Soccer Magazine

River Plate: For The Love Of The Game

By Simplyfutb01 @simplyjuan11

David Trezeguet

When River Plate fell to the second division it was the most devastating blow to fans of Los Millonarios.  To see the winningest team in the Argentine top flight go down for the first time in the club’s history there was disbelief all over Argentina.   So after many twists and turns, Los Millionarios appealed to the unconditional support of their fans to be able to come out of their tough situation.

With Matías Almeyda, he knew that this particular situation was not going to depend on just throwing their jerseys onto the pitch or the implementation of exercise programs that would help them return to the first division.

There was going to be a hard fought touranment despite fans thinking that it would be a walk in the park as they would face inferior sides.  Quickly they would learn that to battle with many teams with the hunger to get to the top flight is vital for their financial wellbeing as well as the benefit of the club would be a tough one.

There were players that arrived at the club with little intention of earning a profit.  If there was one case that you could see it was Alejandro Domínguez, who asked Valencia to let him return to Argentina to help his beloved side get out of the predicament that they were in. He’s been a major contributor to the squad so far this season as well as a major stabilizer in the dressing room although he has had some spats on occasion with Fernando Cavenaghi.

There were also rumblings that Domínguez was offered a significant contract back in Europe for nearly eight million euros. He reportedly rejected it because his priority was to help the club return to the first division.

Cavenaghi was drifting the past few season and decided to leave for Mallorca only to head to Internacional in Brazil. A few years ago, he was lifting the trophy over in France with Bordeaux and now he finds himself at the club that helped him take the leap across the Atlantic.

David Trézéguet was in the Middle East after seeing Hércules fall to the second division in Spain. With his glorious time at Juventus now a distant memory, he decided to take a chance and play for his boyhood club. This was the only reason why he returned to Argentina after nearly a 15-year absence. He mentioned in the weeks and days prior to coming that playing for River was one of the dreams that he wanted to turn into reality.

Chori, like Cavenaghi has mentioned that his intentions that he wanted to retire at River. Their sacrifice is undeniable, yet the

bigger question is what is the sacrifice that River are willing to make in order to reciprocate what they were willing to do without hesitation? Daniel Passarella on several occasions did talk about a contract for his player, but until now they are still waiting.

Yet whether these players are saying the trut

David Trezeguet
h or not, don’t really think it’s even important at this stage. They were able to turn down succulent offers and continued glory in their careers. Instead they are looking to achieve certain things in their footballing lives that go beyond numbers and bank accounts. Of course, they are not doing this for free as it is their livelihood.

But to see them take the high road on this one with a club so strapped for cash like River Plate says a great deal about their respective characters. Whether they achieve their goals or not, as an outsider, they’ve shown a different type of purity to the game.

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