Club Atlético River Plate (Montevideo)

River Plate de Montevideo is the result of the merger of former clubs Olimpia and Capurro. After its foundation on 11 May 1932,[3] one of the first objectives reached was the settlement of a new football pitch.[1] The managers decided to establish the "Olimpia Park" (today called Estadio Saroldi) as its home stadium. The name of the stadium was settled in honour of River's first goalkeeper, Federico Omar Saroldi, who died after playing a match against Central Español from an injury suffered during the game.[1]

During the early years (from 1932 until 1942) some of the greatest players in Uruguay's history played in River Plate, such as Severino Varela and Héctor Sena Puricelli. Before Olimpia and Capurro were merged, Isabelino Gradín, who can be considered the first Uruguayan football star, played for the Olimpia side.[1]

River Plate's highest league position was reached in 1992. Osvaldo Canobbio, Juan Ramón Carrasco, Diego López and Edgardo Adinolfi were involved in the squad with Víctor Púa as coach. Nacional won the title based on the skills of the notable forward Julio Dely Valdés. In 1997 River Plate reached third overall position, just three points from Peñarol and Defensor Sporting who qualified for the finals. By those times, River Plate was coached by Fernando Morena. Some of the best River Plate's players were raised in that generation, such as Hernán Rodrigo López, Pablo Gaglianone and Gustavo Díaz.[4]

Another great performance was reached in 2007/2008 season, which resulted in River achieving the second position in the annual qualifying; by those years River was coached by Juan Ramón Carrasco. Some of the best players of the tournament were part of that roster: Robert Flores was considered the best player of the season, other key figures such as Pablo Tiscornia, Henry Giménez, Mauricio Prieto, Bruno Montelongo and goalkeeper Álvaro García were also part of the first roster. Some of the most important victories during the tournament were against Peñarol (6–3), Defensor Sporting (5–1) and Danubio (5–1). The highest score registered was against Rampla Juniors (7–0).

River Plate played semifinals in 2009 Copa Sudamericana, which was the best result achieved in an international competition. Coached by Juan Ramón Carrasco, River Plate eliminated Vitória in the round of 16, San Lorenzo in quarterfinals and lost against LDU Quito, reaching the top four. Only Danubio and Defensor Sporting, among the so-called "minor" Uruguayan clubs, have reached the semifinals of an international CONMEBOL competition.

River Plate Montevideo playing against Palmeiras for Copa Libertadores 2016

River Plate was coached by Guillermo Almada between April 2011 and June 2015. During those years River Plate positioned among the top six almost every season, qualifying for CONMEBOL official tournaments. Some key important players in those years were: Michael Santos, Cristian González, Damián Frascarelli, Leandro Rodríguez, Cristian Techera, Gabriel Marques, Gabriel Leyes, Gonzalo Porras, Felipe Avenatti, Lucas Olaza, Sebastián Taborda among others. The highest point of this process was reached after qualifying for the 2016 Copa Libertadores, the first time in club's history. They were drawn in group B along with Rosario Central, Palmeiras, and fellow Uruguayans Club Nacional. They drew 3 games, earning 3 points, and ended in last place of the group. After Guillermo Almada joined Barcelona SC, since June 2015 until September 2016, Juan Ramón Carrasco was the coach of the first roster with disastrous results (a very different situation from his first campaign). After Pablo Tiscornia and Jorge Giordano, Jorge Fossati took over as manager, in June 2019 until April 2021. Since then, Gustavo Díaz is being in charge of the first squad. [5]

A view of Saroldi's pitch from the visitors' entrance

River Plate usually play their home games at Estadio Saroldi, which is located in Montevideo's Prado neighborhood (western side of the city), has a capacity of 6000 spectators and one of the best pitches in the league. The stadium was originally named "Olimpia Park", as it was Club Atlético Olimpia's home ground. After joining Olimpia and Capurro, and the unfortunate death of goalkeeper Federico Omar Saroldi (one of the first River's goalkeepers), the stadium was renamed in honor of the said keeper.

Located in the neighborhood of Villa Colón (northwest of Montevideo), these facilities are used to train both the first-team squad's as the youth squads. This sports complex has six football pitches, first-division team's base camp, locker rooms, dormitories, fitness centers, and health services. It's considered one of the best equipped training camps in the country, and was inaugurated in August 1999.

As of Apr 11, 2022

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  URU Salvador Ichazo 2 DF  URU José Aja 3 DF  URU Santiago Brunelli 4 DF  URU Horacio Salaberry 5 MF  URU Tiago Galletto 6 MF  URU Matías Alfonso 7 MF  URU Matías Ocampo 8 MF  URU Juan Pablo Plada 9 FW  URU Thiago Borbas 10 MF  URU Gonzalo Nápoli 11 MF  URU Gonzalo Castro 12 GK  URU José Arbio 13 DF  URU Agustín Chopitea 14 DF  URU Pablo López 15 DF  ARG Roque Ramírez 16 DF  URU Maxi Pereira

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 MF  URU Marcos Montiel 18 FW  URU Mauricio Affonso 19 FW  URU Joaquín Lavega 20 MF  ITA Nicolás Fonseca 21 FW  URU Jonathan Urretavizcaya 22 DF  URU Santiago Pérez 23 FW  URU Nicolás Sosa 24 MF  URU Pablo González 25 GK  URU Fabrizio Correa 26 DF  URU Robert Herrera 29 MF  URU Facundo Vigo 30 FW  URU Adrián Leites 31 FW  URU Juan Cruz de los Santos 32 MF  URU Valentín Adamo 37 DF  PAR Walter Clar

• Segunda División (6): 1943, 1967, 1978, 1984, 1991, 2004
• Torneo Preparación (1): 2012
• Copa Integración (1): 2012

• Copa Aerosur Internacional (1): 2010