Belgrano beats River to secure greatest achievement in club history

Belgrano de Córdoba secured the first top division title of its history on Sunday by beating River Plate 3-2 in the final of the 2026 Torneo Apertura, the season’s first domestic title decider. 

The game was a rollercoaster ride of emotions for both teams, with a nerve-breaking finale where Belgrano scored two goals during the last minutes, turning round a 1-2 lose into a 3-2 win.

The Cordoba team came out determined from the start and pressed high, with Lucas Zelarayán as the driving force in attack, but River found some breathing room in the 17th minute through a combination between Tomás Galván and Facundo Colidio: Galván broke down the left flank, got past Rigoni—who overcommitted—and crossed for Colidio to tap in unmarked in front of Thiago Cardozo’s goal. It was 1-0 for the Millonario.

The lead lasted barely eight minutes. In the 25th minute, Zelarayán delivered a corner from the left and Leonardo Morales rose highest at the near post and headed home with no chance for Beltrán. The 1-1 restored balance to the match.

Fourteen minutes into the second half, Colidio drove through the middle, drew defenders, and slipped the ball to Galván, who carried it forward and finished across goal with his left foot to make it 2-1. River Plate was back in front and seemed to be managing the result on their way to the title.

Towards the end of the game, with the match slipping away, in the 39th minute of the second half, a shot by Uvita Fernández struck Lautaro Rivero’s arm inside the box. Referee Yael Falcón Pérez was called by VAR, reviewed the play, and awarded a penalty. Belgrano reached 2-2.

Three minutes later, Uvita Fernández volleyed a ball for Belgrano’s historical 3-2 lead.

The match was played at Córdoba’s Mario Alberto Kempes Stadium on Sunday, with more than 50,000 fans in attendance for a matchup few would have predicted at the beginning of the season but one that reflects the shifting landscape of Argentine football.

For Belgrano, the win is the greatest sporting achievement in the club’s history, earned against the one Argentine football giant it has a singular history with.

A match with a backstory

The final game of the Torneo Apertura had additional spice due to the particular history Belgrano de Córdoba and River Plate share. 

The two teams are bound together by what is undoubtedly the lowest point in River Plate history: Belgrano was the team that sent them to relegation for the first time since the club’s founding in 1909.

The match that eventually sent River to the second division was played on June 26, 2011 in the Monumental Stadium. The two were playing the second leg of a playoff series that would either promote Belgrano (playing in the second division at the time) to the Primera División or send River to the Primera B Nacional.

The two teams arrived at the match after having tied the first leg in Córdoba 1-1. Belgrano ended up winning 2-0 in regulation time, with a global score of 3-1.

The result, which sent shockwaves through River Plate and Argentine football, made global headlines. Coach Juan José López resigned after the game, and the fans rioted inside the stadium and on the streets surrounding the venue. 

At the time, River was one of only three teams — together with Boca Juniors and Independiente de Avellaneda — that had never been sent to relegation since the dawn of professional football in 1931. 

River would only end up playing one campaign in the Primera B Nacional (2011-2012), winning the championship with 73 points to punch its ticket back to the top division. In 2013, Independiente would also be relegated, leaving the Xeneize as the sole team in Argentine football to never drop out of the top division in 95 years.

Cover picture credit AFA social media

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المصدر: Buenos Aires Herald