidana and Nicolas Bertolo have now become the only two players ever to win the Libertadores with River Plate and Boca Juniors, having both landed the title with Los Xeneizes in 2007. A left-sided midfielder, Bertolo only joined River a few weeks ago, while his central-defensive team-mate has long been a Millonario mainstay and had a big hand in their triumphant campaign.
After River’s underwhelming performances in the group phase, Maidana came into his own against Boca, scored the second in the comeback win over Cruzeiro and then kept the ever-dangerous Federico Santander quiet in the semis and the equally lethal Andre-Pierre Gignac at bay in the final. What makes Maidana’s success all the sweeter is that he is the only member of the Libertadores-winning side to have played in the fateful game that saw River relegated to Argentina’s second tier in 2011.
The surprises
The honour of being this year’s revelations goes to Guarani. El Aborigen did Paraguayan football proud, reaching the semi-finals in style after knocking out two title contenders in Corinthians and Racing Club in the last 16 and the last eight respectively, winning both ties without conceding a goal. Their unexpected run would come to an end against the eventual champions, however.
Three teams who will be disappointed with their efforts are Chilean representatives Colo Colo, Universidad de Chile and Palestino. With the country still on a high after the national team’s Copa America win on home soil, the trio failed to ride the wave and went out in the first round.
Defending champions San Lorenzo suffered a similar fate, though they can at least point to the fact they were handed a tough draw, with formidable Brazilian duo Sao Paulo and Corinthians among their group opponents.
Did you know?
Since Mexico’s clubs were first invited to take part in the Copa Libertadores in 1997 only three of them have managed to reach the final: Cruz Azul in 2001, Guadalajara in 2010 and Tigres this year. All three failed to win the title.
The stat
3 - The number of Copa Libertadores titles River Plate have now won, putting them level with Olimpia of Paraguay, Santos and Sao Paulo of Brazil and Uruguay’s Nacional. Argentina’s Independiente de Avellaneda lead the way with seven titles.
What they said
“Getting the psychology right was the most important thing for me. I played in the Libertadores alongside some very talented players, but there was always something missing and it stopped us from winning the title. I learned from those experiences,” River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo.
Leading goalscorers
1. Gustavo Bou (ARG/Racing Club): 8
2. Guido Carrillo (ARG/Estudiantes de La Plata): 7
3. Miller Bolanos (ECU/Emelec) and Federico Santander (PAR/Guarani): 6