River Plate forward Lucas Alario (centre) scores against Sanfrecce Hiroshima during their Club World Cup semi-final in Osaka yesterday. (AFP)

Reuters/Osaka


South American champions River Plate overcame their anxiety to reach the Club World Cup final with a jittery 1-0 win over Sanfrecce Hiroshima yesterday, keeping alive the dream of a meeting with Barcelona. River did not really look like scoring until Hiroshima goalkeeper Takuto Hayashi failed to clear Leonardo Ponzio’s free kick and Alario headed home the loose ball in the 72nd minute. But goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero was the real hero as he kept the Argentine side in the game with a flurry of first-half saves.
River, backed by 15,000 fans who made the marathon trip in the hope of seeing their side meet Barcelona in the final, must now rely on the European champions to avoid a shock defeat against Asian counterparts Guangzhou Evergrande today. Hiroshima, who qualified for the tournament thanks to a rule which awards a place to the champions of the host nation, had knocked out Auckland City from Oceania and African champions TP Mazembe in a surprise run to the last four.
Although the Club World Cup is given scant regard in Europe, teams from South America regard it as the pinnacle of club football. They often struggle to beat supposedly lesser opponents in the semi-final when the prize of meeting a top European side is tantalisingly close.
River, whose supporters outnumbered the home fans by at least four to one, had plenty of early possession but struggled to create openings and looked very vulnerable to Hiroshima’s quick counter attacks led by Brazilian striker Douglas. The Argentines completely lost their shape midway through the first half but Baravero, one of several journeymen professionals in their team, came to the rescue.
The 31-year-old, who has never played for Argentina, did well to block Yusuke Minagawa’s shot after the Hiroshima forward got clear of the River defence. Minagawa, always a threat, failed to connect with a Douglas pass from another counter attack and then saw an effort brilliantly turned away by Barovero after getting free of two defenders. In between, Barovero also tipped over Yusuke Chajima’s effort after he cut inside a defender to make space for the shot. River had their first real chance just after halftime but Rodrigo Mora skied his shot over from close range.
The Argentines did not really look like scoring until Alario popped up with the winner late in the second half, sending the huge River contingent in the stadium wild with delight.River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo said they had lifted a huge burden from their shoulders by beating Sanfrecce Hiroshima and secure a potential dream meeting with Barcelona. The Argentines and South American champions have been tantalisingly close to a showdown with Europe’s top side Barcelona since winning the Libertadores Cup in August.
Yet they always knew that they would first have to negotiate a semi-final against supposedly lesser opponents. “We just had to get to the final, there was no other way,” he said after his side’s scrappy, nerve-ridden 1-0 win over a team who qualified as champions of the host nation.
“All these people came with this dream and we had to carry this responsibility, and this put us under enormous pressure. It is a liberation to get to the final that we wanted and now we can enjoy the moment.”
The European and South American champions enter the fray in the semi-finals of the competition when they are seeded not to meet each other.
No European team has failed to reach the final since the tournament began in its current form since 2005.
But South American teams have always found the semi-final to be a slog and two have lost their last four encounters—Internacional in 2010 and their fellow Brazilians Atletico Mineiro in 2013. “We just had to be intelligent, not lose our calm and not get desperate,” said Gallardo.
“This sort of responsibility doesn’t allow you to be uninhibited, especially against a very well organised team who hadn’t lost for a long time. It was a very, very dangerous game for us.”
“This is a moment of satisfaction to have reached the final,” added Gallardo, who has won both the Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana, the region’s equivalent of Europe’s second tier Europa League, in only 18 months in charge.