Superclasico 2009: River Plate Announce Starting XI
By: Christian | October 24th, 2009Here is the lineup Leo Astrada will start for tomorrow’s highly anticipated Superclásico:
Daniel Vega
Paulo Ferrari, Gustavo Cabral, Nicolás Sánchez, Cristian Villagra
Nicolás Domingo, Matías Almeyda, Matías Abelairas
Marcelo Gallardo
Ariel Ortega, Diego Buonanotte
My take? This is pretty much River’s best starting XI, and on paper at least, it’s the right lineup to take on Boca. What worries me is age – Almeyda, Gallardo, and Ortega are all still quality players, but they are in their mid-30’s, and fatigue may become an issue. As River track back to defend, they don’t want to be in a position where three of their starters are not fast enough to keep up with Boca’s attack. Also, with three natural playmakers on the field at one time (Gallardo, Ortega, and Buonanotte), it will hard for them to not cancel each other out.
My other worry is the lack of a true forward in attack. Buonanotte can score goals, but he is not a natural forward, and I would imagine he will be used on the wings, leaving Ortega as the lone striker which is not where is most dangerous. We also lack height for corners and free kicks.
Still, Vega is our best keeper and the defense looks solid. If they can frustrate Boca, particularly in the first half, they can hopefully give our offense the time to grab that important first goal.
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