Wonderkid Factories: River Plate
We're finally getting away from our French focus this week with our next instalment of wonderkid factories, by taking a look at one of the biggest clubs in Argentina, River Plate.
The club has been around for 120 years and is one of the most prestigious in South America let alone Argentina. Los Millonarios have won 36 top flight titles, 3 Copa Argentina's and 4 Copa Libertadores establishing themselves as a household name worldwide.
River were formed in 1901 near the La Boca neighbourhood of Buenos Aires (later home of their fiercest rivals) but eventually settled on their name from the English name for the area they played in, the Rio de la Plata.
They gained their nickname of Los Millonarios after they signed two players for large fees in the early 1930's and prompted lots of distasteful comments from their rivals Boca Juniors.
River's rivalry with their Buenos Aires counterparts is one of the most intense in world football making the Superclasico derby a must watch game for all football fans. In fact Boca and River are so big in Argentina, it is estimated that over half the country's population supports one of the two clubs.
However, despite their global status, La Banda have never been able to draw on huge amounts of wealth from Argentinian football. For that reason, River have always produced plenty of homegrown talent to bulk out their squad.
The earliest and possibly most famous alum of Los Millonarios' academy is the legendary Alfredo Di Stefano. Whilst he made his mark in Buenos Aires, he is most well known for his time with Real Madrid where he became one of the clubs greatest ever players. After his death in 2014, his coffin was placed on public display inside the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
The list of brilliant players doesn't stop with Di Stefano though, since then the club has pumped more than a few stars who would go on to great success in European football and represent Argentina at the highest level.
River attempt to instil their youngsters with the club's three G's policy- Ganar, Gustar y Golear (Win, Enjoy and Thrash). For that reason, they produce technically efficient players who are comfortable on the ball and have very high football IQ's.
To demonstrate that River can back up their talk about talented home grown talent, here are some of the players that have come through the ranks for La Banda- Pablo Aimar, Hernan Crespo, Martin Demichelis, Radamel Falcao, Gonzalo Higuain, Erik Lamela, Javier Mascherano, Manuel Lanzini, Mateo Musacchio and Javier Saviola.
As always though we'll take a look at a few players who we think could join that illustrious list of talent above.
Tomas Lecanda (Centre Back)
Lecanda is the youngest player on this list at only 19 and the least experienced. He only made his league debut a few days ago with a very brief appearance off the bench against Banfield but has plenty of potential to become a regular at the heart of River's defence.
Enzo Fernandez (Defensive Midfield)
Fernandez may only be 20 but is already very important to River and helps in anchoring the midfield. A loan spell at fellow Argentinian side Defensa last campaign really helped his development and this season he's made 29 appearances in all competitions for Los Millonarios, even chipping in with a goal and three assists.
Julian Alvarez (Striker)
The most highly touted player on the list and one that's gathering a lot of interest from top European clubs, Alvarez appears to be a can't miss prospect. He was courted by Real Madrid as a child but La Liga wouldn't allow the transfer to go through so Julian stayed at River. This year, the 21-year-old has 11 goals and 11 assists in all competitions and has been directly involved in a goal every 74 minutes. Keep your eye out for this man.
https://jobs4football.com/ac-milan-join-the-race-for-river-plates-hot-prospect-julian-alvarez/
