Oscar Barnade
Maximiliano Uria
02/20/2020 - 21:00
- Clarín.com
- sports
Marcelo Gallardo seeks to achieve with his River to stay for the first time with a league title. The Super League is there, with a path that has three complex stops remaining and a weight rival like Boca, no less, that keeps putting pressure on it. But River is solid, from the football and also from the statistical: it transits the best start of the year of the last 56.
There are five games won consecutively by the Núñez team: Independiente, Godoy Cruz, Central Córdoba, Unión and Banfield. To find a beginning of the year as productive as the current one, you have to travel until 1963. José María Minella was the coach of that team that finished the tournament in second place behind the Independent champion. At that time the official parties started in April, so the schools made extensive tours of America and, eventually, Europe. San Lorenzo (4-0 on April 28), Chacarita (2-0), Central (4-0), Students (2-1), Racing (4-2) and Atlanta (1-0) were the teams that River left on the road. Luis Artime converted 12 goals in those duels. The streak ended June 9 in a 1-1 against Hurricane.
AFP photo
The brand of the Minella team is the best in the history of the club; that is to say, if River prevails on Sunday against Students in the Platense, it will match the record for the best start of the year.
With the five wins in a row at the beginning of 2020, River tied three other records, one of professionalism and the other two of amateurism. In 1942 the famous Renato Cesarini Machine beat Newell's for the Ibarguren Cup, National (Uruguay) for the Aldao Cup and Atlanta, Lanús and Tigre for the local championship. It all culminated with a 2-2 against Gymnastics on May 3.
The 1914 is one of the years most remembered by the fans of River: the team won the first two official titles in First. The season began with a 3-0 against Banfield. Triumphs were added against Belgrano, Platense, Belgrano (Competition Cup) and Commerce. With a 2-1 defeat with San Isidro the streak was cut.
In 1917, always in amateurism, River also started the year with five victories: San Lorenzo, Banfield, Tigre, Student Porteño and San Isidro. Atlanta was responsible for cutting the mark with a 3-1.
AFP photo
Statistical numbers do not lie and show that the Gallardo River makes history. And of the big one. Titles and brands follow each other. Repeats: if you beat the team of Gabriel Milito will match the best start of the year. “It is always difficult for us to oil the operation for three or four games and then integrate all the potential. And luckily in this beginning it did not happen to us ”, confessed Gallardo.
To continue the streak the Doll has everything ready and, if there are no problems, he will repeat the team that beat Banfield in the Monumental by a tight 1-0. The Chilean Paulo Díaz met the two suspension dates but will not recover his place in the starting team and then the line of five defenders will continue with the presence of Javier Pinola. The team? Franco Armani; Gonzalo Montiel, Lucas Martínez Quarta, Robert Rojas, Javier Pinola, Milton Casco; Ignacio Fernández, Enzo Pérez, Nicolás de la Cruz; Santos Borré and Matías Suárez.