Club Atlético River Plate
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| Full name | Club Atlético River Plate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | Los Millonarios (The Millionaires", El Millo, La Banda (The Stripe) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 25 May 1901 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | El Monumental, Núñez, Buenos Aires (Capacity: 65,700) |
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| Chairman | José María Aguilar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head Coach | Gabriel Rodríguez | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Argentine Primera División | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Clausura 2008 | 1st (Champions) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Current season |
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Club Atlético River Plate, known also as River Plate or simply River, is an Argentine sports club best known for its football team, established in 1901. Its home base is the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Núñez, and it plays at the Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti. River is the 9th football club in the All-Time Club World Ranking and the 1st in America, according to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS)[1] The club was also regarded 6 times as the best soccer club in the world in the monthly Club World Ranking of IFFHS[2]
"River Plate" is sometimes used as the English name for the Río de la Plata, the river on which Buenos Aires sits. It is believed that, in the club's early days, one of the founders (Martínez) observed sailors playing impromptu football games in the port of Buenos Aires next to crates marked "The River Plate", hence the club name.
River has always been one of the most important teams of South America. They have combined to win 38 official tournaments which includes 33 Argentine League titles, 2 Copa Libertadores, a Supercopa in 1997 and an Intercontinental title in 1986. In 1986 River Plate fans had the distinction of watching River win the league title, Copa Libertadores, Interamerican Cup, Intercontinental Cup, as well as Argentina's triumph in the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
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History
Club Atlético River Plate was founded on May 25, 1901, close to the La Boca neighborhood (later the home of fierce rivals Club Atlético Boca Juniors). The club moved first to Palermo and then to Núñez on the northern side of the city in 1923.
In the early 1930s, River acquired Bernabé Ferreyra from Tigre for a then unheard of sum, and paid mostly in gold. The club became known as Los Millonarios ("The Millionaires").
In the 1940s Alfredo Di Stéfano and 1950s Eduardo Omar Sívori played for River before moving on to become stars in Europe - Sívori for Juventus and Di Stéfano for Real Madrid. Some River players, including Di Stéfano, had stints in the Colombian El dorado "pirate" league, which was not recognised by FIFA, when it was the world's wealthiest.
River's attractive, offensive playing style earned the side of the early 1940s the nickname La Máquina ("The Machine"). The names of the team's five forwards (Muñoz, Moreno, Pedernera, Labruna, Loustau) are well known to most Argentine fans. La Máquina is often considered as the predecessor of Holland's total football which took the 1974 World Cup by storm, reaching the final where they lost to Germany.
Between 1952 and 1957, River won five out of six league titles, before an 18-year drought ensued. River returned to form in 1975 and then had a string of championship titles under coach Angel Labruna with players like Ubaldo Fillol, Daniel Passarella and Norberto Alonso.
In 1983, Enzo Francescoli was transferred from Uruguayan side Montevideo Wanderers to take Alonso's place. He had two stints with River, achieving international renown, and became known as "The Prince". In 1986, just after Francescoli's transfer to Racing Club Paris in France, River won their first Libertadores Cup. A new generation of home-grown players, led by Claudio Caniggia, went on to achieve success both with River and abroad.
River Plate have won 33 Argentine professional championships, as well as the Intercontinental Cup in 1986 and the Copa Libertadores (twice) in 1986 and 1996, both times beating the same club in the final, America de Cali. They also won the Copa Interamericana in 1987, beating LD Alajuelense from Costa Rica and the Supercopa in 1997. River was the first team in Argentina to simultaneously win an international title (Supercopa) and a First Division Championship (Torneo Apertura 1997). This series of successes led the club to first place in the IFFHS ranking for six consecutive months, the first Argentine club to do so. They are also the only Argentine club ranked as the best World team in a full season (1997-1998).[3]
In 1999, a special edition of the Argentine sports magazine "El Gráfico" named River Plate as "Champions Of The Century" ("Campeón Del Siglo"), noting the clubs achievements, especially their then 28 Argentine championships against Boca Juniors' 19 and Independiente's 13 (all figures as of 1999). And, the following year, in a FIFA sponsored vote River were voted the best Argentine team of the 20 Century [4].
Superclásico
- Main article: Superclásico
Club Atlético River Plate and Club Atlético Boca Juniors are the two largest football clubs in Argentina, with more than half the country's football fans supporting the clubs. Due to the rivalry between them, the Boca Juniors vs River Plate Superclásico derby match was listed by the BBC as one of the most famous derbies in the world.[5], and also as one of the Fifty sporting things you must do before you die by The Observer newspaper. [6].
Club nicknames
River fans and the press are fond of the nickname Los Millonarios. This name derives from the 1930s after some expensive transfers of players from other clubs, including Bernabé Ferreyra from Tigre in 1932. Between 1979 and 1981, the River squad was reputed to be amongst the most expensive in the world.
Fans of rival clubs call River Gallinas (literally hens, but more akin to chicken). This nickname was born after the final of the Copa Libertadores in 1966 against Uruguayan team Peñarol. River were ahead 2-0 but ended up losing the game 4-2, during the infamous title drought that lasted from 1957 to 1975, a period that included 11 second places in the Argentine league. [7]
Due to the red band in their shirt, it is also common to refer to River as El Equipo de la Banda Roja (the team with the red band) or simply La Banda (which also means "the band" -both as in "gang" and "musical group").
Some famous River teams earned nicknames, notably La Máquina (the machine), the team that astonished Argentine football between 1941 and 1945.
In 1996 and 1997, during a run of title wins (three Argentine titles, one Copa Libertadores and one Supercopa), River were sometimes called La Maquinita ("The Little Machine") by the press. That team featured Francescoli and younger players such as Juan Pablo Sorín, Hernán Crespo, Ariel Ortega, Marcelo Salas and Marcelo Gallardo.
Stadium
- See main article Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti
El Monumental is River's home stadium in the Núñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. With a capacity of 65,645, the stadium is also used in matches for the Argentina national football team.
Current squad
As of October 30, 2008
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- Only plays in the Copa Sudamericana 2008.
Squad Changes for Apertura 2008
For information on squad changes see the list of Argentine Primera transfers.
Out on loan
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Titles
Amateur Championships
Second Division: 1
- 1908
- 1920
Cups (Amateur Era)
Copa Competencia Jockey Club: 1
- 1914
Cup Tie Competition: 1
- 1914
Professional Championships
First Division: (33)
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Copa de Competencia (Competition Cup): (1)
- 1932
Copa de Oro (Gold Cup): (1)
- 1936
Copa Dr. Carlos Ibarguren: (4)
- 1937, 1941, 1942, 1952
Copa Adrián C. Escobar: (1)
- 1941
International Titles
International Conmebol Titles
- 1986, 1996
Supercopa (Champions of America's Cup): 1
- 1997
- 1986
Copa Interamericana: 1
- 1987
Other International non-Conmebol Titles
- Argentina-Uruguay Tournaments (AFA-AUF)
Río de la Plata Tournament (Dr. Ricardo C. Aldao Cup): 6 (5)
Played between the Champions of Argentina and Uruguay. Discontinued since 1955.
- 1936, 1937, 1941, 1945, 1947, 1955 (Second leg not played. Title was not officially proclaimed.)
Notable former players
see also Cat:River Plate footballers
Note: The Players marked '(c)' have also coached the team
Early Days and La Máquina
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1950s, 1960s and 1970s
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1980s and early 1990s
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Late 1990s to date
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Other sports
River Plate also has a basketball team playing in the amateur Buenos Aires league. It played 10 seasons in the Liga Nacional de Básquetbol between 1985-1993 and 2004-06, reaching the finals in 1988 and obtaining 2nd place in 2004 and 2005 editions of Copa Argentina, but in July 2006 the club got expelled by the League because of a debt in player's salaries. River Plate also has professional male and female volleyball teams in regional and national competitions, male and female handball teams among the best in regional and national competitions and a female field hockey team that made its debut in Buenos Aires' top division in 2007.
Notes
See also
- List of football clubs in Argentina
External links
- River news in English
- Official site
- River Exporta - Business
- La Pagina Millonaria - Unofficial site
- River Plate Fan site
- RiveresMundial.com.ar Fan site
- Unofficial website, only soccer
- River Plate Fan site
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River Plate
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Primera División 2008/09
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Copa Libertadores 2008
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