Club Atlético River Plate received a massive welcome from fans in Tucumán on Friday night, ahead of their Liga Profesional match against Atlético Tucumán on Saturday. The squad, led by Leo Ponzio, arrived at the Hilton hotel to a greeting of around a thousand red and white flags, smoke, and fireworks organised by three official River Plate supporters' branches in the province.
Three branches in Famaillá, Concepción, and San Miguel de Tucumán coordinated the reception. Players and staff stopped to greet fans, sign autographs, and take pictures with supporters who had travelled from Catamarca, Santiago del Estero, Jujuy, and La Rioja. Ticket sales for visiting fans, which continued on Friday at the Liga Tucumana headquarters, had already sold out the 260 premium seats priced at 160,000 pesos each, with only general admission tickets at 110,000 pesos remaining.
Warning over fake tickets
Atlético Tucumán posted a statement on Twitter on September 10th warning supporters. The club stated there were "publications and profiles on social media offering fake tickets for this Saturday's match against River Plate". The warning was clear: "no person who purchases these fraudulent tickets will be able to enter the Estadio Monumental José Fierro". Official sales were exclusively in-person.
Security arrangements and location
For the match, River Plate fans have been allocated the popular stand facing Bolivia Street and the premium seats at the corner of 25 de Mayo and Bolivia. Authorities deployed a security operation with approximately 400 personnel around the stadium. A further 200 officers were assigned specifically to monitor the movements of River Plate supporters within the province.
The fixture comes at a key time for River, who sit 10th in the Liga Profesional with 10 points from 3 wins, 1 draw, and 4 losses. The team arrives on a two-game winning streak, including a 3-1 victory over Independiente Rivadavia last week, and will look for another three points against a direct rival like Atlético Tucumán, who are fourth. The full squad and individual statistics are available in the squad section.
With a goal difference of +1 (10 scored, 9 conceded), River Plate needs to solidify their away form to close the seven-point gap to leaders Argentinos Juniors. The team's last visit to the Monumental José Fierro was last season, making this show of support in Tucumán an extra boost. The match will be played on Saturday afternoon, capping a week of intense anticipation in northern Argentina.
