The fire of the Cup: River and the dimension of not having entered the Libertadores
That’s it. Riverya was left out of the qualifiers for the 2026 Copa Libertadores nine days ago. The triumph of Racingante Boca in La Bombonera closed the last half-open window that remained to jump at least to the play-off of the international competition. In any case, the elimination of the lifelong rival will have brought a momentary smile to assume a reality that the River Plate collective saw coming in the distance: they had already made the duel some time before, during the process by which Gallardo’s own team passed up the chance to win an accessible Argentine Cup, its course that left it without passage through the annual table, its elimination in the Clausura playoffs in the Cilindro and the falls of Rosario Central, Lanús and Argentinos Juniors, the others that could give it a hand with the CABJ.
The idea of falling back into the Sudamericana after 11 consecutive editions of Libertadores, something that seemed impossible at the beginning of 2025, was gradually accepted. But it takes on another dimension today, when all the country’s qualifiers for the 2026 Cup are already there. And in the case of River, seeing that in addition to Boca, Estudiantes, Rosario Central, Argentinos, Lanús, Platense and Independiente Rivadavia will be there, it puts in a starker dimension the disappointment that represented what until very recently was not an objective for the club but rather a minimum obligation. So much so that, in fact, every annual budget in recent years (and the one approved in the last few hours was no exception) projects River as the basis for the Libertadores quarterfinals. Read more.
