River v Racing: Five former players who could haunt their old club today | OneFootball

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

Juanfer Quintero, Bruno Zuculini, Marcos Acuña, Santiago Sosa, and Maximiliano Salas, each with their own story, will be the main protagonists of the afternoon in Rosario with chances to play. 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 team that won the Sudamericana 2024 and also the Recopa won against Botafogo. He played 76 matches and scored 13 goals: this prominence led him to request a salary increase that, with the change of management (from Víctor Blanco to Diego Milito), was delayed more than expected.

After publicly reiterating his desire in an interview with TyC Sports, rumors of River's interest began to grow. In this context, the committee led by Milito presented him with a proposal that included a significant salary increase and the extension of the contract until December 2028. The forward had given the green light, but a call from Marcelo Gallardo made him change his stance: the Millonario paid the eight million euros of his release clause. The fans saw it as a betrayal.

2. Marcos Acuña

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

Acuña, who was at Racing between 2014 and 2017 in 61 matches and scored 12 goals, responded harshly: "The Racing directors handled things very badly, they tarnished me and my family. I received threats from many people, just to wash their hands." His return to the Cilindro last December, this time wearing the River jersey, 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 in 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. He was decisive in the Sudamericana: he scored against Huachipato and shone with a double against Corinthians in the semifinals, leading Racing to an international final after 32 years, which they ended 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 as a starter and showed progress that led him to be a protagonist in winning two historic titles against Boca: the Argentine Super Cup and the 2018 Copa Libertadores. In 2019, he celebrated again with the Recopa Sudamericana.

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

5. Santiago Sosa

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

Gallardo included him in the Libertadores 2018 list, and he debuted on August 29 of that year, in a 3-0 victory against Racing, replacing Juanfer. Without much continuity, he accumulated 21 matches and in 2021 moved to MLS to join Atlanta United. He wanted to return to the Millo but 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.