River v Racing: Five former player stories that could come true today | OneFootball

Racing and River will face off in the quarterfinals of the Copa Argentina, a duel that will take place at the Gigante de Arroyito. In addition to being a "final", as Gallardo said, it will be a special commitment for five players who could comply with the famous law of the ex.

Juanfer Quintero, Bruno Zuculini, Marcos Acuña, Santiago Sosa, and Maximiliano Salas, each with their particular story, will be the main protagonists of the afternoon in Rosario and with chances to add minutes. Here, we tell you the story of each one in the other team.

1. Maximiliano Salas

Salas was one of the great figures of the Racing champion of the Sudamericana 2024 and also of the Recopa won against Botafogo. He played 76 matches and scored 13 goals: this prominence led him to ask for a salary improvement that, with the change of management (from Víctor Blanco to Diego Milito), was delayed more than expected.

After repeatedly expressing his desire in an interview with TyC Sports, rumors of interest from River began to grow. In this context, the committee headed by Milito presented a proposal that included a significant salary increase and the extension of the contract until December 2028. The forward had given the go-ahead, but a call from Marcelo Gallardo made him change his stance: River paid the eight million euros of his exit clause. The fans interpreted it as a betrayal.

2. Marcos Acuña

Tensions had already begun with Acuña's arrival at Millonario. In 2024, the Egg left Europe to return to the country convinced by Marcelo Gallardo. Víctor Blanco, former president of the Academy, revealed on TyC Sports that they had spoken with him at the beginning of the year and that the full-back's idea was "to stay a little longer in the Old Continent".

Acuña, who between 2014 and 2017 was at Racing in 61 matches and scored 12 goals, responded harshly: "The Racing directors handled it very badly, they smeared me and my family. I received threats from many people, just for them to wash their hands". His return to the Cilindro last December, this time wearing the River shirt, was marked by a hostile atmosphere and deafening whistles.

3. Juan Fernando Quintero

He arrived at Racing on July 30, 2023, when the club bought him for 3.6 million dollars. He debuted against Unión in the Copa de la Liga and quickly scored against Tigre. He also scored in the penalty shootout against Boca for the Libertadores and ended that year with a double against Belgrano and another key goal against Rosario Central.

In 2024 he maintained prominence with goals against Tigre, Boca, Defensa y Justicia and Independiente Rivadavia, in addition to several assists to Roger Martínez. In the Sudamericana he was decisive: he scored against Huachipato and shone with a double against Corinthians in the semifinals, leading Racing to an international final after 32 years, which he would end up winning against Cruzeiro.

4. Bruno Zuculini

In January 2018, River acquired him for 3.250.000 euros, in a deal with Manchester City and Hellas Verona for 50% of his pass. That same year he alternated the starting position and showed an evolution that led him to be a protagonist in the achievement of two historic titles against Boca: the Supercopa Argentina and the Copa Libertadores 2018. In 2019 he celebrated again with the Recopa Sudamericana.

His career at Millonario was halted on February 7, 2022, when he suffered a torn cruciate ligament. The injury kept him out for 187 days and made him miss 37 matches, which resulted in a cycle closure with little continuity and some conflict due to a non-renewal at the end of 2023.

5. Santiago Sosa

Formed at Club Mercedes, he arrived at River in 2009 as a central midfielder. He stood out for his mark, recovery, vision of the game and physical deployment, qualities that led him to be a sparring partner of the Argentina National Team in the friendlies against Italy and Spain in 2018, as well as being part of the U-20.

Gallardo included him in the Libertadores 2018 list and he debuted on August 29 of that year, in the 3-0 victory against Racing, replacing Juanfer. Without much continuity, he accumulated 21 matches and in 2021 he left for the MLS to join Atlanta United. He wanted to return to Millo, but he couldn't and even had harsh comments against the management.

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