Monday morning was the first official training day of this new year for River Plate. Led by Nestor Gorosito, the group of thirty-three players made their appearances in the Monumental Stadium. One of the highlights of the training was that Nestor brought a group of talented youths to train with the first division squad, a custom that has generated exceptional results in the past.
Without any new players in the squad and the absences of Eduardo Tuzzio and Omar Merlo, River began a new cycle that has caused much stir around the management of the team and the fans. A group of exercises and motivational speeches from the coach initiated a hopeful, positive start to 2009. Unfortunately, there has been an issue that has been delaying the progress of the team. If you guessed the term “transfers”, then you are absolutely right.
Plagued by inconsistent numbers and miscommunication from representatives, two of the key players possibly coming to River are still out in the open. Cristian Fabbiani is still associated with Newell’s and his desire to come to Nuñez grows stronger each day. He could possibly be signed within the end of the week but negotiations seem have halted. Humberto Mendoza, the Colombian star of Nacional, seems to have the clearest chances of arriving within days to the club as his negotiations are now a reality.
As far as players leaving the club, there has been strong offers for Diego Buonanotte from the Middle East and Europe. Additionally, Radamel Falcao has been named in some rumor tabloids but nothing has been concrete. The sad reality is that River must sell one of these stars in order to have funds to cover signings and at this point, every player is negotiable.
The team will continue to train in Buenos Aires for a few days until traveling south to Mar del Plata for a preseason tournament and then north to Mendoza to finalize the preseason. River next match will be against Independiente on the 14th of January in Mar del Plata.
