River Plate: Relegation, 2 Libertadores and the 2010s decade in review
River Plate, based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is one of the most famous sports clubs in the whole world, though it is most renowned for its football team. In this article, we will look at the club’s decade which featured relegation on one extreme and winning 2 Libertadores on the other extreme.
Around 2011, River Plate was facing a crisis which was both sporting and institutional. But it started three years ago for them in 2008. Los Millonarios (nickname of River Plate) finished last in the 2008-09 Apertura. Since that time, for the next 3 years, they finished at best in 4th position once. Otherwise, they largely finished in mid-table positions. In Argentina, relegation works differently. It is calculated on an averaging basis. When the season ends, the 3 teams with the worst averages on a three-year period end up being relegated. The winner and the runner-up of the Primera Nacional, the second division of Argentine football, win promotion to the Primera Division. In 2011, River Plate faced Belgrano de Cordoba in a promotion-relegation play-off. They lost the 1st leg away from home 0-2 at Cordoba. In the 2nd leg, River Plate were held 1-1, thus losing the tie 1-3 on aggregate. As a result, River Plate suffered relegation for the very first time in its history.
River Plate spent only one season in the 2nd division as they won promotion to the Primera Nacional by winning the 2nd division title. They won the 2013-14 Argentina Primera Division title after defeating San Lorenzo in the Superfinal. After winning the title, Marcelo Gallardo was appointed as the head coach of River Plate in mid-2014. He has been the head coach of the club ever since. The club took part in the 2014 Copa Sudamericana. They went to the final winning against Universidad Catolica, Godoy Cruz, Libertad, Estudiantes (La Plata) and bitter rivals Boca Juniors on their way. River Plate faced Colombian club Atletico Nacional in the Sudamericana finals. Los Millonarios won 3-1 on aggregate to win the 2014 Copa Sudamericana. It was also their first CONMEBOL trophy since the 1996 Copa Libertadores.
By winning the Copa Sudamericana in 2014, they played in the 2015 Copa Libertadores. They progressed to the knockout round after finishing 2nd in the group stages behind Mexican club Tigres UANL. They faced bitter rivals Boca Juniors in the round of 16 which they won 1-0 in the first leg. The second leg at Boca’s home ground was suspended after fan violence (Boca fans attacked River Plate players). Consequently, Boca were disqualified and River progressed to the quarter-finals. River Plate faced Brazilian & Belo Horizonte club Cruzeiro in the quarter-final. River won 3-1 on aggregate and went to the semi-finals where they faced Paraguayan club Guarani. Once again, River won the tie 3-1 on aggregate to progress to the final of the Copa Libertadores. Tigres UANL, the team which was River’s group stage opponents, stood as the opponents of River Plate in the 2015 Copa Libertadores. The first leg in Mexico was a goalless draw. The second leg at El Monumental (River Plate’s home ground) saw River Plate win the match 3-0 and win the tie by the same aggregate. This was River Plate’s 3rd Copa Libertadores title and their first since 1996.
Because of their Copa Libertadores triumph, River Plate played in the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup. They won against Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the semi-final before losing the final to FC Barcelona.
In the 2016 and 2017 Copa Libertadores tournaments, River Plate reached the round of 16 and the semi-finals respectively. The team qualified for the 2018 Copa Libertadores by finishing as runners-up in the 2016-17 Argentina Primera Division behind bitter rivals Boca Juniors.
In the group stages of the 2018 Copa Libertadores, they topped their group containing Flamengo, Santa Fe (Colombian club) and Emelec (Ecuadorian club). They faced Racing club de Avellaneda in the round of 16 and Los Millonarios won 3-0 on aggregate. In the quarter-final, River faced Independiente and the former won 3-1 on aggregate and progressed to the semi-final. In the semi-final, they faced the defending Libertadores champions Gremio. Despite losing the first leg 0-1 at home, they managed to win 2-1 away in Porto Alegre to progress to the final on away goals rule. In the final, it was their bitter rivals Boca Juniors who stood in their way to glory. The first leg at La Bombonera ended in a 2-2 draw. The second leg was supposed to be held at El Monumental two weeks after the first leg. However, a combination of repeated fan violence and bad weather forced CONMEBOL to hold the second leg (which was River Plate’s home match for administrative reasons) away from Argentina. CONMEBOL chose the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid as the venue for the second leg of the final. The date of the second leg would be 9th December 2018. The second leg finally went ahead at the Bernabeu. Despite Boca taking the lead in the 1st half, River Plate equalized midway through the second half to force the match into extra-time (Away goals rule not applicable in Libertadores finals). In extra-time, Los Millonarios scored twice to win the match 3-1 (a.e.t) and win the tie 5-3 on aggregate. With this victory, River Plate won their 4th Copa Libertadores title and their 2nd in 4 years.
River Plate once again reached the final of the Copa Libertadores in 2019 where they faced Rio club Flamengo (This time, a one-off match at a neutral venue just like the UEFA Champions League final). Despite River leading until the 89th minute, Flamengo managed to score twice before the final whistle to win their 2nd Copa Libertadores title.
To conclude, River Plate have had a topsy-turvy decade to say the least. On the one hand, they suffered relegation from the Argentina Primera Division for the first time in their history. And on the other hand, they won two Copa Libertadores this decade defeating Superclasico rivals Boca Juniors in one of them.
