ALL ABOUT YOUTH

RIVER PLATE
“We weren’t little kids.
We were a pretty fierce bunch.”
Antonio Alzamendi
River’s relationship with the Libertadores was an unhappy one
until the likes of Alzamendi, Norberto Beto Alonso, Oscar Ruggeri,
Hector Enrique, Nery Pumpido, Americo Gallego and Juan Gilberto
Funes broke the curse in October 1986. Less than two months later
they travelled to Japan – where River will return this December to
contest the FIFA Club World Cup. Alzamendi's goal then earned his
side their one and only Intercontinental Cup win and completed, in
the space of only 46 days, an international double that broke a 26-year
hoodoo.
Feeling like King Kong
“The pressure was on us in every game, but we had a group of players
who could stand up to anything,” Alzamendi continued. “We were up
for any challenge, and we didn’t care who we came up against because
we were confident we could beat anyone.
“It was a team that broke with River’s history. Maybe we didn’t play
the prettiest football but we were very strong. That team had a lot of
character.”
The motivational skills of coach Hector Veira were also crucial to
their success: “El Bambino convinced us that we could go down in the
club’s history,” Alzamendi explained. “His team talks got you so pumped
up you felt like King Kong.”
After sweeping their continental rivals aside, Veira’s River travelled
to Tokyo to take on a Steaua side that had stunned everyone by beating
Barcelona in the European Cup final and which contained seasoned
Romania internationals such as Marius Lacatus, Miodrag Belodedici,
Adrian Bumbescu and Gavril Balint.
Describing the first time they caught sight of their opponents,
Alzamendi summed up the psychology of that River squad: “We arrived
in Japan virtually at the same time as the Romanians. They were
wearing suits and we were in this gym gear that was so tight we looked
like dancers.
“We said to ourselves: ‘Look at those madmen. Look at them. Look
at the meat on them. We’re going to eat them anyway. We’re going to
beat them anyway.’ And that’s how it turned out. It was very difficult
to get the better of us. We had four world champions with Argentina
and five members of the Uruguayan national team. We weren’t little
kids. We were a pretty fierce bunch.”
River’s dream now is to win their semi-final on 16 December and
then take down the mighty Barcelona in the final four days later in
Yokohama. But is it an impossible one? “If I bumped into Luis Enrique,
I’d tell him to watch out because River have got what it takes,” replied
a defiant Alzamendi.
“Barcelona have got [Luis] Suarez, [Lionel] Messi, Neymar and
[Andres] Iniesta but it’s just the same as when we played the Romanians.
There are only 11 of them. I think River have got a real chance. I
suppose they’re Goliath and we’re David. Watch out, because a little
stone could do them a lot of damage.”
Speaking with true Uruguayan grit, the former No7 added: “Roque
Maspoli, who played in goal in the Maracanazo in 1950, used to say to
us: ‘Everyone said Brazil would beat us 99 times out of 100, but we beat
them the one time we had to. Brazil can have the other 99.’
“I think River can do the same. Barcelona would maybe win nine
times out of ten, but let’s see what happens when the game’s played.
Football is all about doing it when you have to, and this team has
responded superbly when it’s had to stand up and be counted.” Å
Eduardo Barassi
AFLOSPORT / imago
Semi-final on 16 December
Many of the fans who witnessed River’s three Libertadores wins – the
second of which came in 1996, a year in which they went on to lose to
Juventus in Japan – believe the current champions and the class of ‘86
have a lot in common. Having followed their Libertadores run to the
final on TV (“I like watching football in peace and quiet, at home with
my wife and sipping on mate”), Alzamendi agreed in part.
“The players are totally different in terms of characteristics but
they’ve got a similar team spirit and this team has also learned how to
win finals and get through tough games,” he said. “When we beat the
Brazilians in the quarters (a 3-0 victory over Cruzeiro in Belo Horizonte
following a 1-0 home defeat in the first leg), I saw a very strong team.
They showed a huge amount of character, and the coach Marcelo Gallardo
has got a lot of personality and knows the game inside out.”
Match winner
Antonio Alzamendi (c.) at the 1986 Intercontinental Cup.
THE FIFA WEEKLY
29