Hear
When River was about to end a streak of six years without titles to welcome the most glorious football cycle in its history with Rodolfo D’Onofrio as president, accompanied by Jorge Brito and Matías Patanian, Deportivo Riestra Barrio Colón Development Association celebrated its conquest in the “D” to climb the first of its steps on the road to the elite, an unthinkable dream before Victor Stinfale appeared. It was completely utopian to imagine that ten years later they would share the highest category of Argentine football. and that in the small Guillermo Laza stadium the owner of the house would win 2 to 0 to give him a new blow to Martín Demichelisharshly questioned by fans on social networks and WhatsApp groups, the only places where today some parameters can be taken in the absence of an immediate match at the Monumental.
However, reality sometimes surpasses any story in sports literature. While River’s facilities are growing by leaps and bounds, Riestra plays its home games in the evening hours because it does not have a lighting system. These contracts did not prevent a squad made up of 15 players who played in Metropolitan B, nine in First C and five in the aforementioned “D” from managing to surpass players whose passes cost tens of millions of dollars in results.
Main candidate to be the venue for the next Libertadores final and called to be one of the venues for the opening day of the World Cup in 2030, the Monumental, whose capacity is over 84,000 spectators, today represents the main a source of pride for Brito’s management. But in River football and results rule, That is why during these hours the president, whose tenure at the head of the institution began in December 2021 after being vice president in two consecutive terms, carefully evaluates the panorama. With a serious face and aboard a truck, the head of the Núñez entity left the humble Riestra court long before Demichelis appeared in the press room to face the television cameras and a series of questions. Meanwhile, fourteen kilometers away, pamphlets with the legend “Resign, Demichelis” multiplied on the Monumental beach with the same speed that the cans of a brand of energy drink were used for Cristian Fabbiani’s toast and those directed by him.
“It is not at all funny to come to the Riestra field, with all the respect that this very humble and sacrificial institution deserves, and that we have lost the three points here,” admitted the River coach. And, in relation to the leaders’ visit to the dressing room area, he added: “As always, before and after the game, they go to the locker room to support and greet.”
The other voice after the game was that of the captain on duty, Nacho Fernandez: “To win the Copa Libertadores is not enough for you. “We will have a good preseason and we will start thinking about what is coming.”
Although Demichelis showed his strength to face the preseason (“I am extremely sure that the group will stand up”), whose start is scheduled for Monday, July 1 In a hotel in Pilar, province of Buenos Aires, River goes through hours of reflection. The majority of the leadership does not see the DT as suitable, but those who make the decisions and occupy the main seats at the small table maintain the conviction of supporting it, although without leaving aside an intimate question that is repeated with increasing frequency, assuming the absence of a plan B: “If not, who do we bring?”
For now, After the mess in Bajo Flores, no manager spoke with the media. After the elimination on penalties against Temperley in the round of 16 of the Argentine Cup, the strategy of Enzo Francescoli and Patanian, first vice president and main person responsible for managing River’s professional football, was for the team to reach the winter break in the best possible way so that the wave of criticism would calm down. The triumphs over Deportivo Táchira to reach first place in the general table in the Libertadores, the main support of the DT in terms of personal motivation, and Tigre were buried by the fall in front of Riestra. It was not just another blow, because it was added to the elimination against Boca, the recent setback against Argentinos and another failure, the tough 4-0 win in the friendly against Independiente Rivadavia. Everything happened in a period of less than three months. A panorama that came accompanied by a fact that was by no means minor: the whistles at Demichelis in some home games.
The investments made to expand the Monumental, build a sports center in the club and obtain the land one kilometer from the stadium so that the lower divisions can develop daily from 2025, They are not enough for there to be a positive climate in River. Football marks the pulse and spirit of members and fans. Seven games, including two formal friendlies at home against Millonarios and Olimpia, on Tuesday, July 9 and Saturday, July 13, respectively, separate River from the first leg against Talleres in Córdoba, on Wednesday, August 14. In the middle will be the transfer market, key to trying to strengthen the squad, and two games away from Núñez. While River is undefeated this year at home, the record indicates that it has won just three of its last games in foreign stadiums.
Historically, the River leadership has as a kind of commandment the premise of not firing a coach. This line, in the event of a possible scenario of irreversible adversity, aims to cause any resisted DT to leave his position as a consequence of the unbearable external hostility.
Today the permanence of Demichelis is not in question, whose contract is valid until December 31, 2025. However, distrust inside grows in a directly proportional way to the accumulation of negative results.
