It has been a very cold winter in Argentina with temperatures hanging between -5 to 0 degrees Celsius. In the city of Salta, in northern Argentina, River has been focusing on preseason training. It usually is a good idea for the major clubs in Buenos Aires to venture out of the capital before a major tournament, and for River it was no exception. Last night, under a combination of rain and snow, River squared off against Gimnasia and Esgrima of Jujuy in it’s first exhibition match. The weather matched the attitude on the pitch, and a late equalizer saved the night.
Coach Angel Cappa faced his first exhibition match outside of Buenos Aires, so the pressure was on since the start. A combination of experienced and recently acquired players entered the frigid pitch with the idea of demonstrating their abilities to the coach. Familiar faces included Juan Pablo Carrizo, Diego Buonanotte, Matias Almeyda (captain), and Rogelio Funes Mori. As for the new group, Jonatan Maidana, Carlos Arano, and Walter Acevedo made their first official appearance.
The start of the match found both sides struggling to understand each others’ strategy, but Gimnasia was the quicker one to respond. At the 9th minute, Gustavo Balvorin put Gimnasia on top with a shot past Carrizo. Yes, that early goal had a an important moral factor for River because nobody expected it. The struggle to maintain possession of the ball and create an attack was beginning to engulf the mind of River’s players. Gimnasia read the body language, and began to attack for multiple angles. For a moment, it seemed that River was nowhere to be found on the pitch. Luckily, halftime provided River an opportunity to regroup before things got worse.
Through out the second half, things did not improve. One can only assume that Coach Cappa directed the players to try a different formation, try a new strategy, or do something but that was not the case. In fact, Gimnasia made River look like an amateur team based on the way they were playing. Gimnasia seemed to be closer to scoring their second goal rather than River equalizing the match. Even their fans screamed “ole! ole!” after each pass. Nonetheless, under the guidance of Diego Buonanotte, River began to slowly respond. His constant push and determination helped River finally reach Gimnasia’s end with ease. At the final minutes of the second half, Rogelio Funes Mori blasted a beautiful shot into Gimnasia’s net. The goal saved the night for both River players and fans. With only 3 weeks left for the 2010 Apertura tournament, there is much to work on.