Following last week’s win against Independiente at home, River came to La Paternal in hopes of continuing a winning streak. Argentinos Juniors has been a difficult opponent for River since they arrived in the first division a few years ago. Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, one of the most beautiful and well kept stadiums in Buenos Aires, is witness to River’s poor campaign against this club. River needed a win to maintain the minimal chance of winning a championship but it could not manage to make that happen. Returning to face his previous club, Coach Nestor Gorosito faced another challenge but came up short.
Both teams played a balanced match this sunny afternoon although River had more chances to score than Argentinos Juniors. River did not look the same as least week and it clearly showed on the pitch. One interesting factor was the return of Cristian Fabbiani in the starting line up. Facing lots of pressure and disbelief for his lack of talent since his last goal months ago, this game was should have been his comeback. The “Ogre” did not take advantage of it and let another game slip away. Additionally, Radamel Falcao played a great match but did not score, again. Both halves showed a River without any ideas, just running around the pitch. Coach Nestor Gorosito claims that River went out to win but if you saw the match, you could not believe him. A scoreless tie was the outcome for the Millonarios and it sealed another championship-free season.
With no chances to play for any title, River plays its remaining games with thoughts on the next half of the year. Last week, it became official that River would commence its preseason training in Santa Marta, Colombia which is home to Radamel Falcao. The preseason training in Colombia will be free and the club will not have to spend any money. There are talks about a few exhibition matches in Colombia and a possible two-game exhibition match against Juventus in Canada. Should River really be showcasing its poor campaign abroad? This question has been plaguing me since receiving this news but who knows, it may jump start River into a new frame of thinking and/or playing. River’s next match is against Tigre on June 14th at home.
