Eduardo Coudet makes impressive start at River Plate

Wednesday night found River Plate in unfamiliar territory. The Millonario are no strangers to away days in Bolivia, having made the trip to the neighbouring nation multiple times in continental competition. What made this game against Blooming unusual was the name of the tournament.

River are competing in the Copa Sudamericana for the first time since winning it back in 2014 in Marcelo Gallardo’s first year in charge, a title which kickstarted one of the greatest coaching tenures in club history. Their re-entry this season having failed to reach the Copa Libertadores, in one of those neat symmetries football likes to throw at us from time to time, was one of the main reasons why Gallardo’s second tenure ended in March. Now, his replacement would love to launch a dynasty of his own using the Sudamericana once again as the launching pad.

First impressions are overwhelmingly positive for Eduardo Coudet. Going into the Blooming clash River had won each of the four games ‘Chacho’ had overseen from the bench, scoring nine and conceding just once. For those counting that is better than either Gallardo or indeed club legend Ramón Díaz managed upon first taking the reins and the best start River has seen from a coach since Reinaldo Merlo in 1989. That run ended on Wednesday as the Millonario were held 1-1, but they will not be too upset under the circumstances: Chacho’s men were reduced to 10 men from the fifth minute onwards after Lucas Martínez Quarta picked up a red card and still toughed out a draw in Bolivia to begin their Sudamericana campaign.

Just as important as the results has been the change in dynamic. Coudet is known for his intense, possession-based football that mirrors the manic energy he projects from the sidelines, and it is impressive just how quickly he has instilled that on a River team that looked to be merely going through the motions for long spells under Gallardo and his predecessor Martín Demichelis. That has not come without casualties. Juan Fernando Quintero’s seemingly permanent relegation to the bench is a tough pill to swallow for all of us who adore his languid genius and exquisite left foot but it appears a necessary sacrifice in order to whip River back into shape.

In the Colombian’s absence, young ace Ian Subiabre has stepped in and flourished, having bounced around the edges of Gallardo’s plans for most of the last 18 months. And while the midfield duo of Aníbal Moreno and Fausto Vera was expected to be formidable when they were signed over the summer, it is under Chacho that they have finally found their stride – while out wide Tomás Galván is making such an impact that the inevitable links to top European sides have already started pouring in with a vengeance.

Perhaps the toughest test yet of the nascent Chacho era looms on Sunday. Coudet and River visit Racing Club, a team that knows the bubbly trainer all too well after his successful stint in 2018-2019 that saw La Academia lift the then-Super Liga, the club’s last league title to date. Racing were Coudet’s last Argentine job before he embarked on a journey which took him to multiple clubs in Brazil and Spain and he is guaranteed two things at this reunion: a warm reception from the Cilindro crowd who remember him fondly, and an extremely tough 90 minutes to follow against a team still hurting from last week’s clásico reverse to Independiente.

Even if River’s perfect streak under Coudet comes to an end, the coach will be playing the long game. A strong run in the Liga Profesional play-offs in a few weeks and a long stay in this year’s Sudamericana, with the crown itself the ultimate goal. After all, as Gallardo showed more than a decade ago, even South America’s second-tier competition can be a handy place to start when it comes to building a formidable trophy-winning machine.