Much more than reinforcements: Miguel Borja and Pablo Solari, the pillars on which he will support the next River

Miguel Borja and Pablo Solari had outstanding performances in Aldosivi’s River serve in Mar del Plata. They changed the face of Marcelo Gallardo’s team. As one would say in the neighborhood, they broke it. And surely, sooner or later, they will earn a place among the owners. Indeed, They will try to be the standard bearers of football reconstruction.

Borja gives River presence and specific weight in the rival area. With him on the field, Gallardo will have a bull in the box, which not only imposes himself by force, but also has technique on his feet, as he demonstrated in the play in which he assisted Lucas Beltrán.

With Solari River he has a player who knows how to give him balance, verticality and depth. With characteristics similar to those of an old winger, Puntano can give him the overflow the team needs when opening an opposing defense.

However, What would have happened if Borja and Solari had arrived first? Would the story with Vélez have been different? Why were they so late? In principle, it should be noted that the Colombian was playing the decisive instances of his country’s tournament with the Junior and that the Villa Mercedes-born footballer, who showed himself very well in the matches in which Colo-Colo faced the River for the group stage of the Copa Libertadores, it was activated only after the elimination in the maximum continental tournament.

However it is clear that there have been delays in moving the pass market. Gallardo himself recognized him when he said that “we weren’t aggressive”. Perhaps there was an excess of confidence knowing that Julián Álvarez would be available until the round of 16 and thinking that reinforcements would only be needed for the quarter-finals. But River didn’t reach that instance. He stayed in the octave.

And the illusion of having Luis Suárez was also counterproductive. It is true that the times of the Uruguayan and River would have coincided only after the second round and that probably if Gallardo’s team had beaten Vélez, the gunfighter I would have reached Núñez. However, a fantasy was generated that soon vanished. And that delayed the arrival of reinforcements.

It is that in River all the guns were aimed at Suárez. And the money earmarked for incorporations was primarily intended for the Uruguayan’s contract. The refusal of the striker who shone alongside Lionel Messi at Barcelona forced the management to recalculate. There they began to think about other alternatives.

Borja was already on the radar and could even reach Suárez. But they only sped up for him as River played the series with Vélez. The Colombian has even spent days without training in Barranquilla awaiting the resolution of his pass, which included complications due to the soaring value of the dollar in Argentina.

In any case it is resolved and Borja ends up being the reinforcement of the River, even though he was not among Gallardo’s priorities. although the Doll He had it in his briefcase and his team does not have a player without his approval, there was a more directive proclamation than for the arrival of the Colombian, who was in third place in the consideration of the technical staff, behind Valentín Castellanos , who left the MLS city of New York to go to Girona in Spain, and José Manuel López, a former Lanús who left for Palmeiras.

Management was unwilling to pay nearly $ 15 million for a United States League forward. It is that they considered that, after all, it was a gamble. It was already a lot of money and even more for a footballer without too many credentials, as well as being the top scorer in the MLS.

“For less than that money we brought two players. To Borja, who is an established footballer and to Solari, who is a bet “commented a River leader in dialogue with Clarin. For the Colombian they paid almost eight million dollars for 100% of the pass, while for Solari almost five million dollars for 60% of his practice.

In this way, River got it two reinforcements that give another dynamic and presence to a team left without Julián Álvarezyour star And both Borja and Solari can enhance the other players in the squad.