Another Embarassing Loss

Few simple words can define what I feel about River at this moment. I have not seen such terrible disrespect for the club and its colors as what happened in Bahia Blanca. River, regarded the “best” team in Argentina, lost to Olimpo, a small, “barrio” team. It wasn’t just a normal loss, but an embarrassing 4-0. Although River started the match with control over the pitch, the result is that the team does not have enough guts to win simple matches.


With goals scored by Pinto, Paez, Lujambo, and Gonzalez, the local team was able to bury this disgraced River to the bottomless pit that seems to grow bigger and bigger. I have not been able to accept the fact that River had lost to recently promoted teams, but this put the cherry on the frosting. The blame was not on Passarella this time. The blame is on the players, period. Olimpo practically dominated the whole second half, and River’s dignity, as well as the players, was lost.

As a fan of River, I want what is best for the team. Starting from upper management to the players, we need a huge change. President Aguilar has been the worst President in the club’s history. During his time in office, we have had fabulous players wear our shirt. From the likes of Francescoli, Astrada, Aimar, D’Alessandro, Saviola, Crespo, Gallardo, Ortega, Constanzo, Cavenaghi, and I could go on and on. None of these players had ever been embarrassed to claim their identity to River. With our current roster, it is a complete different story. The do not perform to the club’s and fan’s expectations. They play horribly and do not put 100% into the field.

I felt horrible watching River be harassed by Olimpo’s fans. They were yelling out all sorts of chants but one convinced me. Their fan base started chanting songs claiming that River was a “B” team and asking the referee to suspend the games because this game was a robbery. How sad is this? Why is it that we cannot beat little teams and expect to win international cups? This year has been a disastrous year and I’m scared as to what awaits us in 2008.