Boca Juniors and River Plate look for fresh start as Apertura kicks off

Boca Juniors and River Plate, the twin giants of domestic football, are heading into the Apertura tournament with a much-needed fresh start.

The opening round of Argentina’s top-flight season, which gets underway Thursday, is an opportunity for both sides to reinvent themselves and rediscover the road to success after a trophyless 2025.

Neither the Xeneize nor the Millonario managed to lift any of the many trophies up for grabs last year. Only Boca won some scant consolation, at least securing qualification for the 2026 Copa Libertadores.

River, by contrast, had to settle for a place in the Copa Sudamericana. It is the first time in 12 years that they will not compete in the continent’s premier competition.

The urgency for results continues to loom over both clubs, including Marcelo Gallardo, the most successful manager in River’s history. He won 14 titles during his first spell in charge of the Millonario, but none so far since his return in August 2024.

‘El Muñeco,’ however, has struck an optimistic note ahead of the season’s kick off. He even ventured that his side will “have a good year,” after admitting that 2025 was far from ideal.

“Now another one [season] begins and the team has to deliver answers,” he said in an interview with the club’s official website, ahead of River’s opening match on Saturday away to Barracas Central.

River have yet to show any clear improvement in their pre-season friendlies so far, recording a narrow 1–0 win over Millonarios of Bogotá and a goalless draw with Peñarol of Montevideo in two matches played in Uruguay.

For this campaign, the Millonario have added midfielders Fausto Vera and Aníbal Moreno to their squad, as well as Uruguayan full-back Matías Viña, all arriving from Brazilian football.

Meanwhile, Gallardo has overseen the departure of long-serving players Enzo Pérez, Gonzalo ‘Pity’ Martínez and Ignacio Fernández, along with Colombian striker Miguel Borja, who has moved to Mexico.

On the other side of Buenos Aires, Boca have opted this year for continuity, retaining the services of Claudio Úbeda, assistant coach to the late Miguel Ángel Russo, and promoting him to head coach.

The Xeneize have yet to bring in any reinforcements despite a demanding fixture list ahead. Two first-team forwards, Uruguay’s Edinson Cavani and Milton Giménez, are currently injured.

Fellow attacker Miguel Merentiel suffered a muscle tear in Boca’s latest friendly, meaning Úbeda has been forced to call up Lucas Janson, who had been sidelined from the squad for several months due to a string of poor performances.

The only player Boca formally pursued was Colombian winger Marino Hinestroza, but negotiations with Atlético Nacional of Medellín dragged on and the wide man received a better offer from Brazil’s Vasco da Gama, who now look set to secure his signature.

Questioned over the near-total lack of movement in the transfer market, club president Juan Román Riquelme defended himself on Boca’s website, arguing that “10 important players arrived” last year and insisting that the club has “a strong squad.” 

Riquelme has even set a target: reaching the Libertadores final.

In pre-season, Boca drew 0–0 with Millonarios at La Bombonera before beating Paraguay’s Olimpia 2–1. Both matches laid bare the need for an out-and-out centre-forward.

Despite the problems, there have been glimmers of hope for the Xeneize in the build-up to Sunday’s home opener against Deportivo Riestra: the good form of Exequiel ‘Changuito’ Zeballos and Spanish midfielder Ander Herrera, now back to full fitness after an injury-plagued 2025.

For Argentina’s two most popular clubs, a strong start to the domestic tournament is vital.

 

Full throttle 

The Apertura will progress at full throttle and be wrapped up in just four months, by the end of May, ahead of a mandatory break for the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States. As a result, there will be matches almost every day.

With a 16-round format, followed by knockout stages from a Round of 16 onwards, authorities at the Argentine Football Association (AFA) crowned two champions in 2025 who had scraped into the decisive stages at the last minute: Platense celebrated the first title in the club’s history in the Apertura, while Estudiantes de La Plata lifted the Clausura.

 

Stars of the season?

With no marquee signings, the Apertura 2026 tournament will get under way with several local legends, returning prospects and talents who appear to be rediscovering their best form in the spotlight.

Adolfo Gaich
Known as a powerful centre-forward, he returns to the River Plate region after several seasons in Russian football. After leaving CSKA as a free agent and at the age of 26, Gaich has signed for Estudiantes de La Plata, champions of the 2025 Clausura, who will be aiming to be contenders in the Copa Libertadores.

Michael Hoyos
A prolific scorer at Ecuadorean side Independiente del Valle, with whom he won three titles and scored 44 goals in 120 matches, the striker returns to Argentine football at the ripe age of 34, joining Newell’s Old Boys, who need to get back on track after a disappointing 2025.

Valentín Carboni
After an uneven spell in European football with clubs such as Inter Milan and Marseille, the skilful 20-year-old midfielder has joined Racing Club on loan, tasked with trying to regain prominence in a side that will be competing on several fronts in 2026.

Ángel Di María
‘Fideo' will continue at Rosario Central, the club where he began his career and to which he returned last year. Last campaign, Di María included seven goals and three assists in 17 appearances. Approaching his 38th birthday, the World Cup winner is one of the league’s most recognisable faces.

Leandro Paredes
A member of the national team and a World Cup winner at Qatar 2022, he decided in mid-2025 to bring his European chapter to an end and return to play for Boca Juniors, who have yet to announce any signings for this campaign. At 31, he quickly became the boss of the Xeneize midfield, as well as captain and a leading figure off the pitch.

Fausto Vera
A 25-year-old midfielder who has arrived as a reinforcement for River Plate on loan from Brazil’s Atlético Mineiro, in an effort to provide greater solidity in the middle of the park. Coach Marcelo Gallardo snapped up Vera after the departure of the experienced Enzo Pérez.

Exequiel Zeballos
Sidelined for a long time by physical problems, the 23-year-old emerged in the final months of last year as a game-changing presence in Boca’s attack. If ‘Changuito’ can stay injury-free, he is well placed to remain an undisputed starter in a side desperately in need of his pace and skill.

 

Apertura 2026 – Matchday one fixtures

Thursday
– Aldosivi v Defensa y Justicia (Interzonal)
– Unión v Platense
– Banfield v Huracán
– Central Córdoba v Gimnasia de Mendoza
– Instituto v Vélez Sarsfield

Friday
– San Lorenzo v Lanús
– Independiente v Estudiantes de La Plata
– Talleres v Newell’s
– Independiente Rivadavia v Atlético Tucumán

Saturday
– Barracas Central v River Plate
– Gimnasia La Plata v Racing
– Rosario Central v Belgrano

Sunday
– Boca Juniors v Deportivo Riestra
– Tigre v Estudiantes (Río Cuarto)
– Argentinos Juniors v Sarmiento

 

– TIMES/AFP