Racing’s 1-0 Victory over River Plate Shows Shift in Argentine Football

Recent years have been harsh River Plate, affectionately known by their supporters as “los millonarios”, and Racing de Avellaneda.
Two of Argentina’s most successful and popular clubs, both teams have flirted with relegation in the past five seasonsâ€"River Plate was relegated last season but immediately returned to the top flight as Second Division championsâ€"and must now cling to previous successes as new clubs rise to prominence.
But this week, Racing has managed to overcome its Buenos Aires neighbors after a close 1-0 victory at the Estadio Monumental.
River Plate, stuttering in 13th place in the 20-team first division, started the match brightly, but could not capitalize on their efforts and fell behind in the 69th minute to a powerful header by former Boca Juniors centre-back Matías Cahais.

Cahais in action for the Argentine U-20 squad. He headed in the winner for Racing against River Plate. Philip MacCallum / Getty Images.

Racing defended staunchly, successfully stifling River’s star-studded forward line of David Trezeguet and youngster Rogelio Funes Mori. Despite desperately bringing players forward, River Plate could not find its way through and only managed 4 shots on target.
The victory temporarily puts Racing in 5th position, trailing leader Newell’s Old Boys by four points, and leaves fans with hope after two consecutive losses in the league.

But the poor display by two of the most heavily-supported clubs in Buenos Aires, which like London often provides the majority of first division clubs in the Argentine league, more importantly shows that the league has changed.
Whereas five seasons ago, Boca Juniors and River Plate dominated both domestically and in the Copa Libertadores (the Champions League of South America), lesser-known clubs such as Arsenal de Sarandi, Lanus and Banfield have won the league for the first time in their histories.
Both of the Buenos Aires clubs, along with Racing and Independiente (with the exception of the latter’s Copa Sudamericana win in 2010) suffer frequent failures on the pitch and have finished in the bottom half of the domestic table on multiple occasions.
While Boca has returned to prominence, defeating Racing in last year’s Copa Argentina Final (the country’s sole domestic cup) and winning the Apertura 2011, Argentina is now one of the most balanced domestic leagues in the world. Almost any club has a chance at the title every campaign.
Money has a way of winning in the end, and it is unlikely that richer clubs such as River Plate will struggle much longer, but for now it is beneficial for Argentine football.
There is nothing better than knowing anyone has a shot at the titleâ€"at least for supporters. And for now that parity exists in Argentina.