u/DiamondPittcairn

All figures in US$. Pay packet from Mineiro unconfirmed as of now, same as his most recent one with Talleres (not officially out yet)

River is currently last in their group in the Clausura 2026 after losing 3 straight matches without scoring. Also out in the local cup after losing to relegation-battlers Aldosivi. Also lost the Final of the last Apertura 2026.

Salient transfers in 2025:

Kevin Castaño: US$ 16M

Sebastián Driussi: US$ 11M

Maximiliano Salas: US$9.5M

2026:

Thiago Almada: US$24M

Ángel Correa: US$15M

3 straight losses at the start of the Clausura + loss in Copa Argentina + loss in the Apertura final vs Belgrano.

River also has the worst opening of a tournament (3 losses in 3 matches) since 1994. They also haven't scored any goals yet (3 0-1 losses).

I love him so so much.

Argentina and England, England and Argentina, are going to play the 2nd semifinal of the 2026 World Cup. The winner will play Spain, the loser will play France. These are facts.

But beyond the cold and objective reality, there exists a very powerful universe of symbolism, of encounters, of charged energies and passionate sentiments that make this match a very special one.

Argentina and England are, and I'm not afraid of being boastful here, the two most influential football nations in their respective languages and spheres of interest. By history, by tradition, by exports, by the past and the present.

I'll try to do my best to explain the inextricable link between these great nations on these foolish lines.

#It was their fate to live a strange time

Football in Argentina was born thanks to the british. There's no two ways about it. I'll let wikipedia explain this part since it does a better job than I could ever hope.

"By 1867, there was a large British community in Buenos Aires. Most of them had established themselves in Argentina coming from the United Kingdom as managers and workers of the British-owned railway companies that operated in Argentina. British citizens founded social and sports clubs where they could practise their sports, such as bowls, cricket, football, golf, horse riding, rugby union and tennis amongst others.

Two English immigrants, Thomas and James Hogg, organized a meeting on 9 May 1867 in Buenos Aires where the Buenos Aires Football Club was founded. The club was given permission by the Buenos Aires Cricket Club to make use of the cricket field in Parque Tres de Febrero, Palermo, Buenos Aires, on the site now occupied by the Galileo Galilei planetarium. The first recorded football match in Argentina took place on this pitch on 20 June 1867, being covered by English language daily newspaper The Standard. This newspaper, published in Argentina, was the first one to cover football matches in the country. That first match, originally scheduled for May 25 in La Boca, had to be postponed due to bad weather.

Towards the end of the 19th century, the game became increasingly popular amongst other European immigrants, especially Italians.

British football clubs tours of South America contributed to the spread and development of football in Argentina during the first years of the 20th century. The first club to tour the country was Southampton F.C. in 1904, who were captained by George Molyneaux. They beat the Buenos Aires High School Alumni team 3-0 with Molyneaux remarking on 'how far the Argentines were ahead of their European counterparts in France and Denmark.' Several other teams came afterwards (mainly from England although some Scottish clubs also visited South America), until 1929 with Chelsea F.C. being the last team to tour."

In 1891 the first attempt at an organized league system is established, though it was abandoned a year later. Then, in 1893, a scottish immigrant by the name of Alexander (Alejandro) Watson Hutton founded the definitive "Argentine Association Football League", predecesor to the current AFA. This league, our league, has the honor of being the second league ever founded outside the british isles behind Eredivisie, and the first outside Europe. The first board of the AAFL was as follows:

President: Alexander Watson Hutton

Vicepresident: B. Guy

Treasurer: F. Webb

Secretary: A. Lamont

Members: F. Syngleton, W. Reynolds, E. Morgan, G. Bridges, W. Rudd y B. Syers.

As we see, not a López or Hernández in sight.

In the beginning, football was an elite sport, played only by the highest elite, ie, the british immigrants, and channeled through their own british schools founded for these purposes.

As time passed the british direct influence waned, given that the railways that they were here to built were mostly done, and the sport was more and more adopted by a different kind of immigrant, the poor europeans of Spain and Italy (mostly) that had come to Argentina at the turn of the century in search of greener pastures.

But still their indirect influence remained, and remains to this day. In our names (River Plate, Newell's, Quilmes Athletic Club...), in our positions (centrojás-centerhalf, el win-wings...), even in our style (the passing style we're known for was imported on the 10s and 20s by those who had seen the advances of the english passing game).

While after the 1920s argentinian football evolved and took a flavor of it's own, it's indubitable that, all in all, it owes a lot to the brits.

#Somewhere down in those too-famous islands

Of course, the Malvinas/Falkland problem permeates any discussion you might have of the relationship between the nations, in any field it might happen. I'm not here to litigate this issue because it's not my place and it's not the place, but it's everpresent.

Even after all that have been said, and all that seemingly Argentina owes England, matches between the two have always been extremely emotionally charged.

Argentina were the first team other than Scotland to play England at Wembley Stadium in 1951 when the inaugural full international match between the sides ended with a 2–1 victory for England. Their first meet in a world cup happened in 1962, with England winning 3-1. In 1966 they met again, in the quarterfinals with England again winning, 1-0 this time, after some considerably controversial decisions of the match officials. Says wiki:

The game, however, was particularly noted for the sending off of Argentina captain Antonio Rattín after receiving his second caution of the game. The Argentines considered the second caution to be unfair, including Rattín himself, who had to be escorted from the pitch by police as he refused to leave the pitch. Rattín was cautioned at the start of the match for a lunge on Bobby Charlton. Rattín then fouled Geoff Hurst and received another caution (the use of yellow/red cards would not be adopted until the next World Cup in Mexico) for arguing with the referee for a teammate's foul.

It was reported in Argentina that the West German referee, Rudolf Kreitlein, said that he had sent off Rattín because he did not like how he had looked at him, while British newspapers cited the official as having given the reason as "violence of the tongue", despite the referee speaking no Spanish. Rattín's intention appeared to have been to speak with the German referee, as according to the Argentines, he was ruling in favour of the English team. Rattín made a visible signal showing his captain's armband and intention to call a translator.

Ken Aston, the English supervisor of referees, entered the field to try to persuade Rattín to leave, but he only exacerbated the situation since the Latin American teams had already suspected that the English and Germans were collaborating to eliminate them from the competition. After his dismissal, Rattín scrunched the corner flag (featuring the Union Jack) with his hand before finally sitting down on the ground. After the match, England manager Alf Ramsey refused to allow his players to swap shirts with the Argentines (as is traditional after the conclusion of a major football match) and later described the South Americans as "animals" in the press. The Argentine press and public were outraged, and one Argentine newspaper published a picture of the official World Cup mascot, World Cup Willie, dressed in pirate regalia to demonstrate their opinion of the England team.

After 3 friendlies in 1974, 1977, and 1980, they wouldn't meet again in a World Cup until the quarterfinals in 1986, in a match that has already had a lot written about it so I won't add any more uncalled nonsense. All football fans know how that went, and what it meant, and why it meant what it meant.

In 1998 they met in the Ro16, and Argentina advanced thanks a very hard fought win on penalties after a 2-2 at full time (that match of the infamous Beckham red card). In 2002, England won 1-0 on the group stage, a key factor of Argentina's failure that WC of advacing to the knockouts. After a friendly in 2005 that ended 3-2 for England, the two haven't met again. Until now.

#They could have been friends

Of course, current geopolitics and capitalistic trends indicate that some countries can't stay mad against other countries for very much. If in 1982 at the eve of the war there were two argentine players, Ricky Villa and Ossie Ardiles, that were playing for Tottenham and got caught in the middle of a very stupid conflict, these days argentines playing in the Premier League is a very normal thing and naught but the most recalcitrant brit surely has a problem with it. Of the current squad, Dibu Martínez, Romero, Lisando Martínez, Senesi, MacAllister, Enzo Fernández are playing in the PL, and Julián Álvarez has a very recent past there. They speak english (some... more than others), they have english friends, eat english foods (oh dear), and are supported by english fans. Tensions between nations obviously exist, and scars are hard to heal. Argentine fans still chant "el que no salta es un inglés. Love between these sides was never on the table.

But how silly it is to have so much in common and yet live so far apart.

---

Juan Lopez and John Ward - Jorge Luis Borges, 1982

It was their fate to live a strange time.

The planet had been partitioned into different countries, each armed with loyalties, cherished memories, and an unquestionably heroic past; with laws, grievances, and their own peculiar mythologies; with bronze busts of great men, anniversaries, demagogues, and symbols. This division, the labor of cartographers, was good for starting wars.

Lopez was born in the city by the motionless river; Ward, in the outskirts of the city once walked by Father Brown. He had studied Spanish in order to read Don Quixote.

The other professed a love of Conrad, who had been revealed to him in a classroom on Viamonte street.

They could have been friends, but they only saw each other once, face-to-face, somewhere down in those too-famous islands, and each of them was Cain, each Abel.

They were buried together. The snow and corruption know them.

These events took place in an age we cannot understand.

He did his ACL in Feb 2025 and was sidelined 292 days. And he's having a great WC so far. Best argentine player today.