2019 Recopa Sudamericana
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 tournament 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 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. It was first contested between the winners of the Copa Libertadores and the Supercopa Libertadores from 1989 to 1998, until CONMEBOL discontinued the latter. Following the absence of an important, secondary tournament, the Recopa Sudamericana went into a hiatus that lasted four years until the introduction of the Copa Sudamericana.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. Athletico Paranaense won the Copa Sudamericana for the first time, and were set to make their debut in the Recopa Sudamericana.
River Plate qualified for the match as winners of the 2018 Copa Libertadores. They beat their historic rivals Boca Juniors 5–3 in the finals to win their fourth Copa Libertadores title. River Plate were appearing in the competition for the fifth time, with a record consisting of two successive wins in 2015 and 2016 and consecutive losses in 1997 and 1998.
River Plate's last game coming into the tournament was against Atlético Tucumán, in a 4–1 win on the second leg of the Copa de la Superliga quarterfinals. 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.
First leg
Summary
The first leg was held at the Arena da Baixada, the home ground of Athletico Paranaense. The home side attempted to open the scoring right after the first whistle, following a Lucho González shot near the entrance of the area that demanded a response from Franco Armani. They would take an aggresive approach at the start of the game, as they exploited the speed of their wingers and full-backs. River Plate battled back applying suffocating pressure in their opposition's half, based on a fowarded positioning of their defensive line. Athletico Paranaense's gameplan yielded them numerical superiority when attacking, as they occupied spaces better than their opponents. They posed threats through runs down both sides of the pitch, and eventually managed to capitalize one of them. In the 25th minute, Bruno Guimarães found Renan Lodi. The left-back broke down the flank, and proceeded to pass to Rony. Upon receipt, the winger got rid of multiple defenders as he turned around, and followed up by laying the ball on a silver platter for Marco Ruben, who tapped it in for a 1–0 scoreline. Five minutes later, Lodi created another chance after another run down the left side. His cross, however, was unable to be finished by either Ruben or Lucho González. After their strategy crumbled, River Plate tried to maintain their composure while in possession during the final minutes.The visitors came close to tying the game early in the second half, after a shot by Exequiel Palacios deflected off a defender. Nonetheless, Athletico Paranaense continued to cause problems with quick transitions and counter-attacks. They almost extended their lead if not for goalkeeper Armani, who provided a save after a shot from Lodi. From there on out, the game become a frantic back-and-forth affair, with Nikão being a nuisance for the Argentine goalkeeper. River Plate manager Marcelo Gallardo tried to stabilize on defense by subbing Fabrizio Angileri and Bruno Zuculini in, to no avail. They would have an opportunity to level the score, but a cross from the left was unable to be met. At the 78-minute mark, Milton Casco punched Rony before a free kick, prompting referee Wilmar Roldán to hand him a straight red card after consulting the video assistant referee.
River Plate's 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."
Second leg
Summary
Athletico Paranaense's 1–0 victory in the first leg meant that the home side needed a goal to force the tie into extra-time. From the first minute, both teams presented an intense and frenetic display. The visitors challenged River Plate for possession in midfield, while the home team exerted high pressure in search for a goal to level the match. In the 13th minute, playmaker Ignacio Fernández unleashed a powerful right-footed shot from inside the box that struck Santos' left post, who was left unable to react. Shortly after, Lucas Pratto headed the ball after a precise cross from Fabrizio Angileri, but the goalkeeper got ahold of it. The striker once again tested Santos 23 minutes in, being barely denied from scoring the opening goal. Despite their opponents' dominance, Athletico Paranaense managed to create trouble with sporadic counterattacks. In the 31st minute of play, Rony managed to slip from his markers, and sent a low cross over to Lucho González, whose point-blank shot was saved by Franco Armani as he deflected the ball for a corner. From there on out, River Plate's initiative started to fade as the opening half came to a closing.During half-time, Marcelo Gallardo subbed Nicolás de la Cruz in for Exequel Palacios, who suffered a muscle injury. The second half started with Athletico Paranaense sitting back and defending with focus and composure the favourable scoreline. Around 60 minutes into the game, Chilean referee Roberto Tobar was called up by the video assistant referee to check on a penalty. He would award the spot kick to the home side after consultation, crediting a handball by Lucho González inside the area following a corner kick. Ignacio Fernández stood up to take it, and although Santos diverted his shot, the ball proceeded to hit the post after the save, which favoured the midfielder in the rebound as he slammed it into the net for the equaliser. Gallardo made another substitution when he replaced Rafael Santos Borré with fellow striker Matías Suárez. In the 75th minute, the subbed forward crossed for Fernández, who only managed a weak touch. Renan Lodi would try to unlevel the scoreline for the visitors minutes later, but his long-range shot was successfully defended by Armani. The game seemed to be heading for extra-time until Matías Suárez put up a cross over to Pratto, who controlled the ball and took a shot towards the net 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, scoring the final goal after dribbling Santos and sealing the 3–0 victory moments away from the final whistle.
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." He also made a remark on how the arrival of Lucas Pratto made an impact on his squad: "Tonight only confirms that we weren't wrong to bring Pratto in Although he was valued based on his price tag, he more than justified what was paid for him."Athletico Paranaense's Tiago Nunes also complemented his squad following the loss: "I'm happy in the sense that the group fought. Even with a feeling of defeat, we have to be proud of what we built." He reflected on the match and towards River Plate, stating: "We played two great games against a superb team. It serves as a learning experience for a club that is becoming more prominent, like Athletico."
River Plate qualified for the 2020 Copa Libertadores as champions of their domestic cup, the 2018–19 Copa Argentina. They had also finished in fourth place of the 2018–19 Superliga Argentina. Athletico Paranaense followed a similar 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.