Just a year after being relegated from the Liga Nacional for the first time in their history, Argentina’s most domestically successful football club, River Plate, recovered their top flight status at the first time of asking on Saturday.

After enduring 363 days of footballing purgatory, the Nuñez-based club secured promotion and won the B Nacional title after beating Almirante Brown 2-0 in their final league game in a fevered Estadio Monumental with two goals from veteran French international striker David Trezeguet.

After the game, an emotional Matías Almeyda, completing a fine debut season as coach, said: “It was the hardest year in the club’s history. I cannot believe it, it is an immense joy … The psychological aspect and the togetherness of the group was instrumental at the end of the championship. River are worthy winners, each player contributing his part.” For his part, club president Daniel Passarella wrote an open letter to fans saying that: ‘Together we wake up from a collective nightmare’.

Partying River fans brought traffic in downtown Buenos Aires to a standstill as thousands congregated around the Obelisco to celebrate.

Renewal

After the trauma of relegation, River overhauled their coaching and playing staff in readiness for their trip into the unknown territory of ´La B´. Matías Almeyda, River’s one bright spot as the team’s midfield leader in their relegation season, retired from playing to take over the coaching reins from Juan José López, whose over-cautious tactics were blamed by many for the team’s demotion. Almeyda pledged to restore River’s traditional attacking style of play, living up to that promise by fielding three out and out forwards in many games.

On the playing side, expensively recruited loan signings Juan Pablo Carrizo and Mariano Pavone went back to their parent clubs, whilst their 19-year-old attacking prospect Erik Lamela was sold to AS Roma in Italy for €14 million to help reduce the club’s crippling debts of $250million.

In their stead Almeyda brought in two former River Plate fans’ favourites; striker Fernando Cavenaghi turned down a more lucrative offer from Brazil’s Internacional do Porto Alegre to rejoin his boyhood club, whilst fellow forward Alejandro ‘Chori’ Domínguez was repatriated from Valencia in Spain. Meanwhile the latest products of River’s much vaunted youth system, like Rogelio Funes Mori, Lucas Ocampos and Andrés Cirigliano, were given their chance in the first team.

Road Trip

After the comfort of playing the majority of their top flight games in the Greater Buenos Aires area, River also had to undertake a road trip taking them all round the interior of Argentina, from Puerto Madryn in the south to San Juan in the north-west and Corrientes in the north-east.

River were quick to adjust to their new surroundings in the B Nacional, winning their first three games before a 1-1 draw with Quilmes ended their 100% record. Two further draws were recorded as River fought tooth and nail with Instituto de Córdoba for top spot in the league table.

A hat-trick by Cavenaghi in the 7-1 demolition of Atlanta and his four goal salvo against Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy were the highlights of the first half of the season before the Millonarios started to wobble, drawing with Instituto and losing to Aldosivi, Atlético de Tucumán and Boca Unidos.

Two key signings made in the New Year transfer window for the second half of the season acted as the catalyst for River’s promotion charge. Argentine international Leonardo Ponzio added class and composure to the midfield, literally spilling blood for the cause as a haemorrhoidal fissure forced him to change his shorts four times in the penultimate home game with Boca Unidos. Meanwhile, the signing of French 1998 World Cup winning striker David Trezeguet, returning to the land of his forebears, added extra potency to the attack.

River’s season thus start gathering momentum as they put pressure on league leaders Instituto de Córdoba and Rosario Central, with Trezeguet made his mark scoring in the 3-0 win over Independiente de Rivadavia and the all- important home win over Instituto. As the season approached its close, a run of nervy draws against Aldosivi, Guillermo Brown and Rosario Central, and defeat in their penultimate match against Patronato – in which Chori Domínguez missed a penalty and begged for the forgiveness of River fans on Twitter – meant that their promotion challenge would go right to the wire.

Whilst battling for promotion, River were simultaneously making good progress, mostly with a reserve team, in the inaugural Copa Argentina. They reached the semi-final, where they were heartbreakingly eliminated by Racing Club de Avellaneda and denied a mouthwatering final encounter against their arch-rivals Boca Juniors.

One thing that the team had in the favour was the unwavering and fanatical support of their fans. At each ground they went to, from Puerto Madryn to Jujuy, the River following vastly outnumbered the home fans, whilst at home they sold more tickets in the second tier than Boca Juniors achieved in the top flight. After promotion was secured, Almeyda saluted the supporters, saying: “I want to thank the fans for their patience, and because they filled all the stadiums.”

River’s great challenge now will be to establish themselves once more at the top end of the first division table and secure qualification for the continental Copa de los Libertadores. It is no more than their long suffering supporters deserve.

Halfway through River Plate’s historic first season out of the top division and the world has not ended; people continue to go about their daily lives, and, whisper it, relegation might even have been a good thing for the club.

The confirmation of River’s demise in June was greeted with the kind of national mourning usually reserved for pop stars and revolutionary politicians. The fall of the Millonarios dominated headlines throughout the Copa América in July, to the delight of Boca Juniors fans.

But as the teams begin their summer break in the Primera B Nacional, River sit second, two points behind leaders Instituto de Córdoba. The top two clubs are promoted directly, so at this rate, they will be back in the Primera Divisíon next year. And what is more, they will probably be better equipped for the challenge after this little dalliance in the lower reaches, which has been a wake-up call for fans, players and officials alike.

That is not to say there have not been dark days in the last four months. By a strange twist of fate, the same weekend arch rivals Boca Juniors were lifting the Primera Divisíon title at La Bombanera, River were losing to another Boca, Boca Unidos, in front of just 12,500 people. It was a humbling defeat. And it has been a humbling half season for the Nuñez giants, spent in exile in the second flight of Argentine domestic football. But a bit of humility is not always a bad thing.

Along with the crude Photoshop efforts mocking River’s plight in the aftermath of their relegation was a video showing all of the terrible stadiums they would suffer the indignity of playing in during the forthcoming season. But the joke backfired. Thanks to River’s privileged status, the law banning visiting supporters from going to away games in the lower leagues (put in place after a fan was killed following a Tigre versus Nueva Chicago game in 2007), has been relaxed and a huge travelling contingent has revelled in following their team to new corners of the country.

Try telling the army of 3,000 odd fans who brought their white and red shirts to Puerto Madryn that they are living a nightmare. As well as watching River cuff Guillermo Brown 4-1, they might have had time to fit in a spot of whale watching. You don’t get that at any ground in the Primera. Days before the game it was estimated the city had already made well over a million pesos from the fixture, a benefit teams across the division have been realising. For the presidents of small, regional clubs, the visit of one of Argentine football’s two giants guarantees a full stadium for at least one fixture in the season.

The Millonarios’ arrival in the ‘B’ also forced a change in the televising of games in Argentina. Since August 2009, the state-funded Fútbol para Todos programme has shown all Primera División games, live, on free television. In a move reminiscent of 2009, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) cancelled the previous television contract for the Nacional B in August this year, adding the leage to the Fútbol para Todos line up. Since then, four games a week have been shown live on public television, one of which is always River.

It is safe to say that the Nuñez club’s fall has been cushioned more than other historic names relegated in the past. Rosario Central, for example, had no such special treatment when they went down in 2010, despite their club president campaigning to let away fans into their stadium, the Gigante de Arroyito. But River have made the most of this advantage and assembled the best team than they have had for the last few years.

Their relegation was down to a lack of heart from the players as much as a lack of talent, but Matías Almeyda went against the grain. A River legend who returned to something like his best as he played his twilight years for the club, he almost kept them up single-handedly. But with relegation confirmed he hung up his boots and was appointed coach, a move that seemed risky at the time due to his lack of experience, but now makes sense.

River effectively closed ranks, relying only on people whose loyalty could not be questioned. As well as a seemingly endless supply line of promising youth players, some former Millonario heroes have flown in to the rescue. Alejandro “El Chori” Dominguez arrived on loan from Valencia to take up the number 10 spot vacated by Erik Lamela, who was sold to Roma. Most notably, Fernando Cavenaghi joined from Bourdeaux. The man who made his name as a goalscorer with River has been their outstanding player this season, with a goal tally already in double figures.

Midfielder Carlos Sánchez, who excelled for Godoy Cruz, has been another great signing and further reinforcements could be on their way as the January transfer window approaches. Former France international David Trezeguet, whose move to El Monumental is in the process of being completed, looks set to be the first big-name signing. The striker grew up in Buenos Aires and could make the ideal partner for Cavenaghi. Racing Club’s talented Colombian Teófilo Gutiérrez has also been mentioned, but with River still in financial dire straits the books have to be balanced. That could mean the departure of two of their up-and-coming stars, centre-back Jonathan Maidana and forward Lucas Ocampos.

Whatever happens over the summer, the depth and quality of their squad makes River favourites for an immediate return to the top flight. And just how far they have progressed could be tested in the superclásicos de verano, two Boca-River games played each summer at neutral venues.

Arguments continue to rage about whether the matches will go ahead, with Almeyda claiming that there is not sufficient security to hold the games in Argentina. But as things stand the eternal rivals will meet on 25th January in Chaco and again on 29th January in Mendoza. The term pre-season friendly could not be less appropriate for what will be two incendiary fixtures. But win, lose, or draw, River are heading in the right direction, no matter what Boca fans will tell you.