Superclasico!!

By: Christian | May 4th, 2008

Ariel Ortega

The most important fixture in all of South America is only hours away, when our beloved River Plate will attempt to defeat hated Boca Juniors at the Bombonera, in a match you can watch live on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports Español at 2PM ET.

Not only is pride at stake, but with the 2-1 loss of Estudiantes at the hands of Argentinos Juniors last night, River have an amazing opportunity to take sole possession of 1st place. While a loss would still keep us tied for first with Estudiantes, a win would give us 30 points, and more importantly, give us some distance from San Lorenzo, Independiente, and Boca, who are all hot on our tails.

I make no predictions when it comes to Boca. Recent history favors los millonarios; since 2004, the last year River won the league, we’ve held Boca to a 4-1-3 record, and are unbeaten in the last 5 meetings. Under Diego Simeone, River have been much improved since the beginning of the season, but our defense continues to leak goals. Boca meanwhile, have not exactly shined in the league this year, but at home with a potent offense of Riquelme, Palacio, and Palermo, River will need to be be perfect to gain the 3 points we desperately need.

The above picture is from the last Superclásico, when behind Ariel Ortega’s brilliant performance at the Monumental, River won 2-0. However, during that troubled season, River did not have much else to celebrate; this year, the title is almost ours, and we are still alive in the Copa.

So brace yourself for what I hope will be a brilliant game, free of violence, and hopefully full of attacking football that we are used to seeing in Argentina. And of course, I hope that when the referee blows his whistle after 90 minutes, we can all scream, RIVER PLATE, EL MAS GRANDE!