Platense were crowned champions of the 2025 Apertura after beating Huracán 1–0 in Sunday’s final, held at the Estadio Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero, in the north of the country.
Guido Mainero scored the winner in the 63rd minute to seal a historic victory for the Calamar, who celebrated the first top-flight title in their 120-year history.
As expected, Huracán and Platense produced a scrappy opening, with constant midfield battles, little fluid play and numerous fouls. There were occasional forays into the box, mostly from set pieces or individual efforts rather than collective moves.
Urzi had the first real chance for el Globo with a left-footed strike that flew just over the bar in the eighth minute. Platense replied a few minutes later through a high free-kick from Taborda.
Paraguayan forward Ronaldo Martínez occasionally managed to pull the strings in the Calamar attack, but the side lacked real penetration. Their best chances came from dead balls, including a free-kick headed goalwards by Leonel Picco that forced a superb diving save from Ecuadorian goalkeeper Galíndez.
Silva nearly surprised with a curling left-footer that drifted wide, and just before half-time, Mazzanti broke down the right but couldn’t find a team-mate in the six-yard box.
Century-long wait ends
Caution dominated the start of the second half, which offered even less entertainment than the first. It looked as though the deadlock would only be broken by an error or a moment of brilliance.
The moment finally came in the 63rd minute. A cross-field free-kick was nodded down by captain Vázquez from the right-hand edge of the box into the path of Mainero, who had time to control and unleash a pinpoint left-footed strike into the top-right corner, beyond Galíndez’s reach.
Huracán manager Frank Kudelka made several changes to inject life into his attack, but the Globo never recovered from the goal and struggled to break down a dogged Platense backline. The winners didn’t have to sit too deep and even came close to a second when Picco fired a long-range effort just over the bar.
At full-time, Platense erupted in celebration at the end of a century-long wait, finally adding their name to the list of national football champions. It was a deserved and unarguable triumph for a modest squad that made history.
Platense had only finished sixth in their group during the regular stage but came alive in the knockout rounds. They beat giants Racing (1-0), River (1-1, winning 4-2 on penalties) and San Lorenzo (1-0) before the final win over Huracán – a dramatic run in which they conceded just once in four do-or-die matches.
Now champions for the first time, Platense will also make their debut in the Copa Libertadores next year – their first ever international campaign – rounding off a truly unforgettable and historic half-season.
Line-ups:
Huracán: Hernán Galíndez – Tomás Guidara (Hernán de la Fuente, 71), Fabio Pereyra, Marco Pellegrino (Ramón Ábila, 82), César Ibáñez – Leonel Pérez (Matías Tissera, 71), Leonardo Gil – Walter Mazzanti, Matko Miljevic, Agustín Urzi (Gabriel Alanís, 58) – Eric Ramírez (Leonardo Sequeira, 46). Manager: Frank Kudelka.
Platense: Juan Pablo Cozzani – Juan Ignacio Saborido, Ignacio Vázquez, Oscar Salomón, Tomás Silva (Edgar Elizalde, 50) – Leonel Picco, Rodrigo Herrera (Fernando Juárez, 86) – Guido Mainero, Ronaldo Martínez (Nicolás Orsini, 86), Vicente Taborda (Franco Zapiola, 82) – Augusto Lotti (Ignacio Schor, 46). Managers: Favio Orsi and Sergio Gómez.
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