Marcelo Gallardo arrived under scrutiny at the beginning of the Copa Libertadores, where he tied with Luis Cubilla as the second coach with the most matches managed in the tournament's history (104). However, he managed to shake off the frustration from losing the 2019 final to Flamengo at the Monumental de Lima... to turn River Plate into the first team to surpass the 200-win mark in the Copa Libertadores.

No one wins more than River in the Copa Libertadores

This record, despite not being the club with the most Copa Libertadores titles, reinforces River Plate as one of the biggest teams in South America. In fact, Peñarol is its immediate rival in this regard and is still 19 victories away. On the other hand, Boca Juniors watches from a distance with a total of 170 victories throughout its Copa Libertadores participation.

Since its debut in the 1966 edition, River Plate has only needed 403 matches to reach these 200 victories during its 41 participations in the Copa Libertadores. In Europe, only three teams have achieved such a record: Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and FC Barcelona. Moreover, its progression since the turn of the century has been exponential. Proof of this is that exactly half of these 200 victories have occurred in the last 25 years.

Jorge Brito: a key figure in River's growth in the Copa Libertadores

This growth also started accelerating with the arrival of Jorge Brito to River Plate's board of directors back in December 2013. In just over 10 years, River Plate has achieved 56 victories in the Copa Libertadores... and 18 of them with him as president since he began his term in 2021. Additionally, there are two titles (2015 and 2018), one final (2019), and even three semifinals (2017, 2020, and 2024) to add to his achievements.

This is the competitive standard set by a club like River Plate, which has won the Copa Libertadores four times and has only missed out on 18 editions since its first participation in 1966. Now, after achieving this prestigious record, it hopes to gain momentum to straighten out the season and allow itself to dream, why not, of lifting its fifth title.