This Sunday, Boca Juniors and River Plate will face off in a new Superclásico, and Marcelo Gallardo will seek to change the 'Millonario's' fortunes at La Bombonera. On his return to the club, the 'Muñeco' once again wrote a golden page by defeating Boca 1-0 on September 21, 2024, with a goal from Manuel Lanzini. That victory made him one of River's most winning coaches at the 'Xeneize's' stadium, surpassed only by José María Minella and Ángel Labruna, who achieved five wins each. During his first tenure, he also secured a victory at La Bombonera in May 2017, when River won 3-1 with goals from Gonzalo Martínez, Lucas Pratto, and Sebastián Driussi. This year, Gallardo has already triumphed over the 'Xeneize', winning 2-1 at the Monumental stadium with goals from Franco Mastantuono and Driussi, while Miguel Merentiel had temporarily equalized for the visitors. The 'Muñeco' has led 13 Superclásicos at La Bombonera, winning three times, drawing seven, and losing three. In turn, River has eliminated its classic rival in many head-to-head encounters: in the 2014 Copa Sudamericana, the 2015 Copa Libertadores, the unforgettable 2018 final in Madrid, and the 2019 semifinal. Thus, Gallardo will face Claudio Úbeda for the first time, as previously, on the 'Xeneize' bench, he has faced Rodolfo Arruabarrena, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Gustavo Alfaro, Miguel Ángel Russo, Sebastián Battaglia, Hugo Ibarra, Diego Martínez, and Fernando Gago. Boca Juniors and River Plate will meet in a new Superclásico this Sunday at 4:30 PM as part of the fifteenth round of the Clausura Tournament at La Bombonera. For Boca, Fernando Gago had scored. A year later, in September 2018, he repeated the feat with a 2-0 thanks to the goals of 'Pity' Martínez and Ignacio Scocco.
