Official: River-Boca Copa Libertadores final to be played at the Bernabeu
The game will be played on Dec. 9 in the Spanish capital after the original fixture was postponed
The second leg of the Copa Libertadores final between River Plate and Boca Juniors will be played at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid on Dec. 9 at 20.30h (CET), CONMEBOL have confirmed.
Real Madrid's home will become the first stadium in the world to host four of football's five biggest trophies. With the exception of the Copa America, the Bernabeu has hosted the World Cup final (1982), the European Championships final (1964), the European Cup/Champions League final and now South America's biggest club trophy.
The president of the Spanish FA (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, committed ot the second leg of the final being played in Spain on Thursday. He said fans of the two teams will be received in Madrid "with open arms" and asked them to "enjoy" a "historic" game.
FIFA had asked for the RFEF's help as they looked to solve how to move on with the final after both teams agreed not to play in Argentina after trouble marred last week's fixture. The first options were Asunción, Doha and Miami, but Madrid has come through in the end. Argentina president Mauricio Macri, the ex-president of Boca, was involved in the negotiations.
Both Boca and River accepted the proposal to play the game next month ahead of the Club World Cup, which the winner will take part in. The presdient of CONMEBOL, Alejandro Domínguez, thanked Rubiales for stepping in.
There were rumours that Camp Nou was also in the running, but at no moment did the two clubs involved or CONMEBOL plan to play in Barcelona.
Boca and River -- Buenos Aires and South America's biggest rivals -- drew 2-2 in the first leg. The second leg was called off after an attack on the Boca bus by River supporters as they arrived at the stadium.
