ALL RIVER’S WINS IN BRAZIL
The history shows a tough road for River Plate in Brazilian soil, with early trips often ending in uphill battles. At the outset, River faced a string of defeats in the neighbor country, a pattern that persisted until a turning point came during the Marcelo Gallardo era. Martín Demichelis’ first visit to Brazil ended in a narrow, painful victory, signaling a shift in the team’s fortunes on the continental stage.
Across fifty or so appearances in Brazil against Brazilian clubs, the balance sheet remained challenging for River. The club collected a little more than a quarter of available points in these visits, recording nine victories, thirteen draws, and twenty-seven losses. In terms of goals, River tallied forty-six while conceding seventy-nine. The most recent trip to Brazil brought a 1-5 defeat to Fluminense in the 2023 Copa Libertadores group stage.
River’s first triumph on Brazilian soil came in 1997 when Ramón Díaz’s squad defeated Vasco da Gama 2–0 in the South American Super Cup. Marcelo Salas and Gallardo supplied the goals, a match that ended early after a crowd incident involving the linesman. A year later, in the Mercosur Cup group stage, River beat Guild 3–2 thanks to doubles by Juan Antonio Pizzi and Santiago Solari.
During the years with America Gallego on the bench, River posted two 2–1 wins over Flamengo in the Mercosur Cup of 2000, first in the group phase and again in the quarterfinals’ second leg. They also defeated Corinthians twice in the Libertadores round of 16, first in 2003 with the Chilean pelletini at the helm and goals from Demichelis and Bichi Fuertes, and again in 2006 with Passarelle directing and Gonzalo Higuaín scoring twice.
What were the notable Brazilian triumphs? The victories over Cruzeiro in 2015 and Gremio in 2018 stand out, as does a 2–0 win against Palmeiras that kept momentum alive in the 2020 semi-final first leg after a 0–3 deficit in the initial leg. There was also a celebrated penalty shootout result against Cruzeiro in 2019, despite a goalless draw that felt like a victory in spirit.