This edition of the Superclásico had a different tinge to it as Boca and River were in transition phases.

River went back to an old friend in Ramón Díaz as he replaced Américo Gallego. After leaving River Plate a few years back, he returned to the frenzy of the Millonario faithful.

Díaz led River to one of the most successful runs in club history winning the title in three consecutive tournaments as well as wins in the Copa Libertadores back in 1996.

Boca were facing a change in the air as Carlos Bianchi departed due to differences with club brass. Boca hired an old friend in Oscar Washington Tabárez, who led them to a league title in the early 90's with players like Blas Giunta, "Manteca"Martínez, and Gabriel Batistuta.

River looked to get out of the shadow of their rivals this tournament after having seen them win the Copa Libertadores for the second straight year and were one minute away from taking Bayern Munich to penalties despite being a man down.

The prospect of penalties with Oscar Córdoba in goal was synonymous with a sure win for the Xeneize during that stretch. Córdoda left to play with Italian side Peruggia and this left the door open for eternal substitute Roberto Abbondanzieri to take the torch.

This Superclásico had all the ingredients of a great matchup, the only problem was that there was an intense rainstorm that hampered play for the most part. But River proved to be the more brilliant side as they romped at La Bombonera 3-0. It was a match that would not be remembered in River lore not for the youngsters necessarily, but for the goal of one veteran that was in the twilight of his career.

Ricardo Rojas, was Argentine by birth played for the Paraguayan national team in the 1998 World Cup and came back to his native Argentina to close out an illustrious career that saw him play at Portuguese side Benfica. He would also play for Estudiantes and Belgrano, but would only score one goal in Argentine. Fortunately for him it was scored on this day.

River Plate's new era of youngsters made the difference in this match as Andrés D'Alessandro, Fernando Cavenaghi, and Esteban Cambiasso. But on this day, it was the elder statesman was the one that would hail the most praise.

Cambiasso and Cavenaghi put River in the lead despite sporadic attacks by Boca that threatened Ángel Comizzo's goal. The big absentee was Juan Román Riquelme and the Xeneize felt it. The team looked fractured on the attack and Walter Gaitán was not up to the task of replacing the player that an entire nation clamored to be on the Albiceleste squad that was about to head to Japan and South Korea for the World Cup.

Then in the dying minutes of the match, Rojas started the River counterattack. would go on a counterattack. He would go on a 50-yard sprint and two passes later he found himself in outside the Boca box and masterfully chipped a beautiful rainbow shot that nestled in the back of the Boca net;officially beginning the celebration in the upper deck of La Bombonera.

In the end River Plate were the best team in that tournament. They were the best offense (39 goals) and had the best goal differential (+23). Fernando Cavenaghi was the top scorer of the tournament (15 goals). Boca ended up a distant third place. Boca and River would end up eliminated in quarterfinals against Olimpia (eventual champion) and Gremio respectively.

The 2002 Apertura saw River poised to repeat but that would fail as Marcelo Delgado's brace at El Monumental shattered that dream. Boca would be runner-up to Independiente, who was managed by- Américo Gallego.

This loss propelled president José María Aguilar to sever ties with Díaz claiming "a change in direction". Boca would also cut ties with Tabárez and would see Bianchi return in 2003 to lead the Xeneize to two more Libertadores finals, winning one of them and another Intercontinental victory as they beat AC Milan in- you guessed it, penalty kicks.