River eye top spot again: win Apertura, go one behind Boca

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Radio Gol

·17 May 2026

River eye top spot again: win Apertura, go one behind Boca

River’s 1-0 victory over Rosario Central secured them a place in the Torneo Apertura final, where they will face the winner of the match between Argentinos Juniors and Belgrano. If they are crowned champions, the Millonario would reach 73 official titles and move within one of Boca, with another final still to play and several fronts still open.

With 38 league titles, River has led the table in that category for several decades. However, their lifelong rival surpasses them in the combined total of cups and international tournaments. Counting all official trophies, Boca currently stands above every other team in Argentine football with 74 stars.

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However, lifting the Apertura next Sunday at the Mario Alberto Kempes in Córdoba would bring River within one and give them the chance to draw level by the end of the year, when the Trofeo de Campeones will be played against the winner of the Torneo Clausura. Winning that competition, in turn, would open the door for them to play in next year’s Supercopa Argentina.

All this without taking into account that Eduardo Coudet’s side could win another title before then, since the Copa Sudamericana, the Annual League, the Copa Argentina, and the Clausura itself will all be decided beforehand. What’s the problem? Boca also has the same fronts open and therefore the same chances of becoming champion, except for the Sudamericana, which is replaced by the Libertadores.

On Sunday, starting at 3:30 p.m., River will go after its 55th title at the domestic level and its 39th league title -even though the Apertura has a cup format, it counts as a league-. Internationally, it ranks third with 18, behind Boca (22) and Independiente (20).

The timeline of the top champions of the First Division

1891 – The first official First Division championship in Argentina is played.
1893 to 1903 – In that decade, Lomas Athletic was the club with the most official titles.
1903 to 1932 – During the first three decades of the 20th century, Alumni won six official championships and no one could match them until the professionalization of the sport.
1932 to 1946 – Racing moved past Alumni’s mark and remained the country’s top winner for 14 years.
1946 to 1949 – For a brief period, Boca overtook Racing and became the most successful club with 25 titles.
1949 to 1976 – Racing regained the throne and for two and a half decades was the team with the most titles in Argentina -since 1970 sharing that distinction with Boca-.
1976 to 1996 – With Boca de Lorenzo’s 1976 back-to-back title, the La Ribera side returned to the top of the ranking until the second half of the 1990s.
1996 to 2003 – River appears for the first time, surpassing the 43-title mark and reaching the first years of the new century as the country’s most successful team.
2003 to the present – The three titles won by Carlos Bianchi’s Boca in 2003 put them once again as the team with the most titles in Argentina, a position they still hold today.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.