River in a Do or Die Position Against Chivas.

By: Mauro | October 22nd, 2008

Club Atlético River Plate vs. Club Deportivo Guadalajara “Chivas” (Estádio Antonio Vespucio Liberti “El Monumental”, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

LIVE @ 2:30pm on Fox Sports Español. Gamecast here. Online TV here.

While Estudiantes couldn’t have asked for a better time to receive an opponent in a international cup, River Plate could probably have waited a few more weeks. But the schedule doesn’t allow for delays like that and they must play Mexican side Chivas this Wednesday in the early match. Chivas are on a sort of upturn in their form and haven’t lost in the Mexican league since the beginning of September.

Chivas are coming off a 1-0 win over, their group leader, Atlante. Chivas sit in 5th place of Group 2 and are riding a current hot streak of 5 unbeaten games. With 18 points, Chivas are roughly sitting in 9th place overall with only 5 matches left to play in the league before the playoffs begin.

Their form in the Sudamericana, however, has gone from poor to very good. In the First Round, they stumbled through their series with Venezuelan side Aragua FC, winning the away match, 2-1 but giving up a late goal in the second leg at home to draw 1-1. In the Round of 16, they faced Atlético Paranaense and drew 2-2 at home while winning the second leg in Brazil, 4-3, just edging their opponents in their own stadium.

As far as, Manchester City player, Nery Castillo coming to Chivas, the player and the clubs involved were all for it, but it turns out that he would not have been able to participate in this round of the Sudamericana due to a late inscription to the CONMEBOL tournament. Word as to whether or not Castillo will be included in the next round, should Chivas advance, or if he would be transferred to Chivas on loan, was not given.

With or without Nery Castillo, Chivas are still a dangerous team, in this, a CONMEBOL tournament. The Mexican side have some great players in their line up including, Sergio Santana, Omar Arellano and Johnny Magallón. Rumor has it that the squad asked the club not to bring in a new player that could possibly disrupt the harmony, unbeaten streak and good atmosphere in the locker room ahead of both tonight’s clash and this Sunday’s derby with Club América.

This match could not come at a worse time for River. They are coming off a gutting loss at the hands of their cross town rivals, Boca Juniors, in their very own stadium and it seems that either the players are not responding to the coach or the coach’s strategy is flawed. Either way, this might make River ripe for the picking given the poor defensive output and low offensive scoring.

So far in this tournament, River have only had to face Defensor Sporting of Uruguay, which they handled adequately but not anything like a club of their stature and experience should have. In any case, it was the perfect start to the tournament for River because they didn’t have to travel very far and in the first leg they managed to win, 2-1 in Uruguay and then 2-1 again back in Buenos Aires.

Since River and Boca were invited to this tournament, the TV dollars that the two Argentine giants pull in is massive, they both have only faced one opponent.

For this tournament, River had Sebastían Abreu come back from a short spell at Israeli club, Beitar Jerusalem. Abreu inspired his side to win in Uruguay scoring two goals in his first match back with Los Millonarios. Abreu’s most productive time came while playing in the Mexican league with a handful of sides.

Also, Radamel Falcao Garcia is back from injury, he returned just in time to face Boca at the weekend, and he could pair up with Abreu–a strategy that I think is total shit since Abreu takes Falcao’s natural position on the field–on the front line. Hopefully, Simeone will realize that he must field Mauro Diaz from the get go so that he can pair up with Diego Buonanotte, otherwise he’ll risk leaving the heralded playmaker on his own against the Mexican defenders.

Bottom Line: I really dislike Mexican football and the team from that league I despise the most is the one my dear River will be facing tonight. The sad part about this story is that River are really in no shape to play in two tournaments and I’m faced with the reality that they could possibly be eliminated in this round. Like it or not, Chivas are a tough side to beat and River has trouble putting Mexican sides away. Earlier this year, River had a tough time with América in the Copa Libertadores group stage, beating them in Argentina late in the match with a goal by Ariel Ortega.

Chivas are probably better prepared for this match and should perform well. They don’t suffer from the fatigue of travel the way the South American sides do and that might be the secret to their success in these tournaments. But every draw means a long flight from Mexico and eventually that has to wear on everyone, even these Mexican sides.

My Pick: 1-1. River will score but won’t keep Chivas from scoring. River’s defense has been far from solid in the last matches and this one should be no exception.

Feel free to check the CONMEBOL website for results and information about upcoming matches and for those of you in need of a bracket to get your heads around the competition, get an updated one here.