# 2001–02 Club Atlético River Plate season

The 2001–02 season is River Plate's 72nd season in the Argentine Primera División. The season was split into two tournaments (format adopted since 1990–91 season) Apertura (Opening) 2001 (from August to December 2001), and Clausura (Closing) 2002 (from February to May 2002).
The club's kit was provided by Adidas, and the sponsor was Quilmes beer until December 2001, and Budweiser beer since March 2002.

## Season events

After finishing both tournaments of 2000–01 season(Apertura 2000 and Clausura 2001) in second place, River Plate joined eight players to the squad (five before the start of the Apertura tournament and three before the start of Clausura). This season also marked the return of Ramón Díaz as Coach, after he had left in January 2000.
On 9 March 2002, River Plate signed a deal with Budweiser to be the main sponsor of the team kit. The 2-year deal was closed for AR$2,400,000 per year (equivalent to US$780,487.80 according to March 2002 exchange rate).
On 19 March, River Plate introduced the new kit for the main team. The kit was worn for the first time on 24 March, when River visited Velez Sarsfield.
After finishing vice-champions of Racing Club, in the first half of the season, River Plate won the Clausura Championship, qualifying for the 2002 Copa Sudamericana and 2003 Copa Libertadores.

## Apertura squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ARG | Franco Costanzo |
| 2 | DF | PAR | Celso Ayala |
| 3 | DF | ARG | Matías Lequi |
| 4 | DF | ARG | Gustavo Lombardi |
| 5 | MF | ARG | Leonardo Astrada |
| 6 | DF | COL | Mario Yepes |
| 7 | FW | ARG | Maxi López |
| 8 | MF | ARG | Eduardo Coudet |
| 9 | FW | ARG | Martín Cardetti |
| 10 | FW | ARG | Ariel Ortega (Vice-Captain) |
| 11 | MF | ARG | Andres D'Alessandro |
| 12 | GK | ARG | Ángel Comizzo (Captain) |
| 14 | DF | ARG | Ariel Garcé |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | MF | ARG | Guillermo Pereyra |
| 16 | DF | PAR | Pedro Sarabia |
| 18 | MF | MEX | Damian Álvarez |
| 19 | MF | ARG | Esteban Cambiasso |
| 21 | DF | PAR | Ricardo Rojas |
| 22 | MF | ARG | Victor Zapata |
| 23 | MF | ARG | Cristian Ledesma |
| 24 | FW | PAR | Nelson Cuevas |
| 25 | DF | CHI | Alejandro Escalona |
| 26 | DF | ARG | Martin Demichelis |
| 27 | MF | ARG | Marcelo Escudero |
| 30 | FW | ARG | Fernando Cavenaghi |
| 31 | GK | ARG | Germán Lux |

## Clausura Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ARG | Franco Costanzo |
| 2 | DF | PAR | Celso Ayala |
| 3 | DF | ARG | Matías Lequi |
| 4 | MF | ARG | Claudio Husain |
| 5 | MF | ARG | Leonardo Astrada |
| 7 | FW | ARG | Maxi López |
| 8 | MF | ARG | Eduardo Coudet |
| 10 | FW | ARG | Ariel Ortega (Vice-Captain) |
| 11 | MF | ARG | Andres D'Alessandro |
| 12 | GK | ARG | Ángel Comizzo (Captain) |
| 14 | DF | ARG | Ariel Garcé |
| 15 | MF | ARG | Guillermo Pereyra |
| 16 | DF | PAR | Pedro Sarabia |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | FW | ARG | Juan Esnáider |
| 19 | MF | ARG | Esteban Cambiasso |
| 20 | FW | URU | Daniel Fonseca |
| 21 | DF | PAR | Ricardo Rojas |
| 22 | MF | ARG | Victor Zapata |
| 23 | MF | ARG | Cristian Ledesma |
| 24 | FW | PAR | Nelson Cuevas |
| 25 | DF | CHI | Alejandro Escalona |
| 26 | DF | ARG | Martin Demichelis |
| 27 | MF | ARG | Marcelo Escudero |
| 30 | FW | ARG | Fernando Cavenaghi |
| 31 | GK | ARG | Germán Lux |
| 35 | FW | ARG | Alejandro Domínguez |

## Transfers
### In

* Angel Comizzo July 2001, from Monarcas Morelia
* Esteban Cambiasso July 2001, from Independiente
* Matías Lequi August 2001, from Rosario Central
* Alejandro Escalona July 2001, from S.L. Benfica
* Juan Esnáider January 2002
* Alejandro Damián Domínguez January 2002
* Daniel Fonseca January 2002
* Claudio Husaín January 2002, from S.S.C. Napoli

### Out

* Javier Saviola July 2001 to Barcelona FC
* Mario Yepes January 2002 to FC Nantes Atlantique
* Gustavo Lombardi January 2002 to Deportivo Alavés
* Damián Ariel Álvarez January 2002 to Reggina Calcio

## Competitions
### Apertura 2001
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Racing | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 34 | 17 | +17 | 42 |
| 2 | River Plate | 19 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 51 | 16 | +35 | 41 |
| 3 | Boca Juniors | 19 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 41 | 27 | +14 | 33 |
| 4 | Colón | 19 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 24 | 16 | +8 | 32 |
| 5 | San Lorenzo | 19 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 28 | 22 | +6 | 31 |

### Clausura 2002
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | River Plate | 19 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 39 | 13 | +26 | 43 |
| 2 | Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) | 19 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 33 | 23 | +10 | 37 |
| 3 | Boca Juniors | 19 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 25 | 17 | +8 | 35 |
| 4 | Huracán | 19 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 27 | 14 | +13 | 30 |
| 5 | Banfield | 19 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 21 | 19 | +2 | 30 |

### Copa Mercosur 2001
#### Group E

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | GRE | RIV | PAL | UNI |
| 1 | Grêmio | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 14 | Advance to Quarterfinals | — | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| 2 | River Plate | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 10 | +3 | 8 | | 2–4 | — | 3–3 | 3–0 |
| 3 | Palmeiras | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 10 | +1 | 6 | | 0–0 | 2–2 | — | 4–0 |
| 4 | Universidad de Chile | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 14 | −11 | 4 | | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | — |
| Pos | Grp | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | B | San Lorenzo | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 10 | Advance to Quarterfinals |
| 2 | C | Independiente | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 9 | Advance to Quarterfinals |
| 3 | A | Universidad Católica | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 9 | Advance to Quarterfinals |
| 4 | E | River Plate | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 10 | +3 | 8 | |
| 5 | D | Vélez Sársfield | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 11 | +1 | 8 | |
At the 2001 Copa Mercosur, River Plate was eliminated in the group stage.

#### Fixtures and results
### Copa Libertadores 2002
#### Group 7

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | América | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 16 |
| 2 | River Plate | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 9 |
| 3 | Talleres | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 5 |
| 4 | Tuluá | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 16 | −7 | 3 |

#### Round of 16

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| River Plate | 1–6 | Grêmio | 1–2 | 0–4 |
At the 2002 Copa Libertadores, River Plate was eliminated in the Round of 16.

#### Fixture and results
## Player statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | 2001–02 Argentine Primera División | 2001–02 Argentine Primera División | 2001 Copa Mercosur | 2001 Copa Mercosur | 2002 Copa Libertadores | 2002 Copa Libertadores |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 12 | GK | ARG | Angel Comizzo | 44 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 31 | GK | ARG | Germán Lux | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | GK | ARG | Franco Costanzo | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | ARG | Ariel Garcé | 41 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | PAR | Celso Ayala | 38 | 1 | 27 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | PAR | Ricardo Ismael Rojas | 33 | 1 | 24 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ARG | Matías Lequi | 26 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 26 | DF | ARG | Martín Demichelis | 24 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 6 | DF | COL | Mario Yepes | 17 | 4 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ARG | Gustavo Lombardi | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | PAR | Pedro Sarabia | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | CHI | Alejandro Escalona | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ARG | Esteban Cambiasso | 46 | 14 | 37 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | ARG | Andrés D'Alessandro | 47 | 9 | 36 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ARG | Eduardo Coudet | 39 | 5 | 32 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | ARG | Ariel Ortega | 39 | 16 | 29 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| 23 | MF | ARG | Cristian Raúl Ledesma | 38 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | ARG | Víctor Zapata | 35 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | ARG | Guillermo Pereyra | 25 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | ARG | Ariel Franco | 23 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | ARG | Claudio Husaín | 19 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ARG | Damián Ariel Álvarez | 15 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | ARG | Marcelo Escudero | 13 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 5 | MF | ARG | Leonardo Astrada | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ARG | Juan Pablo Raponi | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | ARG | Andrés Aimar | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | ARG | Emiliano Díaz | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ARG | Daniel Ludueña | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | ARG | Fernando Cavenaghi | 28 | 19 | 23 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ARG | Martín Cardetti | 23 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | ARG | Maxi López | 19 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | ARG | Juan Esnáider | 14 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 24 | FW | PAR | Nelson Cuevas | 9 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | FW | ARG | Alejandro Damián Domínguez | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| | FW | ARG | Adrián Roberto Romero | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | URU | Daniel Fonseca | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |