River Plate, one of the largest and best supported teams in Argentina, are on the verge of relegation from the Argentine top flight.
Finishing the season in the “play-out” places, River faced second tier side Belgrano and promptly lost the away leg 2-0 on Wednesday. The match was delayed by 20minutes as River fans broke on the pitch following the second goal to remonstrate with their players and, following the match, hundreds of furious fans protested at River’s Monumental stadium.
The home leg takes place on Sunday and River must overcome the 2 goal deficit to avoid relegation for the first time in their 110 year existence. Nicknamed the “Millionaires” due to their high status in Argentine football, River have won a record 33 league titles. Relegation was previously unthinkable and would be beyond humiliation.
To make matters worse, the Argentine league system is specifically designed to stop the bigger clubs from being relegated. Relegation is calculated on the average of points gained over the previous 6 seasons (with 2 seasons being played a year). As such, a big team that has a bad year or a run of poor form are safe, provided their slump does not last 3 years.
Unfortunately, this has been the case with River. Managers have come and gone and legendary ex-River player and two time World Cup winner, Daniel Passarella, has been made Chairman to try and get the club back on track. This has been to no avail and if River are to be relegated, the backlash in Buenos Aires will be ferocious.
Akbar Shah
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