After weeks of watching River go through one of its most difficult periods this year, tonight was a special, victorious night for the Millonarios. With Coach Angel Cappa coaching his first official game, the magic in the Monumental Stadium once again reappeared. One main contributor of the magic was also the return of Diego Buonanotte, who returned to the pitch after four months of recovery following his car accident last December. The opponent was Godoy Cruz, one of the top teams of the tournament, but their winning streak was cut short by a motivated River Plate.
There were lots of nervous on and off the pitch tonight. River was at home, waiting to play the surprise team of the tournament. The responsibility on Coach Cappa’s was immense, and he knew that he had to show his experience and attitude in tonight’s match. Right from the start, he included River’s main idols in the line-up: Ariel Ortega, Marcelo Gallardo, and Matias Almeyda. Their experience would be needed to keep River solid. Next, Coach Cappa used a different formation than the players were used to, which proved to be successful.
The first half proved to be successful for River despite having a few setbacks. Godoy Cruz came to this match in search of keeping ‘first-place’ hopes in the tournament’s standings. As a result, they were tactically positioned to take advantage of any open space given up by River. Nonetheless, River’s midfield and defense were prepared for their attacks, and maintained their ground. Alexis Ferrero controlled River’s defense in a lot of dangerous situations, and his desire to keep the opponents away was ‘on the spot’. Unfortunately, Godoy Cruz slipped through a crack and Federico Higuain (ex-River and brother to Real Madrid’s ‘Pipita’ Higuain) scored to put the visitors ahead. With this lead, River began to get nervous but was saved by the approaching half-time whistle.
At the second half, Coach Cappa knew that he had to make some changes to effectively change the direction of the match. Diego Buonanotte came in the match to replace Gustavo Canales, in front of a standing ovation from every fan. It was a long time since the ‘Enano’ was seeing playing, and he couldn’t have come in a better time. His entrance changed the mood of the team. His ability to maneuver through Godoy Cruz and find his teammates was pure class. At his feet, River changed its mentality. At the 23rd minute of the last half, Ariel Ortega tied the match for the Millonarios. It was weeks since River scored in a match, so you can imagine how well received this goal was. Two minutes later, Paulo Ferrari broke away from a Godoy Cruz defender and scored a beautiful goal after defeating the goalie in a one-to-one encounter.
River’s Daniel Vega was unfortunately injured right after the second goal and had to be replaced by Juan Ojeda. Ojeda, who was hardly given any minutes through out this year, did a job covering the goal area and he proved to be a great backup for Vega. River was now in the lead, playing excellent, and causing the fans to scream from the top of their lungs. “Ole!” after “ole!” was chanted after each River pass and trick against Godoy Cruz. One player, who may be the ‘unsung hero of the match’, was Facundo Affranchino. His continuous effort to steal the ball and move it upfield was extraordinary and worth mentioning. After weeks of struggle, River won the match 2-1 and brought a much-needed smile to every fan in the world.
