The win against Cerro Porteño puts us on the brink of another superclasico in the copa. I don't think the Paraguayan side has any quality and will have no chance of scoring 3 against us. Its just a shame we could only manage two goals, both from the spot, because the two teams were not close in terms of ability or playing style. I am going to hope River can keep up the good league form even between Copa matches. Its important to win the Superliga after such a long wait. I know the Copa is and should be the top priority, but lets be fair, Talleres is probably just as good as Cerro. I know the Paraguayans beat San Lorenzo, but in a one off, anything can happen, and the CuerBos are chokers. Cerro is made up of rejects from Argentine clubs like Larrivey and Amorebieta and their coach Russo.
I would have put the starters today, and then a mixed/alternative side on Thursday in Asuncion. Not only do I consider Talleres a tougher rival than Cerro Porteño (plus we’re up by 2 goals vs the Paraguayans), but we play the Superclasico just days after the Copa game. Although many of the subs proved to not be up to standard today, I don’t think the likes of Angileri, Zuculini, Carrascal, etc are any less than what Cerro has to offer. It is what it is, but we’ve already seen this story too many times in which we rotate in the wrong games and it ends up costing us the domestic tournament
I couldn't agree more loco. Cerro Porteño is a very weak side. They didn't create any chances in 90 minutes. They have regects like Larrivey as their main star. Talleres is a young, fast, hungry team. The match had disaster written all over it, as I said last week after the Cerro match. I don't understand why guys like De La Cruz and Palacios, just 20 years old, can't play multiple times in a week. I think Gallardo is a club icon, but I also think he has literally thrown away the league title almost every season he's been in charge. As much as we love Gallardo, one day we may regret this... Boca is creeping up on us in terms of league titles and also in the historic table of the primera. 5 years without a league title is in excusable, and I think its a massive knock on his record.
Not sure how that was not a red on Nelson Valdez. Even after Bascuñán went and looked at the replay... VAR is utter shit at times, either do it right or don't even have it.
It’s crazy how noticeable Enzo’s absence is. Other than Nacho, the rest of the midfield has been playing like shit De La Cruz having a horrendous night, has to be subbed out. I’d also bring in Scocco (or even Pratto) for Borre
Superclasico en los semifinales! Speaking of Cerro Porteño and River, remember this muerto? 🚔🚨 ¡Jonathan Fabbro sentenciado a 14 años de prisión!El ex delantero de @Albirroja, @Chiapas_FC, @LobosBuapMX, @RiverPlate y @BocaJrsOficial fue condenado por abuso sexual de su ahijada. pic.twitter.com/PxhXisnXaL— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) August 29, 2019
Regarding the game, Pratto came in well and added a lot. He definitely needs to return to the starting line-up. I was pleasantly surprised with Ferreira. The kid did his thing and was in large part responsible for helping the team change its image. As I said earlier, Enzo’s absense was heavily noted. Not only does he provide immense defensive support nowadays (he is one of the players who has recovered the most balls in the entire tournament.. in River he has an average of 9.11/match compared to Zuculini’s 5.25, Palacio’s 6.8, or Nacho’s 6.0, for example), but he is fundamental for the development of our offensive play. All plays go through him and his distribution is so clean that it helps create technically organized plays. Although the team improved slightly in the second half today, they were just a mess offensively with a bunch of pelotazos and very few sequential passing plays. Bruno’s not bad, but the role Enzo plays today in River is huge and today showed how important he really is. In defense, would you guys keep Rojas or return to the original Pinola-M. Quarta duo? —— Another Superclasico chicos... I don’t think anyone cares about the one this weekend after this semifinal match-up came to fruition. Maybe this will finally be the bosteros’ chance, or maybe Gallardo will decide to send a few more guys to join Arruabarrena, Guille, Osvaldo, Jara, Pavon, Calleri, Orion, Pablo Perez, Gigliotti, Peruzzi, etc in the abyss. Time will only tell, but regardless of the score nothing will cover up what happened in Madrid. I’m heading into this series with a sense of tranquility that I hadn’t felt prior to other Superclasico Libertadores face offs... there’s just less to lose after what happened last year.
Is it really though? What if Boca eliminates River and goes on to lift the trophy... Will it be, "well, they may have won it but didn't beat us in a final" so it hurts less? Perhaps there is a sense of relief that this time it isn't a final because you could still have that over them even if they do end up winning it the entire thing. I don't know, just my two cents, loco...
Don’t get me wrong, no one would be happy if we’re eliminated by Boca.... much less if they go on to win the title. However, we eliminated them from 3 Copas in the last 5 years and ended up winning all three cups. We beat them in an unprecented and never-again-possible (due to tournament formatting changes) home-and-away derby Libertadores final. Would I be pissed if Boca advances? Hell yeah! But having beaten them in the most important game in their club’s history as little as 9 months ago provides a cushion to make a hypothetical elimination less painful. For instance, going into the 2014 Sudamericana semifinal I felt intense nerves because I knew we just couldn’t lose another cup series vs Boca after what happened in 2000 and 2004. The 2015 Libertadores series was similar because—even though we had eliminated them just 6 months before—the Sudamericana just doesn’t have the prestige the Libertadores has. Now, after winning a Libertadores final vs Boca and eliminating them in two other ocasions in recent times (+ beating them in the Supercopa last year), I feel like for the first time in my life I can go into one of these series chill and ready to enjoy it. It will be nervewrecking as always once the ball gets rolling, but unlike the other times it doesn’t seem the stakes are that high for us. On the other hand, the bosteros (RIP Dec 9, 2018) must be trembling at the thought of getting eliminated by their rival on the continental stage for the fourth times in five years. In the case that they win, they’ll have all the right to celebrate, but they too know that they’d trade that (and a lot more) for the 2018 final in a heartbeat
The bottom line is, losing a superclasico is always a disaster for whichever team it is, but losing a semi is just completely different than losing a final. In 2004, sure, Boca eliminated River in the semi, but they lost to Once Caldas so really there is no bragging rights. In this year's addition, the winner will face either Gremio, who has a great squad that won it two years ago, or Flamengo who is also a good squad in this edition of the tournament after years of underachieving, throw in the fact that its a one off in Santiago, neither Boca nor River will be guaranteed to win the Final and probably wouldn't even be favorites. So... while winning it would be a massive boost for either team, there will be little time to cherish the victory as the Final will be a massive test. The other thing I'd add loco, is that we also beat Boca in the 2018 Supercopa Argentina Final, which goes along with the 2014 Sudamericana, 2015 Libertadoress, and 2018 Libertadores. The thing about this Boca team is that they are doing well at the moment sure, but there is no one in their squad that I fear by any means. MacAllister is no where near as good as De La Cruz (when he's on) and is probably on the level of Ferriera, who barely plays for River. Tevez is completely washed up. No doubt about it. Wanchope Abila may have scored in the final, but i think he's a laughable player. De Rossi is a great player and a leader don't get me wrong, but lets not forget, while he is a Roma legend, in his time their he grew into a habit of being elminated by Lazio, including the Copa Italia Final and the Copa Italia Seminfinal two years after, so he isn't the guy who is going to tell his teammates how to win a derby match. Obviously this is a rivalry where anything can happen, but lets not forget that Quintero will probably be back by then. If he is anything like the player who was on fire before his injury, this is bad news for Boca and great news for El Muñeco, who has a few options in that positon now
Lmao!!! Wtf does Andrada want the 3 points now because of a ********ing bengala? These bosteros get more pathetic day by day
Que culo que tienen estos bosteros que siga 0-0! The difference between the two sides is immense.. Boca out there looking like an amateur side with no plan
What a disaster was this game... boca played as a "small" team and did everything for the 0-0, they wanted save this game without got a goal, but they did for the victory nothing... The referree was mate for this, he allowed for them this dirty playing style... There were missing the creativity from River, but it is so hard againist a team who defended with 11 players... There is no question River is the better team and we will see it in october also! ¡Vamos los Millonarios!
To be fair, they’ll have more to offer when Zarate, Salvio, and Wanchope return from their injuries. Plus, Bebelo, Villa, and Tevez —who were all on the bench today— probably have more to offer for these type of games than, say, Soldano or some of the other starters from today It was clear that Boca was going to go for the 0-0 draw from the lineup they chose, and it was later confirmed on the pitch, where they defended with 11 players and had Andrada wasting time since the very first minute. Such a harmless approach could have played against them, but it was evident Alfaro was trying to avoid a catastrophic loss that would have played psychologically in their heads for a month before the copa series. They played their game and got what they wanted, although River could have easily won the game had they been more precise in the final third of the field. I think Boca will again try to play for a scoreless tie in the first leg of the copa in el monumental. Still, I feel a lot of people got a little too comfortable with today’s display, when the truth is Boca has a lot of weapons to do damage on a counterattack that weren’t present today. I have no doubts River has an overall much better team (and coaching staff) than Boca, but to judge them based on today’s performance would be deceitful. They have a lot more to offer and will likely look very different when we play in October. With that said, bocagon equipo chico la puta que te pario!!!
I liked what I saw from Diaz the other day, although it's also true that Boca didn't really test him. Pinola is an absolute beast... no need to say more. And Rojas, despite having a poor match vs. Cerro in Asuncion, has been on the rise and had adapted well to the River world despite his young age. So the question remains... who should accompany Martinez Quarta in defense vs. Boca?
I was probably one of the few, but I hardly cared that Pinola was suspended against Boca. I think Paulo Diaz at this stage is a better option, and proved it in the few games he's played. Lets not forget that the same day Pinola was red carded, he was also truly terrible, probably the worst player on the field for either team against Talleres. I'm not trying to rip apart Pinola... I love the guy. But, as great of a signing as he has been, we always knew that when he signed it was a short team, stop gap situation. He has more than lived up to expectations, but now we have this Chilean who Gallardo fought tooth and nail for over two transfer periods and he's actually doing well in his first few games, so I think he should probably be playing the important games. The thing I am worried about is that for all the talk of boca being so defensive and cowardly, which they were, River needs to overcome that. Boca has ALWAYS been a defensive team. Lets not pretend that Alfaro is the first boca coach to completely shut up shop in El Monumental or that Andrada was the first bosta goalkeeper to waste time... I seem to recall el Vasco and Orion up to the same shennanagins back in 2015. River needs to overcome this cowardly nonsense and score goals. On Sunday, we didn't even create many clear cut chances. We had players in space and the likes of Nacho Fernandez, Montiel, and De La Cruz chipped the ball into Andrada's arms over and over again. Andrada hardly had to move for any of his saves. That is honestly the worrying thing. Boca can have a small team mentality, its pathetic, but its within their rights to do so. River needs to step up and score goals. That Boca team on Sunday should have been beaten 3, 4, 5, 6-0 and we let them off the hook and while many fans are OK with this because the Libertadores is the main goal, I'm quite frankly not. We needed to humiliate them and put them in a crisis. Not to mention we are behind them in the standings and five points behind the cuerBos. We won't get a better chance to truly embarrass boca again and we blew it.
I agree for the most part.. Pinola can be clumsy at times and always seems on the verge of a red. Still, he has the experience and balls for these type of games, so it’s a bit tough for me to propose him as a sub. As well as Diaz played the other day, he didn’t have much trouble to deal with against Boca’s ultra-defensive formation. It might be best to go with what has been working for us for the past year (Montiel-MQ-Pinola-Casco) rather than doing experiments now, although you’re definitely right that Diaz shows promise and has the advantage of being much younger than Pinola. On a side note, Robert Rojas made his international debut today with the Paraguayan NT. Bien pibe!
When River is on, we are unplayable. We are of the level of the top teams in Europe when we are clicking. My only gripe with Gallardo, is that these nights are too few and far between them. EVERY game against teams like this, and I include Boca in there, should end 4-5-6-0. Mamita that Palacios goal One of the best volleys I've seen Vamosss carajo