No surprise, really (Argentinos 4 - River Plate 1)

By: Scott | October 4th, 2007

River Plate, one of the most successful clubs in all of soccer took the field at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on Wednesday against Argentinos Juniors. People who are not very familiar with Argentine soccer might have perceived this as a match that River would be expected to win. Other things should be taken into consideration (and would have been taken into consideration here if I had gotten to the computer and made a preview). River had been coming off of two hard-fought matches in the previous eight days, as Gonzalo has described here and here and have The Only Match That Matters looming on Sunday, so fatigue and resting the right players for the most important matches were key factors. More importantly, River Plate has not won in Argentinos’ stadium in six years. Six years. River is always among the top clubs, Argentinos always striving for mediocrity. Yet it has been six years since Argentinos has given ground in the matchup.

Let me post the video highlights before proceeding, because the images say a lot about the quality of play:

The first goal is a beauty and shows how Delorte can be serviceable to the team, with the perfect flick ahead for Hauché…who was magnificent, even world-class in his finish over Carrizo’s head. Golazo.

The second goal was scored by Delorte only because he didn’t have to move too much, which makes him happy. Federico Lussenhoff (who in the other minutes of the match was auditioning for “Worst Player in Professional Soccer…Seriously, Not Even An MLS Club Would Pay Me”) had just left to get himself bandaged right before the corner kick, which freed up some space, and Fernando Belluschi (all the talent in the world, but the attitude of a brat) just stood there, allowing our tall lug to be on-side and to guide the ball into the corner of the net.

What the highlights do not show is that Argentinos continued to dominate for the remaining 35 minutes of the half. They missed 4 or 5 great opportunities, and for the first time all tournament their passes were quick, concise, and unpredictable to the opposition. The midfield (Cabrera, Battión, Peñalba replacing Ortigoza, and Pereira) was generating movement upfront and preventing the River midfield from doing anything positive. They were dominating River.

When the second half started, Ariel Ortega, as he is wont to do, made a perfect pass to Marco Ruben, who finished perfectly. Sabia was slow in reading and covering Ruben’s run, but the truth is that it was a fantastic finish and not much could be done. So, 4 minutes into the second half, River needed only one goal to tie and two to take the lead, and all indications were that anything was possible. River ran around, passed around, and came close to the goal. As the minutes wore on, the aforementioned fatigue really started to set in for their squaf and Argentinos made pushes that were further and further into River’s territory. Pereira’s two plays at the end sealed the deal (though the goals were socred by Franco Niell and Battión), and there was happiness all around.

As I mentioned before, this was not a surprise. I am not ruling out mystical intervention, but River Plate, for all of its glory, cannot win in La Paternal. They just can’t. Factor in the fatigue as well, and anything less than 3 points for Argentinos would have been a disappointment (though River very nearly took a goal back on a couple of occasions).

Highlights for the squad:

Roberto Battión. He dominated the middle of the field. Delicate passes all around, stripping the ball from Ortega and Belluschi…I almost wouldn’t have recognized him if he wasn’t “the blonde guy.” Also, his incredibly awkward and drawn-out goal at the end was appropriate to top off his spectacular afternoon.

Delorte’s first half. He ran!! He made a dummy play that almost led to the third goal!! He passed with his feet!! I almost wouldn’t have recognized him if he wasn’t “the tall guy who physically cannot move much.”

Pereira. Exquisite. I recognized him in every moment. A true treasure.