2019 Recopa Sudamericana
| Event | Recopa Sudamericana | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| on aggregate | |||||||
| First leg | |||||||
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| Date | 22 May 2019 | ||||||
| Venue | Arena da Baixada, Curitiba | ||||||
| Referee | Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)[1] | ||||||
| Attendance | 30,406 | ||||||
| Second leg | |||||||
| |||||||
| Date | 30 May 2019 | ||||||
| Venue | Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires | ||||||
| Referee | Roberto Tobar (Chile)[2] | ||||||
| Attendance | 66,500 | ||||||
The 2019 Recopa Sudamericana was a football match played over two legs between River Plate of Argentina and Athletico Paranaense of Brazil. The first leg was played at the Arena da Baixada, Curitiba on 22 May 2019 and the second leg was played on 30 May 2019 at the Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires. The annual Recopa Sudamericana, it was contested between the winners of the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana. It was River Plate's fifth appearance, having won the competition back-to-back in 2015 and 2016. Athletico Paranaense were appearing for the first time.
The teams qualified for the competition by winning the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana. Athletico Paranaense qualified by winning the 2018 Copa Sudamericana. They beat Colombian team Junior 4–3 on penalties after a 2–2 aggregate in the final. River Plate won the 2018 Copa Libertadores beating rivals Boca Juniors 5–3 in the finals.
A crowd of 30,400 observed the first leg at the Arena da Baixada, in which Athletico Paranaense took the lead in the series courtesy of the lone goal scored by striker Marco Ruben. Watched by a crowd of 66,500 at the Estadio Monumental, River Plate tied the match after Ignacio Fernández scored the rebound off of a penalty Santos had stopped him. They extended their lead in stoppage time when Lucas Pratto scored, and added one more courtesy of Matías Suárez four minutes later. River Plate secured their third Recopa Sudamericana win after completing the comeback.
Background
The Recopa Sudamericana was founded in the late 1980s, as a means to determine the best team in South America.[3] It was first contested between the winners of the Copa Libertadores and the Supercopa Libertadores from 1989 to 1998, when CONMEBOL discontinued the Supercopa Sudamericana. As a result of not having an important, secondary tournament, the Recopa Sudamericana went into a hiatus that lasted four years until the introduction of the Copa Sudamericana.[4]
Athletico Paranaense qualified for the Recopa Sudamericana by winning the 2018 Copa Sudamericana. They beat Colombian team Junior in the final, having won 4–3 on penalties after a tied aggregate at two goals each.[5] Athletico Paranaense won the Copa Sudamericana for the first time, and were set to make their debut in the Recopa Sudamericana.[6]
River Plate qualified for the tournament as winners of the 2018 Copa Libertadores. They beat their historical rivals Boca Juniors 5–3 in the finals to win their fourth Copa Libertadores title.[7] River Plate were appearing in the competition for the fifth time, with two successive wins in 2015 and 2016 and consecutive losses in 1997 and 1998.[6]
Both teams were midway through their respective campaigns in the 2019 Copa Libertadores, having played all of their group stage matches. River Plate's last game before the first leg was against Atlético Tucumán, in a 4–1 win on the second leg of the 2019 Copa de la Superliga quarterfinals.[8] This result was insufficient to make up for the three goal deficit suffered on their first game, getting knocked out of the tournament due to the away goals rule. Athletico Paranaense's meeting with Corinthians on 19 May yielded a 2–0 loss, during the 2019 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.[9]
First leg
Summary
The first leg was held at the Arena da Baixada, the home ground of Athletico Paranaense. The home side exploited the speed of their wingers and full-backs, while the visitors battled back applying suffocating pressure in the opposition's half. Lucho González issued the first warning after taking a shot near the entrance of the area, demanding a response from goalkeeper Franco Armani. River Plate's game plan, based on an extremely fowarded positioning of their defensive line, crumbled as Renan Lodi received the ball from Bruno Guimarães, passed it to Rony, who got rid of several defenders with a simple turn, and then laid the goal on a silver platter for Marco Ruben to tap it in at the 25-minute mark. Lodi would produce another exceptional play minutes after with a cross that neither Ruben nor Lucho could finish. River Plate tried to maintain their composure while in possession as the first half ended.[10]
Athletico Paranaense continued to cause problems with quick transitions and counter-attacks during the second half. Armani prevented a two goal disadvantage with a good save from a Lodi shot. The game became a frantic back-and-forth affair, as Nikão kept being a nuisance for the Argentine goalkeeper. River Plate had one good chance with a cross from the left that needed only a header to level up the scoreline. River Plate's Milton Casco punched Rony before a free kick, and the referee Wilmar Roldán sent the full-back off with a straight red card after consulting the video assistant referee, ten minutes shy of injury time.[10]
River Plate's Marcelo Gallardo was critical of his team's performance, stating: "We didn't play well overall. We couldn't find our footing on the pitch, either on the field or in terms of our football." In spite of this analysis, he was clear about their chances coming into the second leg: "We're still in the game because we only lost by a single goal, and we have everything we need to turn things around at home."[11]
Details
| Athletico Paranaense | 1–0 | River Plate |
|---|---|---|
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Report |
Athletico Paranaense
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River Plate
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Assistant referees:[1]
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Match rules[12]
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Second leg
Summary
Athletico Paranaense's 1–0 victory in the first leg meant that River Plate needed a goal to force the tie into extra-time. From the first minute, both teams displayed intense and frenetic energy, eager to take center stage. Athletico Paranaense challenged River Plate for possession in midfield, while the home team pressed high in search for a goal to level the series. In the 13th minute, Ignacio Fernández settled himself inside the box and unleashed a powerful right-footed shot that struck Santos' left post, who was left unable to react. He was eventually tested 10 minutes later when he masterfully prevented Lucas Pratto from scoring the opening goal. Athletico Paranaense managed to create some danger with sporadic counterattacks, and 30 minutes into the match, Lucho González had a golden opportunity to extend the Brazilian lead in the aggregate that was denied by Franco Armani, as he miraculously deflected the ball. River Plate's initiative faded as the first half came to a closing.[13]
Athletico Paranaense sat back and defended with focus and composure for the first 15 minutes of the second half, until the referee Roberto Tobar awarded a penalty to the home side after consulting the video assistant referee, crediting a handball by González inside the area after a corner kick. Ignacio Fernández was to take the penalty. His shot was diverted by Santos, but not fully as it ended up hitting the post, which favoured the midfielder in the rebound as he slammed it home for the equaliser at the 65-minute mark. Renan Lodi tried to unlevel the score-line with a long-range shot around the 80th minute, which was successfully defended by Armani. The match seemed to be heading for extra-time when Matías Suárez put up a magnificent cross over to Pratto, who controlled the ball and took a shot that broke the parity in injury time. Athletico Paranaense scrambled as they desperately tried to bring the match to an even affair, but Suárez capitalized on their confusion to score the final goal after he dribbled Santos, making it 3–0 moments away from the final whistle.[13]
Details
| River Plate | 3–0 | Athletico Paranaense |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
River Plate
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Athletico Paranaense
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Assistant referees:[2]
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Match rules[12]
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Post-match
River Plate manager Marcelo Gallardo praised his team after the second leg: "These players have a special gift for these kinds of matches, a winning mentality, a connection with their fans, with their people, a solidarity that defines them as a team." He also made a remark on how he was right to bring in Lucas Pratto: "Tonight only confirms that we weren't wrong to bring Pratto in and how valuable he has been from day one. Although he was valued based on his price tag and viewed with skepticism, he more than justified what was paid for him."[14]
River Plate qualified for the 2020 Copa Libertadores as champions of their domestic cup, the 2018–19 Copa Argentina. They had also finished in 4th place of the 2018–19 Superliga Argentina.[8] Athletico Paranaense followed a smiliar suit, as they managed a fifth place in the 2019 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, but won the 2019 Copa do Brasil, thereby securing a spot for the following season's Copa Libertadores.[9]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Árbitros para la CONMEBOL Recopa - Ida". CONMEBOL.com. 13 May 2019.
- ^ a b "¡RIVER CAMPEÓN DE LA RECOPA!". cariverplate.com.ar. 30 May 2019.
- ^ en, Seguir (2019-05-22). "Dio la vuelta al mundo y no se jugó por cuatro años: cómo es la historia de la Recopa Sudamericana". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-17.
- ^ "Recopa". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
- ^ "Atlético Paranaense abraza la gloria por primera vez en su historia". CONMEBOL (in European Spanish). 2018-12-13. Retrieved 2025-12-18.
- ^ a b "Athlético Paranaense y River Plate abren la lucha por la CONMEBOL Recopa". CONMEBOL (in European Spanish). 2019-05-22. Retrieved 2025-12-18.
- ^ "River Plate 3-1 Boca (9 de Dic., 2018) Análisis del partido - ESPN (AR)". ESPN (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-18.
- ^ a b "Argentina 2018/19". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2025-12-18.
- ^ a b "Brazil 2019". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2025-12-18.
- ^ a b "Athletico-PR 1-0 River Plate (22 de May., 2019) Análisis del partido - ESPN (AR)". ESPN (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-18.
- ^ Plate, Club Atletico River. "Gallardo: "Nos vamos vivos"". caRiverPlate.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-18.
- ^ a b "Reglamento CONMEBOL Recopa 2019" (PDF). CONMEBOL.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2019.
- ^ a b "River Plate 3-0 Athletico-PR (30 de May., 2019) Análisis del partido - ESPN (AR)". ESPN (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-18.
- ^ en, Seguir (2019-05-31). "Desaforado festejo, emoción y la frase sobre su continuidad que "asustó a los hinchas": el show de Gallardo en la conquista de River". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-18.
External links
- CONMEBOL Recopa, CONMEBOL.com (in Spanish)