Our friends over at the River Plate Israel Filial celebrated what may have been the group’s biggest moment yet in its brief history, when they welcomed none other than Daniel Passarella, River playing and coaching legend, to Tel Aviv last week.

With El Kaiser in town to accept the title of World Ambassador for Peace from the Peres Center for Peace, the first South American to receive such an honor, the filial took this once in a lifetime opportunity to welcome the former Argentina 1978 World Cup Captain, whose name is also part of the group’s official name, as a special guest. Hours prior to his arrival at Tel Aviv’s international airport, over 40 members had already gathered in anticipation of their hero wearing a variety of River kits from over the years, singing chants (“Ole, ole, ole, oleeeeeeeee, Danieeeeeeel, Danieeeeeeel!”), and jumping up and down as though they were back at the Monumental. When at last El Kaiser appeared, they unfurled the offical River Plate filial banner to greet him, and presented to him a flag of Israel the group had signed as a gift.

Later that evening, Passarella was the guest of honor at a group dinner, where a very gracious Daniel spent hours signing autographs, posing for pictures, and regailing the members with stories of the famous 1978 World Cup win, as well as his thoughts on the current state of River.

Aside from accepting his honorary title, Passarella also used the trip to announce his intention to run for club President in 2009, a position currently held by José Aguilar, and promising to prepare for the next election in the same way during his years as player and coach.

Congratulation to the Israel Filial, and many thanks to President Martin Jona for sending me pictures and video of the event.

River Plate are once again Champions of Argentina, grabbing their 33rd local title this afternoon in a 2-1 win over Olimpo in front of a packed Monumental. With Estudiantes unable to win against Colon, River assured themselves of the title on the 18th fixture of this 2008 Clausura.

Despite a season that was full of surprises, sufferings, embarrassments, and many, many questions, el millo came together at the right time, celebrating in front of their adoring fans at home and worldwide, and ending this tumultuous season on the highest of all notes. The day’s hero was our own Diego Buonanotte, el Enano, son of River, who cemented his legacy in the history books, providing the two goals of the game that gave us our 33rd title, 10 more than voka.

River can rejoice and celebrate a deserved title. They may have taken some hits this season, but they were never out. And true River fans never gave up hope that this squad, led by Diego Simeone and Ariel Ortega would NOT give up, and to once again lead us to cry, River Campeon!

Un abrazo a todos los hinchas de River por el mundo!

River Plate:
Juan Pablo Carrizo
Paulo Ferrari, Gustavo Cabral, Eduardo Tuzzio, Cristian Villagra
Oscar Ahumada, Matías Abelairas
Ariel Ortega (Andrés Ríos 85th), Radamel Falcao, Diego Buonanotte (Nicolás Domingo, 89th)
Sebastián Abreu (Augusto Fernández, 63rd)

Many thanks to Martin Yona (first row, 3rd from right), President of the River Plate Israel Filial, who recently forwarded these videos and photos of the group’s previous reunion, celebrating not only the 107th anniversary of the club’s founding, but also the birthday of Daniel Passarella, whose name the group uses as part of its official title.

On May 24th, the filial organized the Caravana Tierra Santa Monumental; cars decorated with River flags and balloons made their way to the Parque Jabotinsky in the city of Binyamina, where they were met by 40 filial members for an asado, and to sing Happy Birthday to Passarella in Spanish and Hebrew. El Kaiser himself sent this video below, thanking the filial and calling them, “hinchas de River de corazón.”

Also below is a picture of the filial’s official flag, which was present at the Monumental in March during the 0-0 draw against Racing, at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.

For more information on the filial, please read my previous post on the groups origins, visit their official website, or join the Facebook group.

River Plate celebrated 107 years as the biggest club in Argentina, and one of the most important clubs in all the world football, today, the 25th of May.

During that time, the club has amassed 32 League titles, 2 Copa Libertadores, one World title, and has grown from a small club whose origins began in the Boca barrio of Buenos Aires, to one of the world’s sports great sporting organizations, with a fan base millions strong. Our home stadium, the Monumental, also celebrated its 70th anniversary today as well.

Feliz Cumpleaños Campeon. 107 Años Más De Gloria.

While every game at his point in the Copa will be difficult, this draw presents a unique challenge. San Lorenzo did not start off the season well, and struggled to even score goals. But the team has found its form of late, rising all the way to 4th position in the league table.

The storylines will almost certainly center on San Lorenzo’s coach Ramón Díaz, who in 1996 led River Plate to their last Copa title, and on former star player Andrés D’Alessandro.

The first match will be played April 30th, with the second leg May 7th. Should River advance they will face the winner of Estudiantes and LDU Quito.

Full Fixtures:
Fluminense (Brazil) – Atlético Nacional (Colombia)
Flamengo (Brazil) – América (México)
River (Argentina) – San Lorenzo (Argentina)
Atlas (México) – Lanús (Argentina)
Cruzeiro (Brazil) – Boca (Argentina)
Estudiantes (Argentina) – Liga de Quito (Ecuador)
Cúcuta Deportivo (Colombia) – Santos (Brazil)
Sao Paulo (Brazil) – Nacional (Uruguay)

For all things Copa related, make sure to check out Mauro’s excellent Libertadores blog now on The Offside.

River, who sit 2nd in the table with 12 points, need desperately to come away with a victory if they are to remain in the title hunt. While a loss wouldn’t necessarily kill los millonarios title hopes, after two successive 0-0 draws in the league, River not only need to score, but must do something they have yet to do in the Clausura this season, which is to win away from home. Our nearest rivals in the table, Estudiantes and Boca, have considerably easier draws this weekend, facing Racing and Colón, respectively. Diego Simeone will not have his captain Ariel Ortega or Augusto Fernández available due to injury.

As for Vélez, they are coming off one of their worst weeks in recent history after the death of one of their fans, so look for them to make a statement in front of their home crowd at the Amalfitani. River’s defense will need to find a solution to contain Gustavo Balvorín, whose 4 goals on the season had pushed el fortín to the top of the Clausura.

I missed the match, but reports suggest that River never looked to be in danger. You can view the highlights here, and read out my original report on the game from two weeks ago here.

NOTES: Please check out Episode 15 of The Offside Podcast, where I discuss this past weekend’s violence in Argentina. … If you haven’t seen it yet, the new River jersey was unveiled yesterday, in an extraordinary unveiling that featured no less than Zinedine Zidane and former River great, Enzo Francescoli. Despite the fanfare, there really isn’t much new to this current design. You can view it for yourself here at the club’s official site.

Despite having a stellar first half, with strong performances by Diego Buonanotte and Augusto Fernández, River were simply unable to find the back of the net, despite several clear chances, and little resistance from Racing. The second half saw a completely different squad take the field, with Ortega and Fernández both being taken off due to injury. Despite several more opportunities at goal, including one by Rosales that hit the crossbar, and even having a 1 man advantage for the last 10 minutes, los millonarios could simply not get the job done.

While it was not the worst I’ve seen all year, this was a game that River should have easily put away, especially in the first half. Now, again, we have to wait to see how the other fixtures from the weekend sort themselves to see where that leaves us in the table.

NOTES: A moment of silence was held for Emmanuel Alvarez, a fan killed yesterday while on his way to see Vélez at San Lorenzo’s stadium. … One of the match commentators suggested that the injuries to Ortega and Fernández could be serious; expect more news tomorrow on their condition. … This Wednesday the 19th River will complete the final 12 minutes of their suspended match against San Martín (SJ). Remember that the team was leading 3-2 before the game was called off. Should River hold on to that result, it would leave the club with 12 points.

River Plate
Juan Pablo Carrizo
Danilo Gerlo, Eduardo Tuzzio, Cristian Villagra
Oscar Ahumada, Rodrigo Archubi, Augusto Fernández (Alexis Sánchez, 46th)
Diego Buonanotte, Radamel Falcao, Ariel Ortega (Paulo A. Ferrari, 29th)
Sebastián Abreu (Mauro Rosales, 59th)

Reports from Argentina and Goal.com are claiming that Marcelo Gallardo, former River captain and Argentine international, could be on his way to MLS.

San Lorenzo was known to be in the running for the midfielder, currently languishing at PSG, a move which would have been a major coup for former River coach Ramón Díaz. However, according to Gallardo’s agent Juan Berros, San Lorenzo’s offer was not as lucrative as MLS’, and a deal could be announced by week’s end.

So where could El Muñeco wind up playing? I don’t know, but whatever side gets him will become my new B team. Gallardo is one of my all-time favorite River players, and the opportunity to see him play again would be unbelievable. He was always regarded by me as a consummate professional and a born leader on the pitch, and River hasn’t really been able to fill the void left after his move to Europe. D.C. United have to be considered front-runners, given the fact that they lost out on Juan Sebastián Verón and with their history of scouting players from South America, but don’t count out the New York Red Bulls, whose new coach Juan Carlos Osorio is said to be scouting in Colombia and Argentina.

Here’s a video I took two years ago at the Monumental, when River defeated Rosario Central 2-0, thanks in part to this penalty, converted by Gallardo.