2016 Recopa Sudamericana
| Event | Recopa Sudamericana | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| on aggregate | |||||||
| First leg | |||||||
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| Date | 18 August 2016 | ||||||
| Venue | Estadio El Campín, Bogotá | ||||||
| Referee | Wilton Sampaio (Brazil) | ||||||
| Attendance | 18,800 | ||||||
| Second leg | |||||||
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| Date | 25 August 2016 | ||||||
| Venue | Estadio Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires | ||||||
| Referee | Víctor Carrillo (Peru) | ||||||
| Attendance | 62,000 | ||||||
The 2016 Recopa Sudamericana was a football match played over two legs between River Plate of Argentina and Independiente Santa Fe of Colombia. The first leg was played at the Estadio El Campín, Bogotá on 18 August 2016 and the second leg was played on 25 August 2016 at the Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires. The annual Recopa Sudamericana, it was contested between the winners of the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana. River Plate were the reigning champions, while Independiente Santa Fe were appearing in the competition for the first time.
The teams qualified for the competition by winning the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana. Independiente Santa Fe qualified by winning the 2015 Copa Sudamericana. They beat Argentinian team Huracán 3–1 on penalties after a scoreless two-legged final. River Plate won the 2015 Copa Libertadores beating Mexican team Tigres UANL 3–0 in the finals.
A crowd of 18,800 observed the first leg at the Estadio El Campín, which resulted in a goalless draw. Watched by a crowd of 40,000 at the Estadio Monumental, River Plate took an early lead in the first half of the first leg when Sebastián Driussi scored. River Plate extended their lead in the second half courtesy of Lucas Alario. Horacio Salaberry scored for Independiente Santa Fe, but they were unable to equalise before the end of the match. Thus, River Plate won the tie 2–1 on aggregate to secure their second Recopa Sudamericana.
Background
The Recopa Sudamericana was founded in the late 1980s, as a means to determine the best team in South America.[1] 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.[2]
Independiente Santa Fe qualified for the Recopa Sudamericana by winning the 2015 Copa Sudamericana. They beat Argentinian team Huracán 3–1 on penalties after a scoreless two-legged final, winning the competition for the first time.[3] It was Independiente Santa Fe's first appearance in the Recopa Sudamericana.
River Plate qualified for the tournament as winners of the 2015 Copa Libertadores. They beat Mexican team Tigres UANL 3–0 in the finals to win their first Copa Libertadores. River Plate were the current holders of the Recopa Sudamericana, after beating Argentinian team San Lorenzo in the previous season's competition.[4]
Both teams had finished their participation at the 2016 Copa Libertadores. River Plate lost their Round of 16 match against Independiente del Valle 2–1 on aggregate.[5] Independiente Santa Fe had exited the competition earlier when they finished third in Group 8, although they were awaiting their Round of 16 match pertaining that season's Copa Sudamericana, as they were awarded a spot as title holders.[6] River Plate's last match before the first leg was a 2–1 win over Sportivo Estudiantes at the 2015-16 Copa Argentina that qualified them for the eighth-finals. Independiente Santa Fe played Atlético Huila in a 1–0 loss on 15 August corresponding to the 2016 Torneo Finalización.[7]
First leg
Summary
The first leg was held at the Estadio El Campín, the home ground of Independiente Santa Fe. The first 25 minutes of the game were completely dominated by River Plate. Sebastián Driussi in the 16th minute and Lucas Alario in the 21st unveiled shots on target that caused trouble to goalkeeper Robinson Zapata, although he managed to stop both. At the 29-minute mark, a shot from Dairon Mosquera was stopped on the goal line by Leonardo Ponzio, stemming from an erratic attempt to catch the ball by River Plate goalkeeper Augusto Batalla. This was the closest either of the teams got to breaking the deadlock. A minute later, the Argentine centre-forward Jonathan Gómez threatened River Plate's goal once again, shooting wide. Humberto Osorio and Mosquera had the last approaches to Batalla's goal before the ending of the first half.[8]
The remaining half was uneventful. With back and forth exchanges but very few chances, only a shot by Osorio at the 59th minute did anything to challenge Batalla's skills. During the final minutes of the game, River Plate seemed content with the draw. Independiente Santa Fe did little to fight the uncertain result, and the game ended scoreless.[8]
Details
Santa Fe
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River Plate
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Assistant referees: |
Second leg
Summary
River Plate opened the scoring early to the match in the 3rd minute when, following a free kick taken quickly by Ignacio Fernández, the ball reached Gonzalo Martínez, who from the left side centered it into the box for Sebastián Driussi to tap in. Once in the lead, River Plate maintained control of the game, though Independiente Santa Fe managed to respond. First came a shot from Humberto Osorio that went wide in the 11th minute, and then a powerful strike from Yeison Gordillo had to be saved by goalkeeper Augusto Batalla in the 24th. Martínez had a shot close to the half-hour mark for River Plate, and moments later Batalla fumbled what seemed like an easy catch in the penalty area, that ended up with a header from William Tesillo that the River Plate keeper saved on his retreat to the net.[11]
Five minutes into the start of the second half, River Plate scored their second goal. Andrés D'Alessandro centered the ball into the box, where Jonatan Maidana was waiting. The defender proceeded to head the ball over to Lucas Alario, who then struck it into the goal. The home side controlled possession, although Independiente Santa Fe gradually created problems with set pieces. In the 64th minute, one of them came into fruition when a free kick was taken towards Osorio, who headed the ball over to the far post where Horacio Salaberry lurked and the Uruguayan pulled one back with a header of his own. At the 77-minute mark, Martínez chipped the ball over the goalkeeper, crashing it against the crossbar. Salaberry had a chance for the equaliser only two minutes away from stoppage time, but the shot went high. That was the last chance for either team as the match finished 2–1 to River Plate.[11]
Details
River Plate
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Santa Fe
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Post-match
River Plate manager Marcelo Gallardo was moved after the triumph. He emphasized: "This is incredible, it's exciting. You don't stop to think, it's been two very intense years." He also commented on the match: "It was a final and we had to win it at home. We had a very good attitude in the face of adversity, because the Colombian team is tough. That's why we ended up suffering. We played a good first half, but we couldn't maintain it and we held on thanks to other factors".[14]
River Plate finished the 2016 Argentine Primera División in ninth place of their group, failing to qualify for the play-offs of the league. Nonetheless, they secured a spot for the 2017 Copa Libertadores as champions of the 2015-16 Copa Argentina.[15] Independiente Santa Fe were crowned champions of the 2016 Torneo Finalización. As a result, they were also qualified to play on the following season of the Copa Libertadores.[7]
See also
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Copa Sudamericana: Independiente Santa Fe es campeón tras vencer en penales a Huracán". CONMEBOL (in European Spanish). 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
- ^ "Recopa: River le gana 2 a 1 a Santa Fe y es bicampeón". CONMEBOL (in European Spanish). 2016-08-26. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
- ^ "Copa Libertadores 2016". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
- ^ "Copa Sudamericana 2016". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
- ^ a b "Colombia 2016". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
- ^ a b "Santa Fe 0-0 River Plate (18 de Ago., 2016) Análisis del partido". ESPN DEPORTES (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-17.
- ^ "Recopa 2015". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ a b c "Wilton Sampaio, árbitro del juego de ida por la Recopa Sudamericana" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com. 12 August 2016.
- ^ a b "River Plate 2-1 Santa Fe (25 de Ago., 2016) Análisis del partido - ESPN (AR)". ESPN (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-17.
- ^ "Recopa 2015". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ a b c "Recopa: River le gana 2 a 1 a Santa Fe y es bicampeón". CONMEBOL (in European Spanish). 2016-08-26. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
- ^ "Gallardo, sobre River campeón de la Recopa: "Es increíble, emocionante" - TyC Sports". www.tycsports.com. 2016-08-26. Retrieved 2025-12-18.
- ^ "Argentina 2016". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2025-12-17.