History of Club Atlético River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate is a professional Argentine sports club based in the Nuñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. The football team is one of the most successful of Argentina, having won the Primera División professional title a record 38 times.[1][2][3] The club has also won 15 National cups.[1]
At international level, River Plate has won 18 international titles, with 12 titles recognised by
The beginning
River Plate was founded on 25 May 1901[note 1] , close to the La Boca neighborhood (later the home of fierce rivals Boca Juniors). The institution was formed since the merge of two clubs, "Santa Rosa" and "La Rosales", with Leopoldo Bard being elected as its first president. The name was chosen because of an incident during the construction of Buenos Aires Port: one of the members had seen how the workers of Dique 3 left their duties for a while to play a football match. The boxes they were working with just said "The River Plate" (the name the English gave to the Río de la Plata) and that 'enigmatic' inscription was taken to name the new club.[7]
Club's first field was located on Dársena Sud of the Port of Buenos Aires, just behind the "Wilson" coal stores. Members and Wilson managers made their contributions, including the goals and perimeter fences.[8] When the works finished, River requested affiliation to the Argentine Football Association, which was granted. The team debuted in the third division in 1905 playing against Facultad de Medicina, being defeated by 3–2.
Despite the efforts made by club members and other collaborators to build the first stadium, the Minister of Agriculture of Argentina ordered the deviction of the land where it stayed, so in 1906 the club had to leave it. José Bernasconi, director of Naval storages "Dresco", gave the club a land located near small bridge of Sarandí in Greater Buenos Aires, therefore River Plate moved there to play its home games. The club remained there just a year so in 1907 members Bernardo Messina and Enrique Zanni proposed to return to the same field in Dársena Sud because the field had not been replaced by the Government. As a result, River Plate returned to its first field, where some years after a grandstand would be built to host the increasing supporters that follow the team.
First titles
In 1906 River Plate registered a team to play in the second division, where it finished 6th of section B. The team had a much better campaign in the 1907 season, where it finished 1st of section A but lost the title (and therefore the promotion to the first division) to Nacional (a club from Floresta)[note 2] by 1–0 at Ferro Carril Oeste stadium.[9]
After one season playing in Sarandí, in 1908 River returned to its field in Dársena Sur, where the squad played all its home games of the season. Once the regular season ended, the four best placed teams qualified to play for the promotion to Primera División. In the semifinals, River Plate defeated
The final was played on December 13, 1908, at
River debuted in the first division on 2 May 1909, against
The first year in the top level division, River finished 2nd to Alumni with 11 games won, 2 drew and 5 lost.[11] Those were the years where teams such as Alumni (until its dissolution in 1911) and Racing Club dominated Argentine football, winning all the championship disputed.
In 1914 River won its first domestic championship, the Copa de Competencia Jockey Club after beating Newell's Old Boys by 4–0 at the final, also finishing unbeaten.[12] River also won its first international title, the Tie Cup against Uruguayan team Bristol F.C. The line-up for that final was: Isola; Chiappe, Lanata; Peruzzi, Cándido García, Alfredo Elli; Fraga Patrao, Martín, Penney, Gianetto, Sevesi.[13]
The first Primera División title won by River in 1920 came after the 7-consecutive championships won by Racing Club. Nevertheless, the team from Avellaneda made a great campaign finishing 2nd.[14]
In 1923, River moved to a new stadium in the
1931–39: "Los Millonarios"
With the establishment of the professionalism in 1931, River Plate acquired right wing Carlos Peucelle in 1931 for $10,000 and Bernabé Ferreyra for $35,000 (huge amounts of money in those years) in 1932. Because of that, River was nicknamed "Los Millonarios" ("The Millionaires"), which has remained since. Ferreyra was the top scorer with 43 goals. River and Independiente finished in the first position so both teams had to have a play-off match in order to declare a champion. River defeated Independiente 3–0 obtaining its second title in the top division of Argentine football.
River not only won its second league title in 1932 but the
Take care of it, boys, because this is the River Plate jersey.
— FromAntonio Liberti to club's players when the red sash band uniform was reissued, March 1932.[15]
River obtained two championships in the 1936 season, the "Copa Campeonato" (regular season) and the "Copa de Oro" after defeating San Lorenzo in the final game. That same year River Plate won its first Copa Aldao (played between the Argentine and Uruguay champions) after thrashing Peñarol by 5–1 in Montevideo.
The following year River won the league title again, totalling 58 points in 34 matches, having scored 106 goals and only conceding 43. José Manuel Moreno was the top scorer with 37 goals. Other notable players were Adolfo Pedernera, Renato Cesarini and José María Minella. The team not only won the league but the Copa Aldao, defeating Peñarol again by 5–2 in Estadio Gasómetro of Buenos Aires. That same year the club also won the Copa Ibarguren in 1937, with a large victory of 5–0 over Rosario Central at Estadio Gasómetro.
On 25 May 1938, the
1940s: "La Máquina"
The decade of the 1940s is considered as one of the best eras in the history of the club, having won the league titles of 1941 (44 points, 19 wins, 6 draws and 5 losses; 75 goals scored) and 1942 (46 points, 20–6–4, 79 goals), national cups Carlos Ibarguren (1941–42) and Adrián Escobar (1941) and the international Copa Aldao in 1941, 1945 and 1947.
1941 was one of the most successful years in club's history, so River Plate won four titles, the local championship, its third Copa Aldao defining the series against Nacional in two matches (with a thrashing 6–1 in the first game) and the Copa Ibarguren defeating Newell's Old Boys by 3–0 and the Copa Adrián C. Escobar beating Huracán. Four years later, River won two titles else, the 1945 league championship and another Copa Aldao defeating Peñarol for the third consecutive time (the squad won both games, in Montevideo and Buenos Aires).
River would win its third Copa Ibarguren the following year, thrashing a Córdoba Province representative team by 7–0 in the final game.
The team was also sub-champion in 1943 and 1944. River had a powerful attack nicknamed
In 1947 River won a new league championship with 48 points, totaling 90 goals scored and only conceding 30. Some emerging players were goalkeeper Amadeo Carrizo and center-forward Alfredo Di Stéfano, which came from the youth categories. Di Stéfano was River top-scorer with 27 goals. The squad also won its 5th. Copa Aldao after defeating Nacional at the finals.
After a footballers strike in 1948 many footballers went to Colombia, "Pipo" Rossi and Di Stefano were among them. River finished the 1948 and 1949 tournaments in 2nd position.
1950s: First treble
River went to a European tour in 1951 and the next year the team crowned champion. River totalized 40 points, with 17 matches won, 6 draws and 7 losses. That team was nicknamed "La Máquina" ("The Machine") and had Labruna, Uruguayan Walter Gómez, Santiago Vernazza, Eliseo Prado, Lousteau and goalkeeper Carrizo as some of its most relevant players. In 1953 River won another title, with 60 goals scored and only conceding 36.
With the addition of "Pipo" Rossi (returned from
titles consecutively for the first time in the history of the club. River Plate would also win its sixth Copa Aldao in 1955 against Nacional, achieving a record for the tournament so this was the last year it was held.After the 1957 South American Championship held in Lima, Peru, Sívori was acquired by Juventus FC paying $10 million. That amount of money was used by the club to finish the Estadio Monumental grandstands.
After the demise of the
The 1960s: a decade without titles
River could not win any championship during the 1960s, although the team had many talented players such as Ermindo Onega, José Ramos Delgado, scorer Luis Artime, Vladislao Cap and Oscar Más. This is considered the worst club's age ever, which would last until 1975, totalizing 18 years with no titles for the club.
River's best position during those years was the 2nd place. In 1962 the team lost the title at the hands of arch-rival
In 1966 River played the Copa Libertadores final against Uruguayan team Peñarol. River had finished the first half leading 2–0, but Peñarol scored two goals in the 2nd half so an extra time had to be played. Peñarol scored two goals more winning 4–2 and becoming the new South American champion. The team's performance in that match originated the pejorative nickname Gallinas ("Chicken") which has been used by rivals to refer to River's players and supporters and has remained since.
1970s: Return to greatness
In 1975 Angel Labruna became the team's coach. Under his command, River won a championship after 18 years without obtaining any title (in fact, River won two titles:
In
River Plate also won the
In 1979 River achieved another treble, when winning the 1979 Metropolitano and Nacional and the 1980 Metropolitano tournaments. Some notable players during those seasons were Fillol, Alberto Tarantini, Luque, and Emilio Commisso.
Angel Labruna was not only River's all-time top scorer but he won 6 titles as coach of the first division team.
1980s: First Copa Libertadores
By 1981 Alfredo Di Stéfano replaced Labruna as the coach, Boca Juniors acquired Diego Maradona, which caused a huge impact in Argentine football. To mitigate the effects of Boca's signing of Maradona, River hired national team top scorer and superstar Mario Kempes, apart from other players such as defender Julio Olarticoechea and Américo Gallego. With the addition of those players and based on a strong defensive line and an effective offensive with Kempes and a youth Ramón Díaz, River became 1981 Torneo Nacional champion, defeating Ferro Carril Oeste in the finals with the same score in both matches: 1–0. Norberto Alonso, one of the greatest idols in the history of the club, did not take part of the first team because he had left behind by Di Stefano.
In 1982 some of River players that had contributed to the recent championship, left the club: Alonso was traded to
With the sale of Alonso, River acquired Uruguayan midfielder Enzo Francescoli to replace him as playmaker. 1983 would be one of the worst in club's history, finishing 18th of 19. Rules indicated that the two teams that finished the season in the last position would be relegated to Primera B, but a restructure of the Argentine football league system introduced at the beginning of the season saved River from being relegated to the second division.
In 1984 Héctor Veira was hired as coach, with River finishing as the runner-up of the 1984 Torneo Nacional losing the final against Ferro Carril Oeste. In 1985 there was a restructure of the league system, and a new tournament was created, with a format similar to the European system. River won the first tournament, the 1985–86, being declared champion six games before the end of the season. The team won 23 games, with 10 draws and only 3 losses. Enzo Francescoli was the top-scorer.
In 1986 River won its first
Decade of 1990s: the success continues
In 1990 Daniel Passarella is named coach, winning the
But Ramón Díaz emigrated again (this time to
In 1994 Enzo Francescoli returned to the club, winning another title that year with River Plate (the 1994 Apertura), along with Roberto Ayala and goalkeeper Germán Burgos (both acquired to Ferro) and being coached by former player Américo Gallego. River also remained unbeaten that season, for the first time in club's history.
After the brief Carlos Babington's run as coach, Ramón Díaz came to be his replacement in 1995. The following year River won its second Copa Libertadores, defeating América de Cali in the finals again ten years after. América won the first game 1–0 but River overcome 2–0 in Buenos Aires, winning the Cup by goal average. Hernán Crespo scored the two goals in the decisive match.
River would later win its third treble, obtaining the
In 1999 River won the last title under the coaching of Ramón Díaz, the Apertura tournament, with Javier Saviola as top-scorer with 15 goals. Saviola is also the youngest player to debut for River Plate, playing at the age of 16. Pablo Aimar also was a key player and vital playmaker.
That same year, Argentine sports magazine El Gráfico #4172 named River Plate as "Champions of the Century" ("Campeón Del Siglo"), noting the club's achievements, especially its then 30 Primera División titles against Boca Juniors' 24 and Independiente's 15.[16]
Decade of 2000s: ups and downs
On 25 May 2001 River Plate celebrated its 100 years of existence with a march, called "Monumental Caravan" and a friendly match against Peñarol of Uruguay. This was a year without a title for River, being eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Libertadores against Cruz Azul of Mexico. That year were transferred Pablo Aimar and Javier Saviola to Valencia and Barcelona respectively.
In 2002, Ramón Díaz returned to the club to replace Gallego as coach. River also brought back Ariel Ortega and promoted to Primera youthful players such as Andrés D'Alessandro and Fernando Cavenaghi, winning the Clausura tournament and getting his seventh title with Ramón Díaz as coach, which included a 3:0 victory against Boca at the Bombonera. Ramón Díaz left River at the end of that year due to differences between him and the President José María Aguilar.
In 2003 River won the Clausura tournament, led by Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini and a team of players like Leonardo Astrada (who retired at the end of the tournament), D'Alessandro, Fernando Cavenaghi, Javier Mascherano and Martín Demichelis.
In 2004, with Leonardo Astrada as manager, River achieved the Clausura tournament, this was its thirty-second domestic championship. The team also returned to the semi-finals of Copa Libertadores facing Boca Juniors. Boca won 1–0 the first game, where there were incidents between players from both clubs, and River won 2–1 in the Monumental although the team left out in the penalty shootout. After the Copa América and Olympic Games (where Argentina national team won its first gold medal with Mascherano and Lucho González as part of the team), River sold most of its figures, so Cavenaghi, Lucho González, Javier Mascherano, Marcelo Salas and Maximiliano López left the club that same year.
In 2008,
2011 relegation: starting all over
In
Back to Primera División
Almeyda retired as player when River was relegated to become the team's coach, while
After some conflicts with the President, manager Matías Almeyda was eventually fired by the club on 28 November 2012, only two rounds before the end of the Torneo Inicial.[26] The following day it was announced that Ramón Díaz would become River's coach for third time in history.[27]
Success after the dark years
On 18 May 2014, River won their 36th national league title when the team clinched the 2014 Torneo Final, beating Quilmes by 5–0.[28] A week later River won the 2013–14 Superfinal against 2013 Torneo Inicial champion, San Lorenzo de Almagro. Ramón Díaz immediately resigned and left River amid the celebrations for both championships.[29] Several days later it was confirmed that Marcelo Gallardo would be the new coach for River. His team was highly praised during the beginnings of the semester due to the good level of its game style,[30][31] but competing in three different tournaments took its toll.
However, the first team won its first CONMEBOL tournament in 17 years on December 10, the 2014 Copa Sudamericana. River Plate beat Colombian team Atlético Nacional at the finals, winning 3–1 on aggregate (1–1 on the first leg away and 2–0 on the second leg at home).[32][33] Previously, River Plate had beaten Godoy Cruz, Club Libertad, Estudiantes (LP) and arch-rival Boca Juniors.[34]
As 2014 Copa Sudamericana champions, River contested the
As the worst second-placed team in the group stage, River were drawn with Boca Juniors, the best group-winners, in the round of 16. River beat Boca 1–0 in the first leg at El Monumental. In the second leg at La Bombonera, River players were attacked with pepper spray while returning to the field at halftime. The match was suspended with a 0–0 score, and Boca were disqualified from the tournament. River met Brazilian side Cruzeiro in the quarterfinals, losing 0–1 in at home, but ultimately advancing to the semifinals for the first time in 9 years after a 3–0 away victory. They played Guaraní from Paraguay, winning 2–0 at home and drawing 1–1 away, hence qualifying for their first Copa Libertadores finals since 1996. River Plate won the final and the 2015 Copa Libertadores after defeating Tigres UANL by 3–0. Meanwhile, River's domestical form dropped, with 3 draws and 6 losses on their last 12 matches, and eventually finished in ninth place.
On November 11, 2018, River drew 2–2 with
Notes
- ^ Although the club set its date of foundation on May 25, 1901, some historians and researchers state that the club was in fact founded on May 15, 1904, alleging that La Rosales and Santa Rosa remained active at least until 1903. Moreover, Enrique Zanni, one of club's founders, wrote that River Plate's inaugural meeting was held on that date.[4][5][6]
- ^ Current "Club Harrods Gath & Chaves", in 1907 it was a team formed by employees of Gath & Chaves, a renowned tailoring of Buenos Aires
References
- ^ a b Campeones de la Primera División on AFA website, 6 Jul 2015
- ^ "Torneo Argentino de Primera División – Títulos por Equipo", SobreFutbol.com
- ^ "Todos los campeones del fútbol argentino" by Oscar Barnade, Clarín, 18 May 2014
- ^ River, los clubes y la Patria by Oscar Barnade, Clarín, 25 May 2016
- ^ El misterio de la fecha de fundacion de River Plate by Guillermo Gasparini, Telam, 10 May 2011
- ^ River, sus comienzos y sus estadios by Gabriela Miño, La Nación, 7 May 2011
- ^ "Historia de River Plate" on Solo Futbol
- ^ a b La historia de River Plate – parte 1
- ^ La historia de Harrods Gath & Chaves
- ^ A un siglo del ascenso de River by Patricio Nogueira at CIHF website, 24 Mar 2009
- ^ Argentine Primera División 1909
- ^ Argentina – Copa de Competencia "Jockey Club" – 1914
- ^ "El primer título internacional" at River Plate Momentos Históricos website, 7 Jun 2011
- ^ Argentine Primera 1920
- ^ a b "Hace 80 años, River volvía a usar la banda roja" by Federico López, 13 Mar 2012
- ^ "La estadística consagra a River Campeón del Siglo", El Gráfico #4172, 21 September 1999
- ^ a b Un desenlace trágico que tuvo años de capítulos oscuros (in Spanish)
- ^ "Violence, riots break out as River Plate relegated". USA Today. 26 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ "River relegated after Belgrano draw". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ "Argentina's River Plate relegated to second division for first time". The Guardian. London. 26 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ "Argentina side River Plate relegated". Daily Telegraph. London. 27 June 2011. Archived from the original on 1 July 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
- ^ Un triste final para Jota Jota (in Spanish)
- ^ "River es de Primera", Clarín, 23 June 2012
- ^ Trezeguet wins promotion for River Plate Archived 2012-08-29 at the Wayback Machine; Footballcracy, 24 June 2012
- Conmebolmagazine, July–August 2012, pp. 63–67
- ^ Almeyda, quebrado en el adiós: "Deseo volver algún día"
- ^ Ramón es Único by Nahuel Trasmonte. Diario Olé, 29 November 2012
- ^ "River goleó a Quilmes y se llevó el título más deseado", Clarin, 18 May 2014
- ^ "Ramón Díaz renunció y se va de River en medio de los festejos por los títulos" (in Spanish). La Nación. May 27, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
- ^ "Este River es mejor que el campeón", Clarín, 10 Sep 2014
- ^ "Alonso elogió al equipo de Gallardo: "Este River juega mejor que el campeón de Ramón"" on MinutoUno.com, 8 Sep 2014
- ^ "River es campeón de la Copa Sudamericana: le ganó 2 a 0 a Atlético Nacional" on Cancha Llena.com, 10 Dec 2014
- ^ "¡River campeón de la Copa Sudamericana!" on La Voz.com, 10 Dec 2014
- ^ Copa Sudamericana 2014 on RSSSF
- ^ "River Plate win historic Copa Libertadores". BBC Sport.