River edge out Boca in Madrid
▶ Rescheduled Copa Libertadores final ‘a success’
River Plate won the Copa Libertadores by beating their fiercest rivals Boca Juniors 3-1 after extra time on Sunday, bringing an end to a final tainted by violence and moved more than 6,000 miles (9,656 kilometers) away from Argentina.
Boca took the lead through Dario Benedetto but Lucas Pratto equalized before Juan Quintero and Gonzalo Martinez scored in extra time, aided by Wilmar Barrios being sent off, to win a fittingly dramatic contest for River.
River prevailed 5-3 on aggregate after the first leg finished 2-2 and reclaimed the trophy they had last won in 2015, lifting it for the fourth time in their history.
The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) President Alejandro Dominguez hailed the rescheduled Copa Libertadores final as a success. “Our aim was always for the game to be played in Argentina, we tried it twice but in the end it was a party that took place in Madrid,” he said.
Postponed on three occasions and then relocated from Buenos Aires to Madrid, the supporters of these two great clubs showed in the Santiago Bernabeu why this fixture had been billed as one of soccer’s greatest ever.
But, despite the bouncing huddles in the streets, the plumes of blue and red smoke, the swinging scarves, fluttering flags and fans that were chanting in their seats three hours before kickoff, there was nothing to extinguish the lingering sense of regret.
There was no repeat of the scenes that cast a shadow over Argentinian soccer and saw the original game at River’s El Monumental on November 24 postponed, when around 50 fans attacked Boca’s team bus and left some of their players injured.
Madrid, which will also host the Champions League final in June, was chosen in part because of its record of hosting major events and the security, which included around 2,500 police officers, did its job before kickoff. Fans were separated into zones either side of the stadium and had to go through checks even to enter the area immediately surrounding it.
The shame was only that the operation was not as thorough 15 days ago and that a minority decided to take advantage.
Both clubs were allocated 25,000 tickets, with 5,000 of those reserved for residents of Argentina. The fear had been most of those buying would be tourists and neutrals, but the atmosphere suggested different.
Both teams had initially refused to play in Spain’s capital but as the losers, Boca’s sense of grievance will now become more entrenched.
They felt River were responsible for the chaos two weeks ago and should have forfeited the trophy. They took their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but the appeal was rejected on Saturday.
When the players shuffled out two hours before kickoff to inspect the pitch, they held up their phones to capture the thousands already inside and the view of a stadium most of them had never played in before. The cheers grew louder when they came out for kickoff. Then there were whistles as the teams swapped ends and each were greeted by their opponents’ fans behind the goal.