River Plate plays in Florida and Texas in January

River Plate is on its way to the US to play three friendlies in early January. The four-time Copa Libertadores winners play in Austin, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando at the homes of MLS teams Austin FC, Inter Miami and Orlando City.

However, the Argentine club is not playing those respective MLS teams. Instead of, River Plate plays Monterrey on January 10. Then, on January 14, River will play against Colombia’s Millonarios. Ironically, one of River Plate’s nicknames is ‘los Millionarios,’ certainly make up for an interesting match. Finally, River will take on Brazilian opponent Vasco da Gama on January 17 at Exploria Stadium.

All these clubs are in their low season. The Argentine Primera will start again at the end of January. Therefore, the River Plate friendlies in the US are their last chance to get fit for the campaign.

River Plate friendlies in the US

River Plate is going through some changes this season. After finishing third in the Argentine Primera last season, River Martin brought in Demichelis as manager.

If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Demichelis had a long career with the Argentina national team and a number of clubs in Europe. He spent several seasons with Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Malaga.

However, he started his career with River Plate and is now also making his senior management debut with the club.

River Plate vs Monterrey – January 10, 9pm ET – Austin, TX

Demichelis will make his managerial debut with River Plate against Monterrey in Austin on January 10. He does have coaching experience in Europe. He led youth and B teams with Bayern Munich. In addition, Demichelis was an assistant at Malaga shortly after his retirement.

Monterrey is a decent team that finished the Apertura stage of the Liga MX season in second place. However, Monterrey fell to the eventual winners of the Apertura stage, Pachuca, in the semifinals.

As of writing, River Plate vs Monterrey Tickets are available.

River Plate vs Millonarios – January 14, 7:30pm ET – Fort Lauderdale, FL

This pair of South American teams are frequent competitors in the Copa Libertadores. Millonarios performed well last season in the Colombian Primera A, the top flight in Colombia. In the Apertura phase, the club finished top of the league in the first leg. It fell into the semi-finals of the competition. In the Clausura, Millonarios reached fourth place. Then it narrowly missed the final with one point behind Deportivo Pereira, which won the game.

As of writing, River Plate vs Millonarios Tickets are available.

Millionaires represents a great test for Demichelis in the early stages of his River Plate management career.

River Plate vs Vasco da Gama – January 17, 7pm ET – Orlando, FL

The last of the friendlies includes Vasco da Gama. While these are not Brazil’s Santos, Corinthians, or Palmeiras, Vasco da Gama is no slouch. Vasco da Gama won the 1998 Copa Libertadores. However, more recent successes include back-to-back first division championships in Brazil in 2015 and 2016.

Then Demichelis and company go back to Argentina, where their season starts 10 days after this friendly match.

Tickets for River Plate vs Vasco da Gama are available.