River already knows his fate: it will take place in 2026 the South American Cup. Due to the defeat against Racing in the Bombonera in the semi-finals of the Clausura tournament, Boca no longer had the opportunity to participate in the second phase of the Copa Libertadores, an event in which the Argentinos Juniors will take part. With fourth place in the annual table, the millionaire ends a series of eleven consecutive editions in the highest continental competition. The most remarkable and grossest consequence of this unforgettable year 2025 for Marcelo Gallardo’s team.
Clausura tournament, Apertura tournament, Argentine Cup, Copa Libertadores and annual table… River had five chances to secure its ticket to the Copa Libertadores but failed to achieve it. With 53 points in the 32 games of the season It trailed Rosario Central (66), Boca (62) and Argentinos (57), ending early a poor year in which it failed to even reach its basic target. The obligations will increase until 2026 in an international tournament of a lower hierarchy, both from a sporting and economic point of view. To measure the impact, by playing in the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores – which was in the budget – River collected $6,940,000 that year, while they would have received $2,550,000 in the quarterfinals of the Copa Sudamericana.
This way you only have a guaranteed minimum when attending the three home games of the next Sudamericana 900,000 dollars, with a bonus of 115,000 per game won. Numbers tripled for the Libertadores, with 3 million set for the group stage, plus 330,000 per game won. For this reason, the Muñeco team should at least reach the final of the Sudamericana to reach similar numbers as planned, since it is the champion this year Lanús collected $9,845,000, while runner-up Atlético Mineiro was left with $5,345,000. The other side was the final between Flamengo and Palmeiras, with a total of $33,240,000 for the Carioca team and $16,240,000 for Paulista.
Still, word in the hallways at Monumental is that this means $4,500,000 less in the budget for planning the Libertadores quarterfinals does not change the planning of the transfer market: The Board assures that the economy is stable today, with ordinary income (members, ticket sales, sponsors) and extraordinary income (sales of footballers) that make it possible to sustain the economy 20 to 25 million dollars are to be invested in reinforcement. The most noticeable movement is that the coaching staff no longer has the urgency to plan the start of the Argentine Cup in January and an international elimination and deciding match in February, as was the case in the Libertadores’ second phase of play. For this reason, market times are now quieter, with no change to what was planned for now: Gallardo is looking for at least a winger, a central defender, a central midfielder, an attacking midfielder and a center forward.
Preseason begins at River Camp on Saturday, December 20th and the coaching team has already set two dates in the calendar today: on Wednesday, March 18th, the draw for the Copa Sudamericana will take place, the group stage of which will take place between Tuesday, April 7th and Thursday, May 28th. As with all Argentine and Brazilian teams, River will begin its participation at this time and it will be its first experience with the new format, as the direct elimination round was retained when it last participated in 2015. The final is scheduled for November 21st in Barranquilla, Colombia.
Which other teams have already qualified? Racing or Independiente – it depends on the Clausura final – San Lorenzo, Riestra, Tigre and Barracas will be the other Argentine representatives; San Pablo, Gremio, Bragantino, Santos, Atlético Mineiro and Corinthians will choose Brazil; Defensor Sporting, Boston River, Racing de Montevideo and Montevideo City Torque competed in Uruguay; Atlético Bucaramanga and Millonarios are two of the four spots that Colombia has; University of Chile, Palestino, Audax Italiano and Cobresal for Chile; Sportivo Trinidense, Nacional, Deportes Recoleta and Olimpia will play for Paraguay; Melgar, Alianza Atlético, Deportivo Garcilaso and Cienciano qualified in Peru; and Academia Puerto Cabello, Monagas, Caracas and Metropolitano will be the Venezuelans.
The teams from Bolivia and Ecuador have yet to be defined, but the format remains the same as this year. The preliminary round will be held in the first week of March, in which all teams that do not come from Argentina and Brazil will take part. These are single direct elimination games in which teams from the same association meet, with the home field being determined for the first draw of the game. The winners advance to the group stage, which also includes the four eliminations from the third phase of the Copa Libertadores. Then the winner of each group goes directly to the round of 16, while the eight runners-up will face the eight third-place Libertadores in the round of 16 of the playoffs. When there are 16 teams left in the competition, there will be return matches to determine the finalists.
After eleven years, River will no longer play in the top continental competition and will return to the Sudamericana after ten years. A blow to reality that exposes the terrible year 2025 and forces us to review decisions and correct mistakes, so that it is only a year of reorganization in which responsibility increases to the maximum.
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