The axioms in football are many and sometimes antagonistic to each other, which is why it is advisable to take them lightly.
There is one that says that the classics are played with the experienced, with the “men”.
And if the maxim has any validity, coach
Martín Demichelis
has someone to rely on: between
Franco Armani
,
Milton Casco
and
Ignacio Fernández
, three who were in the final of the 2018 Copa Libertadores de América, they have accumulated 46 Superclásicos.
Franco Armani will be the starter and captain on Sunday at the Monumental.
Fans like him will applaud him every time he plays in Núñez because he became an idol for the titles and for his performances against the eternal rival.
El Pulpo played 15 games in
River
against
Boca
: they won 7, tied 5 and lost 3;
They scored 10 goals and kept a clean sheet 7 times.
He was vital in the Libertadores in Madrid and also in the Argentine Super Cup playing in Mendoza in March 2018.
Another who will be there from the start is
Ignacio Fernández
, who is showing a higher level than last season.
It remains to be determined where Nacho will play, as he performs better when he moves lying down on the right.
Last day, against Banfield, Demichelis placed him as a second striker and he had a hard time finding his footing.
What are the 34-year-old midfielder's numbers against Boca?
Won 6, drew 4 and lost 3;
He scored a goal (Copa Libertadores 2019), provided 3 assists and was sent off once.
Ignacio Fernández of River celebrates a goal against Boca at the Monumental stadium.
EFE/Matías Napoli Escalero
The remaining of the references,
Milton Casco
, will occupy a place on the substitute bench.
The 35-year-old defender, who started in both of last year's classics, has already recovered from meniscal surgery on his right knee and will be an alternative for both the right back (Herrera) and the left (Díaz).
The statistics against Xeneize also smile on Chanchi: he won 7, drew 6 and lost 5.
But Armani, Fernández and Casco are not the only survivors from Madrid on the squad:
Gonzalo Martínez
, rehabilitating the rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, scored the third at the Bernabéu, and substitute goalkeeper Ezequiel Centurión was part of the delegation in Spain.
More: Demichelis's assistants,
Germán Lux and Javier Pinola
, also raised that Libertadores.
Defender
Ramiro Funes Mori
deserves a special section : he never lost against Boca in the 8 games he played (he won 4 and tied 4; he scored a header goal in the 2-1 draw in the 2014 Bombonera).
Boca appears for River.
And Demichelis knows that he has “chieftains” with whom to face the duel.
Boca: an experienced team to visit the Monumental
Chiquito Romero, key in Boca to reach the Libertadores final.
REUTERS/Sergio Moraes
References are usually key in these types of meetings.
And if the Superclásico is a duel with great pressure, it is much more enhanced when the situation is not favorable.
So, it is no coincidence that
Diego Martínez is thinking about a team with a high average age
to play at the Monumental.
Beyond the young people who will be among the headlines, it is a game for long-time footballers.
In this context, there are some who have the thorn in the side of the last two Superclásicos.
Last year, without going any further, River won both classics.
It was 1 to 0 at the Monumental, on May 7, with a penalty goal from Miguel Borja, and 2 to 0 at the Bombonera, on October 1, with a shout from Salomón Rondón and another from Enzo Díaz.
If the formations are reviewed,
only one player who started in both games has a guaranteed position for this Sunday: Sergio Romero.
The goalkeeper who turned 37 this Thursday is one of the leaders of the locker room.
Nicolás Valentini
also started in the two defeats, but this weekend he will go to the bench.
Cristian Medina
started in the first and came off the bench in the second.
Equi Fernández
was a substitute on both occasions;
He also entered and was expelled in Núñez.
Lucas Blondel and Ezequiel Bullaude
were in the game in the last duel and could repeat now.
Luis Advíncula
played in May, but not in October.
Miguel Merentiel
entered the one-on-one match played in Núñez and also received the red card.
Darío Benedetto
played as “9” in La Bombonera and has a chance to make the team this time.
And if it comes to Pipa, he still carries a debt from the clash in Madrid.
Perhaps he will be the player who will experience the Superclásico with the greatest tension.
For the recent past, but also for everything he generated further back.
In practice this Thursday, he shared the attack with
Luca Langoni
.
Then, Edinson Cavani and Merentiel
played .
The coexistence between the two “9” worked against Tigre –Pipa and the Beast-, both scored goals.
Will it be repeated against River?
The Uruguayans played the last part of the game with Lanús.
Today, Edi's level is far from reliable.
Afterwards, we will have to see who gets in from the start: Advíncula, Lema, Figal, Blanco appears as the defense.
Although Diego Martínez also tried with Weigandt, Anselmino, Valentini, Saracchi.
In the middle he stopped Blondel, Campuzano, Bullaude and Zenón on one side and Saralegui, Medina, Equi and Fabra on the other.
The coach, who is facing his first River-Boca, does not want to show his cards.