There are just over two months left before the ball gets rolling at the next Club World Cup to be held in the United States. There, two giants of European and South American football, Inter Milan and River Plate, will face off. Two clubs that have had seven encounters throughout history… and they have declared their 'love' before meeting in the Club World Cup.

River vs Inter: a classic at the Club World Cup

Enzo Pérez, who returned to River at the beginning of the year, gave an interview in which he expressed his excitement about facing a club of Inter Milan’s stature in the Club World Cup: “It’s still a classic. Ending and measuring ourselves against them will be good and highly competitive. There will be rivalry on both sides, and we’ll live it as such,” confessed the veteran River Plate player. River Plate has produced as many as six players who were part of the Argentina squad that won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar: Julián Álvarez, Enzo Fernández, Exequiel Palacios, Montiel, Pezzella, and Guido Rodríguez. It’s no surprise, then, that the club has established itself as the top South American talent exporter from its academy to Europe’s top five leagues.

In fact, a respected figure in the history of Inter Milan, where he played 100 matches during his career, shared in an interview that he holds a deep admiration for River Plate… even though he has never played for the Argentine club: “I used to watch them at three in the morning, secretly from my mother. I fell in love with the River of Aimar and Saviola. It was something I really enjoyed watching. When I could, I watched River at 3/4 AM in Spain. They played the original commentary from the Argentine commentator. It’s something I love.”

Will Inter fall for Mastantuono?

Interestingly, River and Boca have never faced each other in an official match throughout history. We’ll see if Borja Valero is one of the many fans that Enzo Pérez claims will fill the stands in the United States to support River. “River fans will turn the stadium wherever we go, not only in Seattle but in other cities where we’ll play, just like it’s experienced at the Monumental Stadium.” If the 'sold out' sign has already been put up for more than 80 matches at the Monumental, it seems likely that River’s fans will follow the same pattern during the Club World Cup.

If, at the time, Borja Valero fell in love with Aimar and Saviola at River… it’s possible that this time he will do the same with Franco Mastantuono, the latest big gem to emerge from River Plate’s prolific academy. And just like Borja Valero, all the fans of Inter Milan will closely follow his performance because, in recent weeks, rumors have circulated that he could make his way to Giuseppe Meazza for the next season. We’ll see, then, if both clubs sit down again to close the eighth deal in their history.