Newell's Sends River Back to Reality

After last week’s win against Argentinos Juniors, the goal for the team was to start a winning streak. River had the mental push and the motivational result to pursue another win against Newell’s Old Boys. Another reason why River needed a win was to qualify for the 2010 Copa Santander Libertadores. River ran the risk of losing all hopes to qualify for South America’s most important club competition, and Newell’s sealed River’s fate. River now needs at least 13 points to obtain an automatic entry into the cup, when there is 18 left to play in the local Apertura tournament.

Right from the start, River new that it would be a difficult match. With Ariel Ortega out of questions, Coach Leonardo Astrada had to rely on veterans Marcelo Gallardo and Matias Almeyda for leading roles. Unfortunately, these two players did not have their best game. Diego Buonanotte did his best, even scoring River’s only goal of the match, but that was not enough. The talk of the year has been the absence of Radamel Falcao. When the Colombian striker left in the beginning of the year to join Portuguese side, FC Porto, a huge space was empty on River’s attacking style. Up until this moment, River has not been able to find a dedicated and powerful forward. I will not mention Cristian Fabbiani, as his role of ‘savior’, quickly faded with time.

Newell’s has been on the hottest teams this year, all thanks to their wise investments in players. In addition, their head coach, Roberto Sensini, has done great work with his players. Antonio Boghossian, the Uruguayan sensation in Newell’s, nailed River twice during the match. It only took his four minutes during the first half to put his team on top. Once on top, Newell’s had complete control of the match. A sad reality is that not one team in the league respects River. River has been considered an easy team to get three points from, completely disgracing the history and value of the jersey. More games are being lost, and nothing can be done to get River out of this hot mess. With River’s presidential elections coming up next month, these horrible results will definitely be a decision maker.