River Plate comes from qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Copa Libertadores 2024 after defeating Talleres 3-1 on aggregate and will face Colo Colo thinking about a spot in the semifinals. The star player of Marcelo Gallardo’s team is Miguel Ángel Borja, who has become the Colombian with the most goals in the history of the tournament. This time, we will tell you the story of his famous nickname ‘Gallinas’ and how it originated.
According to information extracted from TyC Sports, the origin of this nickname dates back to 1966 and its creator was a fan of Banfield, another club in Argentine football. This moniker emerged after the defeat against Peñarol in the Libertadores final that year. It turns out that River lost in Uruguay, but won at the Monumental, and the match had to be decided in a third game played in Chile. There, La Banda started winning 2-0 but the Uruguayans came back to win 4-2 and took the tournament.
Peñarol defeated River in the Libertadores final of 1966.
Photo:
CONMEBOL
After returning to Buenos Aires, River had to play a match against Banfield as visitors in the local tournament, and the truth is that the Taladro fans welcomed the Millonario, after the harsh defeat in Chilean territory, with a particular mockery: it turns out that they threw a chicken on the field referencing the lack of bravery that the team had shown in the international tournament. This image became a trend in all the newspapers in the country, and since then, rivals began to call River that.
How did a fan manage to enter the stadium with a chicken in his arms?
The Banfield fan covered the chicken with a red ribbon and stored it in a bag along with his accomplices, one of whom was a police officer in charge of clearing the area for the bird to pass through the stadium ticket office. He got it into the stands and then threw it at the feet of River players as they entered the field. It fell onto player Pipino Más, who without hesitation kicked the bird.