Copa Sudamericana Second Leg Tonight: Do or Die For Simeone and River Plate

By: Christian | November 6th, 2008

The objective is clear. Anything short of a victory tonight in Mexico against Chivas in the Copa Sudamericana, and River Plate’s season, not to mention Diego Simeone’s tenure as head coach, will come to a crashing end.

You’ll remember that in the first leg, River were lucky to come away with a 2-1 loss to a disciplined Chivas side at home, and will now need a 2-0 victory in Guadalajara to advance to the semifinals. It will prove to be an enormous task. Coming back from conceding two away goals is difficult enough, but this River, which has leaked goals behind a tepid defense, will have an even bigger mountain to climb.

After a pathetic campaign in the Apertura and an embarrassing defeat in the Superclasico, River’s year will come down to tonight. If they can pull off a miracle, they can salvage some dignity, and push ever closer towards their first Sudamericana title. If they bomb, Simeone will likely resign, and fans will have to suffer through the next two months of football with nothing to play for.

For River to have a legitimate chance, they MUST come out early and score. Chivas knows that a desperate team will arrive to the Estadio Jalisco tonight, and with one foot in the door to the next round, look for them to take the same approach they took in Buenos Aires – stay calm and focused, defend against River’s offense, and look to strike on the counter attack. Should Chivas score first, I don’t see this River being capable enough to climb out of that hole.

I hope the players understand that this is la gloriosa, and that requires leaving it all out on the pitch. It will take more than this miserable year to undo my support for River, but I always demand the best from this squad. My faith has been bruised as of late, but I support the shirt just the same, and I’m always hopeful. Let’s see if that hope carries us away from Mexico with a spot in the semis.