2015 Suruga Bank Championship

Football match 2015 Suruga Bank Championship 2015_jleague_sudamericana_cup_match_programme.jpg 200 Match programme cover Suruga Bank Championship Gamba Osaka JPN 30px 0 River Plate ARG 30px 3 11 August 2015 Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium Suita Tan Hai (China)SURUGA bank Championship 2015 OSAKA https://www.jfa.jp/national_team/suruga_2015/schedule_result/pdf/m01.pdf 19 December 2025 Japan Football Association 19 December 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20241219033118/https://www.jfa.jp/national_team/suruga_2015/schedule_result/pdf/m01.pdf live 12,722 Clear29.7 °C °F58% humidity 2014 2016 The 2015 Suruga Bank Championship was a football match between Gamba Osaka of Japan and River Plate of Argentina on 11 August 2015 at the Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium, contested between the winners of the Japanese league cup, the J.League Cup and the Copa Sudamericana as the annual J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship. The teams had qualified for the tournament by winning their two seasonal competitions. Gamba Osaka won the 2014 J.League Cup, beating Sanfrecce Hiroshima 3–2. River Plate were the 2014 Copa Sudamericana champions after winning the two-legged final 3–1 against Atlético Nacional of Colombia. Watched by a crowd of 12,722, River Plate took an early lead in the first half when Carlos Sánchez scored through a penalty. Their lead was extended after Gabriel Mercado also found the net in the 31st minute, and they added one further in the second half after Gonzalo Martínez made it 3–0. No further goals were scored with almost a half hour to end, which consequently crowned River Plate as winners of the 2015 Suruga Bank Championship. Background thumb|Gamba Osaka's home ground of Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium hosted the match. The J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship, also known as the Suruga Bank Championship for sponsorship reasons, was established by the Japan Football Association and CONMEBOL, the governing bodies of football in Japan and South America respectively. The idea for the cup was pitched as a sporting agreement, with the aim of strengthening relations between the two associations through an annual competition. It had been held since 2008, hosted annually at the J.League Cup winner's home stadium. 2018-08-07 Curiosidades de la Suruga Bank, la copa que otorga un título oficial y viola el reglamento de la FIFA https://www.infobae.com/deportes-2/2018/08/07/curiosidades-de-la-suruga-bank-la-copa-que-otorga-un-titulo-oficial-y-viola-el-reglamento-de-la-fifa/ 2025-12-19 infobae es-ES 2024-08-13 https://web.archive.org/web/20240813192801/https://www.infobae.com/deportes-2/2018/08/07/curiosidades-de-la-suruga-bank-la-copa-que-otorga-un-titulo-oficial-y-viola-el-reglamento-de-la-fifa/ live Gamba Osaka qualified for the Suruga Bank Championship as the reigning J.League Cup champions. They had won the 2014 J.League Cup beating Sanfrecce Hiroshima 3–2 in the final.Japan 2014 https://www.rsssf.org/tablesj/jpn2014.html#jlcup 2025-12-19 Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation Balitskiy Andrei 2022-12-04 https://web.archive.org/web/20221204015839/https://www.rsssf.org/tablesj/jpn2014.html#jlcup live It was their second appearance in the tournament, after suffering a 1–0 loss to Arsenal de Sarandí of Argentina in the 2008 edition.J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/suruga08.html 2026-01-12 Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation Andrés Juan Pablo Gorgazzi Osvaldo José 2023-02-06 https://web.archive.org/web/20230206094142/https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/suruga08.html live River Plate qualified for the match as winners of the 2014 Copa Sudamericana. They had beaten Colombian team Atlético Nacional 3–1 on aggregate to win their first Copa Sudamericana.2014-12-11 River Plate claim Copa Sudamericana https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2014/1211/666093-river-plate/ RTÉ They were making their first appearance in the competition, being the fourth Argentine team to play in the tournament. Both teams were midway through their respective domestic campaigns at the time of the matches. Gamba Osaka's last game before the match was against Albirex Niigata on a 2–2 draw played on 29 July 2015.Japan 2015 https://www.rsssf.org/tablesj/jpn2015.html 2025-12-19 Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation Balitskiy Andrei 2023-03-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20230318101235/https://www.rsssf.org/tablesj/jpn2015.html live River Plate played on 5 August 2015 the second leg of the 2015 Copa Libertadores final against Tigres UANL. They won 3–0, winning their third Copa Libertadores. 2015-08-06 River Plate win third Copa Libertadores title with victory over Tigres https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/aug/06/river-plate-win-copa-libertadores-title 2026-01-12 The Guardian en-GB 0261-3077 2021-11-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20211103071535/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/aug/06/river-plate-win-copa-libertadores-title live Despite the importance of their previous match, River Plate would take part in the Suruga Bank Championship with mostly the same squad that had lined up for the continental meeting.River Plate 3-0 Tigres (Aug 5, 2015) Final Score https://www.espn.com/soccer/match/_/gameId/431452/tigres-uanl-river-plate 2026-01-12 ESPN en Match Summary thumb|356x356px|Carlos Sánchez was key in River Plate's victory, with two goal contributions. River Plate kicked off at the Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium. They opened the scoring to the match early in the eighth minute, when a foul committed by Yosuke Ideguchi on Nicolás Bertolo inside the area resulted in a penalty. Uruguayan midfielder Carlos Sánchez took care of the spot kick, unleashing a strong, high shot to put his team ahead.2015-08-11 River venció al Osaka en la Copa Suruga https://www.espn.com.ar/noticias/nota/_/id/2444239/river-vencio-por-3-0-a-gamba-osaka-y-se-llevo-la-copa-suruga-en-japon 2025-12-19 ESPN.com.ar es 2017-10-28 https://web.archive.org/web/20171028201316/http://www.espn.com.ar/noticias/nota/_/id/2444239/river-vencio-por-3-0-a-gamba-osaka-y-se-llevo-la-copa-suruga-en-japon live River Plate would experience a scare around the 20th minute, when goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero misjudged a bounce that went over his head.2015-08-11 Mirá la pifia de Barovero ante Gamba Osaka https://www.lagaceta.com.ar/nota/649317/deportes/mira-pifia-barovero-ante-gamba-osaka.html 2026-02-05 www.lagaceta.com.ar es-AR The clearance fell to Gamba Osaka's Patric, but the striker hesitated, allowing Barovero to fend off the equaliser.Benozzi Maximiliano 2015-08-11 Otra goleada de River para levantar la Copa Suruga Bank en Japón https://www.clarin.com/deportes/futbol/river-plate/river-quiere-extender-festejos-japon_0_H1I1aVFv7x.html 2025-12-19 Clarín es A half hour into the game, Sánchez sent a corner kick over to Gabriel Mercado, who headed the ball over goalkeeper Yosuke Fujigaya to extend their lead. During the remainder of the half, the River Plate midfielder continued to create chances for his side. He first came close to adding one further at the 36-minute mark. Minutes later, a combination along with Leonel Vangioni yielded his team another scoring prospect, which Sebastián Driussi was unable to capitalize upon. Lastly, Sánchez sent a volley into the crossbar in stoppage time. Gamba Osaka kicked off the second half. Shortly after the restart, they had their first chance to pull one back following a run from Lins. His follow up shot, however, went wide of the near post. 2015-08-11 River goleó al Gamba Osaka y se quedó con la Suruga Bank https://www.infobae.com/2015/08/10/1747464-river-goleo-al-gamba-osaka-y-se-quedo-la-suruga-bank/ 2026-02-05 infobae es-ES In the 52nd minute, River Plate manager Marcelo Gallardo subbed in three players, two of them being Gonzalo Martínez and Leonardo Pisculichi. The changes paid off nine minutes later, when Pisculichi started a play in the midfield. He then linked up with Mercado, who followed up with Martínez on his right. The attacking midfielder controlled the ball, and curled a left-footed shot into the far corner of the net, beating goalkeeper Fujigaya to make it 3–0. Following the goal, Gamba Osaka would get ahold of possession, as they looked to shorten the deficit. An opportunity arose for them through Patric, but defender Ramiro Funes Mori exerted himself to divert the ball when the Brazilian striker was about to score. From the subsequent corner, Patric missed a header at close range. Barovero later made three crucial saves, denying efforts from Shingo Akamine and Shu Kurata. During this time, River Plate were being outplayed on both flanks, and were leaving gaps for the home side to take advantage of, as fatigue and physical exhaustion started to take their toll. Kurata had one last chance for Gamba Osaka, but he put shot went wide, and the score remained. Details August 11, 2015 19:00 JST Gamba Osaka JPN 0–3 Report ARG River Plate Sánchez 8 pen. Mercado 31 Martínez 61 Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium, Suita 12,722 Tan Hai (China) _gambaosaka15h _gamba15h 000000 000000 000000 000000 000000 Gamba Osaka _river1415h _river1415h5 _river1415h _river1415h _river1415h ffffff ffffff ffffff ffffff FFFFFF River Plate GK 18JPN Yōsuke FujigayaDF 6 KOR Kim Jung-ya 41DF 8 JPN Keisuke Iwashita 44DF 15JPN Yasuyuki KonnoDF 22KOR Oh Jae-suk 83MF 7 JPN Yasuhito Endō (c)MF 17JPN Tomokazu Myojin 46MF 19JPN Kotaro Omori 55MF 21JPN Yosuke IdeguchiFW 9 BRA Lins 64FW 29BRA Patric 71Substitutes:GK 16JPN Ken TajiriDF 3 JPN Takaharu NishinoDF 4 JPN Hiroki Fujiharu 46MF 10JPN Takahiro Futagawa 55MF 11JPN Shu Kurata 57 41MF 13JPN Hiroyuki Abe 64FW 20JPN Shun NagasawaFW 24JPN Shingo Akamine 71FW 30JPN So Hirao 83Manager:JPN Kenta Hasegawa GK 1 ARG Marcelo Barovero (c)DF 25ARG Gabriel MercadoDF 2 ARG Jonatan MaidanaDF 6 ARG Ramiro Funes MoriDF 21ARG Leonel VangioniMF 8 URU Carlos Sánchez 78MF 23ARG Leonardo Ponzio 52MF 5 ARG Matías KranevitterMF 16ARG Nicolás Bertolo 52FW 22ARG Sebastián Driussi 52FW 29ARG Javier Saviola 64Substitutes:GK 26ARG Julio ChiariniDF 3 COL Éder Álvarez BalantaMF 18URU Camilo Mayada 78MF 14ARG Augusto SolariMF 15ARG Leonardo Pisculichi 52MF 27ARG Lucho González 64MF 10ARG Gonzalo Martínez 52FW 17ARG Lucas BoyéFW 19URU Tabaré Viudez 52Manager:ARG Marcelo Gallardo Assistant refereesMu Yuxin (China)Huo Weiming (China)Fourth officialHiroyuki Kimura (Japan)Match rules 90 minutes No extra-time Penalty shoot-out if necessary Nine named substitutes, of which up to six may be used Post-match River Plate's squad had travelled to San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico on 29 July for the first leg of the Copa Libertadores final, then back to Buenos Aires for the rematch, and eventually boarded their flight to Osaka for the eighth edition of the Suruga Bank Championship just 24 hours later. 2015-08-06 River viajó a Japón en busca de otra copa https://www.clarin.com/deportes/futbol/river-plate/river-japon-marcelo_gallardo-suruga_bank_0_BJnnySKvXg.html 2025-12-19 Clarín es Coach Marcelo Gallardo addressed the packed schedule after the game, highlighting: "We're happy to win another title [...] There was a risk because we were not in prime condition after traveling so far, and this match was a very important challenge. We responded once again." Regarding of the importance of the tournament, he stated: "Only two South American teams have had the opportunity to win this cup in eight editions." Gallardo: "El sacrificio no fue en vano" https://www.cariverplate.com.ar/el-sacrificio-no-fue-en-vano 2025-12-19 caRiverPlate.com.ar es Kenta Hasegawa was disappointed about the defeat. He argued: "We played our typical Gamba style and had some chances but we came up short [...] If we'd scored a goal in the second half when the heat slowed the opponents down, we could have added a few more goals. We didn't know if the opponents would come aggressively or defensively at us early on, but unless we can play well even under that level of pressure, we won't be the real deal."Gamba Osaka fall to River Plate in SURUGA bank Championship 2015 OSAKA http://www.jfa.jp/match/suruga_2015/news/00007055/ 2025-12-19 JFA｜公益財団法人日本サッカー協会 ja It was the fourth international title River Plate had lifted in 245 days, breaking the record set by Estudiantes de La Plata between 1968 and 1969, who had managed the same in just over a year. Gallardo commented on the feat: "A sense of aura is being built up, and that’s achieved by solidifying a winning team." He added further: "Getting used to winning is the best – we can't deviate from that path."Benozzi Maximiliano 2015-08-12 El fenómeno River https://www.clarin.com/river-plate/river-suruga_bank-marcelo_gallardo-copa_libertadores-mundial_de_clubes_0_H1Wai4Yv7x.html 2025-12-24 Clarín es 2025-01-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20250123035451/https://www.clarin.com/river-plate/river-suruga_bank-marcelo_gallardo-copa_libertadores-mundial_de_clubes_0_H1Wai4Yv7x.html live See also 2015 J.League Cup 2015 Copa Sudamericana 2015 Gamba Osaka season 2015 Club Atlético River Plate season References External links スルガ銀行チャンピオンシップ2015, Japan Football Association ja スルガ銀行チャンピオンシップ2015OSAKA, J. League ja Copa Suruga Bank, CONMEBOL.com es 2015 Category:2015 in Japanese football Category:2015 in South American men's continental football Category:Gamba Osaka matches Category:Club Atlético River Plate matches Category:2015 in Argentine football Category:Sports competitions in Osaka Prefecture Category:Sport in Suita Category:August 2015 sports events in Japan