Beyond the players who played at right-back during 2023, a position that was generally not well filled, for Martín Demichelis it is not necessary to look for a "4" in the transfer market. Quite the opposite. River's coach is confident in what he already has in his squad.
"Milton isn't there, but I have four other players who can play that position. Seba Boselli, who is also absent, Santi Simón, Herrera, and even Paulo Díaz. So we have different characteristics that I'm happy enough to be able to work with those five players. It will depend on the performance of the boys and the opponent of the day," said Martín Demichelis after the friendly that his team played against an MLS team in the United States, where River's squad is carrying out the preseason.
Demichelis' statements were in line with those of sporting director Enzo Francescoli, technical secretary Leonardo Ponzio and first vice-president Matias Patanian, the men in charge of football at River. The coach, in turn, made it clear that to cover that position he did not ask for reinforcements from the directors.
That way, at the start of the official competition, when River faces Argentinos at the end of the month, Simón, Herrera and Casco (he is in the final process of recovery after meniscus surgery on his right knee) will fight for the place at right-back. Boselli, who finished as a starter in 2023 in that sector, will be absent at the start of the League Cup due to his participation in the Olympic Qualifiers with Uruguay.
Simón, in the pre-season, will fight for a place in Demichelis' team
In River's first formal rehearsal of 2024, against the local MLS team, Demichelis placed Herrera as a stopper in the 3-3-1-3 he put together. Then, in the second team, he tried again with one of his main moves from last semester: Simón was the right-back at the moment when the formation mutated to a more traditional formation, of 4-2-2-2. Meanwhile, Paulo Diaz was a central defender and Demichelis considers the Chilean to play at right-back only in an eventuality or emergency.
Demichelis understands that in that group of five players he will be able to find the consistency that the team did not have in a sector of the field that was a headache in the second half of 2023.
The Recovery of Casco
Casco, in the Superclasico that River won 2-0 against Boca in October, at the Bombonera.Photo: EFE
Milton Casco is working alongside the rest of River's squad in Bradenton, although some days he moves with lower loads to balance wear and tear and avoid muscle injuries or inflammation in the knee after his operation for synovitis in that joint.
For now, Martín Demichelis' premise is not to demand him so that he arrives at the start of the official competition at full strength and begins to add minutes as an alternative while he recovers his best version.
In any case, despite the fact that the 35-year-old from Entre Ríos played as a right-back in the excellent campaign of the Professional League, Micho prefers him on the left, as an option of Enzo Díaz. Of course, everything will depend on the level of Herrara, Simón and Casco himself on the right side.