Borré fading fast at River: just two minutes in Ponzio's first four games

Two minutes in four games. That's the entire amount of trust Rafael Borré has received from Leonardo Ponzio since the Santa Fe native took charge of River Plate. For a forward who not too long ago was a difference maker at the Monumental, the number stings more than any criticism could.

The Colombian's return to Argentine soccer never quite got off the ground. He started out as an undisputed starter under Eduardo Coudet, but gradually lost his footing until becoming little more than a bench option. In 11 games he managed just one goal, a consolation strike against Aldosivi in the Copa Argentina elimination in mid-July.

Coudet, the same coach who brought him in from Internacional in Porto Alegre, gave him minutes but was also the one who started pushing him to the margins. The toughest blow came in the second leg of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana round of 16, against Independiente Santa Fe at the Monumental: Borré missed the penalty that could have sealed the team's spot in the next round. The shootout ended up going Santa Fe's way, and the Barranquilla native became one of the names blamed for the elimination.

That bitter night hastened Coudet's exit from River's bench. With Ponzio's arrival, Borré's situation didn't improve. If anything, it got worse. In the new coach's first four games in charge, he left Borré on the bench twice and, in the other two, gave him just one minute each time.

From teammates in the Gallardo era to a present that looks nothing like it

What's striking is that Ponzio and Borré are hardly strangers to each other. They were teammates during Marcelo Gallardo's first multi-title run, the stretch in which the Colombian established himself as the team's all-time leading scorer: 55 goals and 17 assists in 149 games. None of that seems to carry much weight today when it comes to picking the lineup.

River's current form isn't helping ease the tension, either. The team sits eighth with 13 points in Group B of the domestic league, well below the positions its history tends to demand. The next date is October 7, when River visits Sarmiento for matchday 11, a game that could reveal whether Ponzio decides to give Borré another chance or whether the Colombian will remain stuck in a bit-part role within the squad.