"Come, come, sing with me, that a friend you will find, that hand in hand ... the Michoneta, we are all going to turn around..."
The Angel Labruna locker room was a party on Sunday night following River's victory over Boca in the Superclásico. And in the midst of so much revelry, there was a song that did not go unnoticed. That song that refers to the hand of Martín Demichelis, the team of Núñez is heading to the Olympic return in the Professional League.
The image (it was seen through an Instagram live of the account of Esequiel Barco) shows much more than guys jumping and celebrating a triumph against the eternal rival. A group communion is exhibited. And a Demichelis (who jumped, sang and hugged with the players) immersed in the group of players. In tune with them.
"I went in to greet them and they pushed me to finish in the round. I appreciate the respect and the space of the leaders, Enzo Pérez, Armani and Milton Casco, "said the coach in La Red about that situation.
It is not a minor sample. It is an important relief after a difficult week, after the thrashing received by Fluminense in the Copa Libertadores. And that, although inside the door things were always clear, and they felt that in no way were there four goals difference with the Brazilian team, as Enzo Pérez scored, they were also aware of the atmosphere of pressure that originated just in the previous of a Superclásico.
And against Boca we saw a better version of River. That without being overwhelming and forceful as in other matches, he was also superior to his rival and always showed the desire to win the match. Not only to recover from the blow in Brazil, but also to give a victory to his people at home and continue firmly on the path of getting the title.
It is that River sweeps the League. And while there are still 12 dates left, it would be a catastrophe if the championship escaped him. It takes advantage of the rest. Not only in the numbers, being leader with 37 points, and 26 goals in favor and only 6 against. Also in the game. On the other hand, in the Copa Libertadores, for now, he suffers. In fact, it is the team that converted him the most, since he received 10 goals in 3 games. So what is the real River?
For Demichelis, it's the same. And he bases it on his proposal. "We were coming from a very hard blow. And what we didn't have to do was lose form, line, conduct, because in Brazil until the expulsion of Leandro (González Pirez) we had a great first half. On that side I wanted to focus the players so that they did not lose the feeling of all the good that was being done. After the expulsion we defended badly, but because of the spirit we have. We have already learned and we will surely continue to fight in the Cup. I have no doubts," said River's coach.
He added: "In the week I'm going to make a lot of mistakes, the first day I told the players... I'm not proud of that, but I'd rather make a mistake trying to go for the draw and the win than be wrong because I'm mean."
When talking about learning, the coach thinks that in the Cup he will have to make some adjustments to straighten the course and find a path similar to that of the League, where at some point he also had to suffer, after the two defeats he suffered in February against Belgrano and Arsenal. And he put Rodrigo Aliendro in the team to help Enzo Pérez and put together the team of flyers.
Now, in the Cup, perhaps the adjustment could come from the strategic and choose the moments in which the sustained attack or the blow by blow is convenient and in which to protect a little more, especially so as not to expose the defense and thus become stronger from the middle to the back.
On the other hand, the emotional strengthening was already given by the triumph over Boca. It's that the classics score. It already happened several times during the cycle of Marcelo Gallardo, where more than once River came to the duel with the eternal rival with some turbulence and after beating him came out empowered.
Sunday's victory, then, may mean a click for River to also find its way in the Cup. It is that, although the Superclásico was for the League, if River continues loose in the domestic competition, it will be able to afford to put much more head in the Libertadores in the three games remaining to finish the group stage.
In short, it is about analyzing the moments and overcoming the obstacles that may arise, as Demichelis did last week after the defeat against Fluminense. Also, to monitor the processes of the players. "River is a family that does not stop growing from the human," said the coach Millionaire. And he is already part of this Riverplatense kinship. They even dedicated a song to him.
