Platense’s ‘brothers’ target play-off glory after eliminating River

Everybody loves a good football underdog story. And as stories go, they don't get much better than Platense's current adventure in the Liga Profesional de Fútbol. The venerable Saavedra institution has already sprung two big surprises this year and will be going for number three this weekend in the semi-finals of the play-offs.

The Calamar (“Squid”) had already given fair warning of what to expect as they cruised into the knockout stages of this convoluted league competition. Drilled impeccably by the curious coaching duo of Sergio Gómez and Favio Orsi, a unique setup in the Argentine top flight, Platense did not set the Liga on fire, sneaking into the play-offs with the 13th-best record in the league, but they did prove incredibly difficult to keep down. With a miserly 11 goals conceded over the course of the first phase they boasted one of the toughest defences in the country, and their twin giantkillings in the last 16 and quarters have confirmed that reputation as a team which is confoundingly difficult to break down.

Platense's first victory could have been put down to a fluke. Gómez and Orsi's charges grabbed hold of Racing Club fresh off a taxing trip to face Colombia's Bucaramanga in the Libertadores and took full advantage in shutting out arguably the most lethal attack in Argentine football while a late header from substitute Nicolás Orsini sealed a famous away victory in Avellaneda. Surely, though, against mighty River Plate under the bright lights of the Monumental, logic would assert itself and the Platense adventure would come to an end. No, the Squid would prove a rather more slippery customer for the aristocrats of nearby Núñez.

The capacity Monumental crowd was stunned into silence near the half-four when Vicente Taborda – in a rare bit of cheer for Boca fans, a loanee from the struggling Xeneize – opened the scoring with a slick close-range finish. Platense then battened down the hatches, absorbing everything River could throw at them and throwing it back. Goalkeeper Juan Pablo Cozzoni, another unheralded hero who got his first taste of top-flight football only last year, repeated his Racing heroics to keep another of the big five firmly at bay.

Then, right at the death, it looked as though River would scrape through. Amid a chaotic end to the match in which referee Yael Falcón Pérez appeared to lose control entirely, Miguel Borja was fouled in the box and wonderkid Franco Mastontuono stepped up to convert a 102nd-minute penalty. Still, Platense were not fazed, even when Juan Saborido saw his effort saved to give the Millonario the advantage. Kevin Castaño hit the woodwork and Cozzoni stopped Sebastián Driussi's kick, leaving Ignacio Vázquez to tuck away his own kick and clinch the game for the away team.

Orsi and Gómez could be found in the thick of celebrations as the Monumental stands quickly thinned out, marking the latest feat in what has been a remarkable story. The pair, both journeyman lower league players whose careers fizzled out early, started coaching together in the Primera C Metropolitana at the helm of Fénix over a decade ago. They have been together ever since, moving from club to club, sometimes with more success, sometimes less, but always on an upward trajectory thanks to their reputation for solid, no-nonsense football. The responsibilities of managing a top-flight football club are shared, though Gómez is usually the visible face of the duo handling press obligations; it was he that explained the unique dynamic of their relationship and how it came about.

“It is a lot easier than it looks, it's one of those coincidences fate throws at you,” he explained to TyC Sports in a recent interview. “Favio was like a big brother to me, I wasn't in great shape financially and he helped me a lot with that. You can't choose family, but you can choose your brothers in life. He is like a brother to me.”

The 'brothers' will be hoping the magic holds a little longer as they seek Platense's first-ever league title. Next up is San Lorenzo, on a high after their own agonising shootout win over Argentinos and a team that, with a tough defence and their own us-against-the-world mentality, have more in common with the Calamar than they may like to admit in 2025. Even so, they are another Grande, and Platense will be champing at the bit for the chance to knock another big boy out of this Liga and moving on to a potential final against Independiente or Huracán at the start of June.