River and Demichelis go to the stands against Estudiantes, but in an epic final they are champions of the Argentine Super Cup

The end was in sight. Or something similar. Students beat 1-0 River and stayed with the Argentina Super Cup. The cast of Martin Demichelis He played badly, very badly, despite turning the rival goalkeeper into a figure. Then, the millionaire fans exploded and insulted the coach for the first time; Even the children asked him. But there was a moment of pause in the duel, as if it were a sign of fate: Eduardo Domínguez removed Enzo Pérez and on the first play Solari equalizes with a carom. There were 10 minutes left. And, in the last one, Rodrigo Aliendro He scored a great goal from outside the area to make it 2-1 and caused Demichelis to celebrate furiously in front of the crowd who had disappointed him. This is how intense the epilogue of River, champion of the 2023 Super Cup, was.

Demichelis has experienced the hottest days since he became River’s coach. The silence after the draw against Independiente was followed by total secrecy regarding the starters who will play against Estudiantes at Kempes. The coach withheld the names and schedule until a few minutes before warmups began. And he surprised everyone with the choiceincluding the managers of Núñez’s team: he sent on the field Matias Kranevitter, who had started for the last time on November 26, 2023, against Instituto. Much more: Colo had only been a starter 5 times (in 22 games) since he returned to Núñez, at the end of 2022. A symptom of the moment of uncertainty that the coach is going through.

Demichelis’ gamble took place in a decisive position: that of central midfielder. Yes, where I played Enzo Perez, the idol who left enemies with the coach. Remember: River paid around 15 million dollars to fill that void Rodrigo Villagra AND Nicola Fonseca. And Demichelis brings in Kranevitter, also demoting Aliendro.

In any case, the biggest surprise was River’s scheme and game idea, which opted for a 4-2-3-1, with Ignacio Fernandez alongside Kranevitter and with Esequiel boat above Enzo Pérez. The key player was too Milton helmet, the one who broke all predictions. Demichelis played him as a left-back in defense and as a central midfielder when River had the ball to release Nacho.

The proposal did not work, as expected.. What Demichelis tried, something Pep Guardiola usually does with Manchester City, requires a lot of proof and an above-average intelligence of the protagonists. And in River there wasn’t much time to work and, in a devalued market, the hierarchy of some players isn’t that high. He watered down the idea, then, to the point that the coach appeared more energetic and clouded than usual. What happened? River was disorganized in attacking, defending and managing the ball. The feeling was that no one had a good idea of ​​the script he should follow. The word improvisation could be fine.

It is also worth noting that the coach may be responsible for tactics, but he is not to blame if players miss passes from two meters away. This happened no less than four times..

And Estudiantes followed the logic with a decisive peculiarity: 4-4-2, even if with Edwin Cetre as a right winger (everyone believed he would move to the left). Full total for Eduardo Domínguez because he took advantage of Casco’s dual function and the Colombian went deep. Javier Correa’s header came from his perfect cross.

River came close to equalizing in the first half, it will rightly be said. Matías Mansilla -one of the protagonists of the final- stretched out on a couple of occasions to block the shouts of Paulo Díaz and Miguel Borja.

Estudiantes took refuge in the complement and paid dearly for that sin. Mansilla continued to save a lot, even though River wasn’t playing well. All until Enzo Pérez left and River was freed. Pablo Solari took a cross and the ball went in after deflecting Zaid Romero.

And a good one you have to stick back on the bus, which has seen a change that no one else has. He brought in defensive midfielder Aliendro for striker Colidio. There was a murmur in the Kempes. But it was former Santa Fe Colón who scored a great goal River becomes champion and that Demichelis takes off a heavy backpack. In Córdoba we could glimpse something similar at the end. Maybe it was a new beginning.