It will be a real journey
.
River
's debut
in the
Copa Libertadores
scheduled for next Tuesday against
Deportivo Táchira
is uncomfortable. And it is not about the fact that it comes at the most sensitive sporting moment of the season (he has just lost two games in a row and left his undefeated record in the League Cup against Huracán), but rather about the logistics for the trip to Venezuela, which began this Sunday morning.
We leave 🛫
🔜 #Libertadores2024 pic.twitter.com/VzeFqO09M7
— River Plate (@RiverPlate) March 31, 2024
The team led by
Martín Demichelis
will face its debut in the top continental club tournament on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. at the Pueblo Nuevo Sports Center stadium in San Cristóbal, the capital of the Táchira state, in the southwest of Venezuela. It will be the first match of group H, which also includes
Libertad de Asunción
and
Nacional de Montevideo
(they will face each other on Wednesday in the Uruguayan capital).
It is known that
the transfer of the Millionaire's delegation to San Cristóbal cannot be done entirely by plane and that represents a complication
. Because? Venezuela maintains its airspace closed to any aircraft coming from or heading to Argentina as a consequence of the decision of the Government headed by Javier Milei to deliver to the United States a Boeing 747 from the Aerocargo del Sur Transport Company (Emtrasur), a corporation Venezuelan state, which had been held in Ezeiza since June 2022.
Last February, federal judge Federico Villena authorized the seizure of the Boeing and the Ministry of Justice gave approval for its transfer to the United States (where it was scrapped), despite the fact that an appeal hearing was still pending. Due to this, the Venezuelan Government prevents the overflight of Argentine aircraft until the national State compensates for the damage caused by what it described as “a blatant theft.”
For this reason, River had to design an alternative trip that would allow it to reach its destination and that would involve a first stop in Colombian territory. The team will travel on Sunday night to Cúcuta, on the Colombian-Venezuelan border, and from there they will travel by bus the 50 kilometers by road that separate that city from San Cristóbal. The return will be on Wednesday morning and the route will be identical and in the opposite direction.
This will be, by far, the longest trip that Demichelis' team will have to make in the first phase of the Libertadores. Their next excursion will be on April 24 to Asunción, where they will face Libertad, while on May 7 they will collide with Nacional in the Great Central Park of Montevideo.
The striking absence in River's squad for the Libertadores debut
Demichelis defined a good faith list with more than 45 players. From there came those chosen for this first trip away from Núñez for the highest sporting objective of the team, with the addition that the Libertadores final will be played in Buenos Aires and, probably, the Monumental stadium will be the venue for the decisive match.
But within the roster for the trip to Táchira, there was an absence that caught the attention of Millonario fans. This is the youth
Agustín Ruberto
, who was once again left off the roster, as had happened for the duel against Huracán last Friday. Thus, the 18-year-old forward will miss his fourth consecutive game and the Colombian Miguel Borja will be the only natural center attacker that the River coach will have at his disposal.
📋 Those summoned to travel to Venezuela and visit Deportivo Táchira in our debut in the #Libertadores2024 🏆#VamosRiver ⚪❤️⚪ pic.twitter.com/VrAtd4DLrX
— River Plate (@RiverPlate) March 30, 2024
Ramiro Funes Mori
and
Franco Mastantuono
are also out
, although in these cases the defender has synovitis in his knee and the talented midfielder suffered a slight strain in the rectus femoris of his left leg.