Stadium River Plate play at the Estadio Monumental , located amongst a sports complex in the smart plush Nunez area of Buenos Aires . The stadium was built in 1938, before being reconstructed for the 1978 World Cup tournament, which took its capacity up to 76,000.
World Cup watching veterans amongst you will recognize seeing this stadium when it hosted the 1978 final between Argentina and Holland. Although the iconic images from that match include the tickertape reception as the players entered onto the pitch and Mario Kempes scoring the winner for Argentina, I recently stumbled across another photograph that for me best captures the emotion from watching football in Argentina. Called "El Abrazo del Alma" or "The Hearts Embrace" and taken by Ricardo Alfieri, the photo shows Argentinian goalkeeper Fillol and defender Alberto Tarantini embracing in post match celebration. Beside them is a supporter who has somehow evaded the security and joining in the celebration. This is not that unusual, considering that the supporter's country has just won the World Cup, until you notice that this supporter has no arms!. It is an amazing photo that you can see on below link:
Like many stadiums in Argentina, El Monumental has changed little since 1978 and is clearly showing its age.
Today the capacity has been reduced to 65,000, but it is\still the largest stadium in Argentina. I was gutted to find an athletics track (looking distinctly unused as they often do!) around the pitch. Not only did this mean long distance views of the match, but the atmosphere was not as memorable as it perhaps ought to have been. We got around this at the River Plate - Banfield match by moving as close to the popular end as possible and despite the shit acoustics created by the lack of a roof and the athletics track, the River Plate supporters were impressive in full voice.
Getting to Stadium Apparently reaching El Monumental is a piece of Argentinian cake, as the stadium is located within walking distance from the several train and bus lines at the Barrancas de Belgrano. Sadly, we were not aware of this, having got a taxi to the stadium just before kick off. After the match, we took a wrong turn, left the crowds and ended up in a dodgy park full of kerb crawlers and scantily clad prostitutes. Joel Richards kindly enlightened me as to where to get public transport back to city centre after a River Plate match:
"Go straight to the Avenida Libertador and with the stadium behind you take buses going left. Or keep going another 8 blocks or so to Cabildo and do the same. Or go and have a beer, wait for the crowds to leave, and then get a taxi"
Getting a Ticket. Where to sit You can buy a ticket in advance from Ticketek Argentina (www.ticketek.com.ar ) and there are also ticket booths dotted around El Monumental . Our ticket windows we found on Ave Pres Figueroa Alcorta, close to stadium and a ticket for Platea San Martin Alta set me back 70 pesos each.
The views were good. Again, as the match was not against one of the other big five, spare seats were a plenty. So we went straight to our part of stand, that was closet to the popular end, frequented by the River Plate Barra Brava. This gave us a brilliant seat to watch their entrance with flags, drums etc. at kick off and the match atmosphere was fantastic.
Club Shop You can pick up expensive official River Plate replica shirts at sport shops throughout Buenos Aires. I picked up my beanie hat from one of a number of street vendors located on the avenues and pavements around El Monumental . If you want to save some pesos, these vendors will also flog you a fake replica shirt, which as ever are value for money, but i would not wash it with anything of value when you get home!You can pick up expensive official River Plate replica shirts at sport shops throughout Buenos Aires.
Famous Former Players to Impress Locals With
Ariel Arnaldo Ortega Ortega was an attacking midfielder who played for River Plate 232 times and scored 75 goals. A few of Ortega's goals were trademark lobbed shots, but he also had amazing pace and a dribbling ability that would make you suspect the ball was somehow tied to his boot. Best remembered in England for his temperamental attitude that came to my attention during Argentina's 1998 World Cup quarter final defeat to Holland. In second half., Ortega head butted dutch goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar, which got 'El Burrito' (Little Donkey) the red card and this act of recklessness resulted in Dennis Bergkamp, scoring one of the greatest goals ever seen in a World Cup tournament.
Enzo Francescoli Uriarte One of River's most loved players in recent years, was a Urugayan who was spotted playing for the wonderfully sounding Montevideo Wanderers. Enzo Francescoli or "El Principe" ( The Prince) played for River during two spells, scoring 90 goals, over 165 matches. A fantastic player, his graceful skills on the ball were to impress an admiring young Zinadine Zindane, who watched Francescoli playing for Zidane's boyhood team, Olympique Marseilles. Fransescoli played 72 matches for Uruguay and England supporters may remember him as a key member of the Uruguay side that beat Bobby Robson's England 2-1at Wembley in 1990, during rehearsal for Italia 90.
After the Match. Extras River Plate do offer stadium and museum tours at El Monumental . We did not have time to go, partly due to distance of stadium from city centre. Details can be found on River Plate website:
World Cup watching veterans amongst you will recognize seeing this stadium when it hosted the 1978 final between Argentina and Holland. Although the iconic images from that match include the tickertape reception as the players entered onto the pitch and Mario Kempes scoring the winner for Argentina, I recently stumbled across another photograph that for me best captures the emotion from watching football in Argentina. Called "El Abrazo del Alma" or "The Hearts Embrace" and taken by Ricardo Alfieri, the photo shows Argentinian goalkeeper Fillol and defender Alberto Tarantini embracing in post match celebration. Beside them is a supporter who has somehow evaded the security and joining in the celebration. This is not that unusual, considering that the supporter's country has just won the World Cup, until you notice that this supporter has no arms!. It is an amazing photo that you can see on below link:
Getting a Ticket. Where to sit
The views were good. Again, as the match was not against one of the other big five, spare seats were a plenty. So we went straight to our part of stand, that was closet to the popular end, frequented by the River Plate Barra Brava. This gave us a brilliant seat to watch their entrance with flags, drums etc. at kick off and the match atmosphere was fantastic.
Club Shop