Arturo “The King” Vidal Looks to Spoil River Plate’s Party at the Monumental

This Tuesday, Buenos Aires will host the showdown between Argentina’s River Plate and Chile’s Colo Colo, as "The King" Arturo Vidal and his squad attempt to storm the fortress guarded by the legendary Marcelo Gallardo, who has surpassed 100 games as a coach in the Copa Libertadores.

This second-leg match in the quarterfinals of the continent’s top competition pits two historic teams against each other after a 1-1 draw in the first leg, leaving the battle to be settled in the next 90 minutes at the Estadio Más Monumental in Buenos Aires.

Gallardo hit his milestone in Chile (4 matches coaching Nacional of Uruguay and 96 with River) and once again faces a knockout round with a killer stat: out of 21 eliminations beyond the round of 16, he’s won 16. To top it off, Núñez’s squad is flying high after their 1-0 away win in the Superclásico against Boca Juniors this past Sunday, a game where Gallardo rested some key players with this decisive Tuesday clash in mind.

River Plate, with four Copa Libertadores titles to their name (1986, 1996, 2015, and 2018), will try to flex their muscles once again. Gallardo won one as a player and two as a coach, while Colo Colo’s only continental title came in 1991.

To flip the script, "King" Arturo Vidal is hoping to relive his 2022 success when he won the Libertadores with Brazil’s Flamengo, after wrapping up his European journey that saw him play for Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Juventus, and Inter Milan.

Always the provocateur, right after the first-leg match in Chile, he bragged that his trophy cabinet outshines that of any River player, sparking massive criticism in Argentina, where the media was quick to highlight the accomplishments of River’s goalkeeper, Franco Armani, instead.

Adding more spice to the mix is the fact that Colo Colo’s head coach is Jorge Almirón, Boca Juniors’ manager in 2023. Upon his arrival in Buenos Aires on Sunday, he was quick to say that he didn’t watch Saturday’s Superclásico.

As Boca’s coach, Almirón led the team to a runner-up finish in the 2023 Libertadores, falling short against Fluminense. He also coached Lanús to a finals appearance in 2015, and now he’s hoping that the third time’s the charm. The winner of this tie will face the victor between Brazil’s Atlético Mineiro and Fluminense (with the reigning champion holding a 1-0 lead) in the semifinals.