From River Plate to Inter Milan: the "selection" of players who played for both clubs throughout history.

Italian immigration was the largest exodus Argentina has ever received. There is a fraternal bond between the two nations. And if there's one club that represents that bond, it's Inter, River Plate's rival in the final match of Group E of the Club World Cup , which will determine qualification for the round of 16.

Statistics show that 56 Argentines have played for the Neroazzurro throughout its history , of which 52 played officially and four never made their debut in the First Division. Meanwhile, 15 of them also played for the Núñez-based club.

Since the 1930s, Inter has established a special connection with Argentine footballers, a relationship that has lasted for decades and has been instrumental in the club's success.

From Attilio Demaría to Lautaro Martínez, with a host of great players in between. One of them, Javier Zanetti , who set a record on the pitch, being the Argentine who played the most matches in the history of the Italian club with 858 games in 19 seasons with the institution, is currently vice president.

The connection began with Demaría, an Argentine midfielder who played for Gimnasia, Independiente, and Estudiantil Porteño, and who played in the 1930 World Cup with Argentina. Demaría won the Italian Cup in the 1938/39 season and marked the beginning of a tradition of Argentine footballers at Inter.

The phenomenon then grew stronger over the years, reaching its peak in the 2000s . In 2010, four players were crowned Champions League winners in the 2009/10 season: Javier Zanetti, Diego Milito, Walter Samuel, and Esteban Cambiasso . Milito, the current president of Racing Club, went down in history with his two goals against Bayern Munich in the final at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid.

And two managed to lift the UEFA Cup (97/98): Zanetti and Diego Simeone.

Today, Lautaro Martínez , another Argentine who became Inter captain, has broken club records: he is Argentina's all-time top scorer , with 153 goals, and all-time top scorer in European competitions, with 21. His achievements place him, along with Zanetti, at the top of Inter's history and alongside its greatest idols.

Among so many Argentine players, there are 15 who played for River and Inter , although one of them did not make his debut in the Italian club's First Division but played until the Primavera division (the Reserve).

The list of players who have worn the shirt includes some very important names such as Daniel Passarella, Ramón Díaz, Hernán Crespo, Matías Almeyda and Gabriel Batistuta . Other players who played for both clubs include Juan Pablo Carrizo, Nelson Vivas, Oscar Basso, Esteban Cambiasso, Santiago Solari, Sixto Peralta, Julio Cruz, Sebastián Rambert, Marcelo Pagani and Facundo Colidio (who did not officially play for Inter). Franco Carboni was also at both clubs, both in the youth categories, and obviously did not play in the First Division.

If the starting eleven were to be assembled, it would be a true national team. It could be formed like this: Carrizo; Vivas, Passarella, Basso; Almeyda, Cambiasso, Solari; Cruz, Batistuta, Crespo, and Ramón Díaz . And then there would be Peralta, Rambert, Colidio, and Pagani, who was a forward who played for River Plate in the first few months of 1962 and, after playing in the World Cup in Chile with the national team, went to Inter to play there during the 1962/63 season.

"Inter is a representative team of Europe, winner of several Champions League titles, and a benchmark in recent years. In other words, it's a high-caliber team with a strong presence of Argentine players who have made history at the club," said Marcelo Gallardo, River Plate's manager, who is now preparing his team for a decisive clash with that iconic Inter team.

"In Argentina, there's raw material, and Argentinian players are always popular in Europe. And Inter always liked them. Argentines and South Americans have personality and passion; they admire us for the way we play football," said Zanetti, who has a good relationship with River Plate's management.

There's a great bond between Inter and the Argentinians, many of whom also wore the red stripe.

From the player who played the most matches to the player who appeared the least, this is the list of the 54 Argentine players who played for Inter:

1- Javier Zanetti (858 matches, 21 goals)

2- Esteban Cambiasso (430, 51)

3 - Lautaro Martínez (333, 153)

4- Atilio Demaría (295, 86)

5- Walter Samuel (236, 17)

6- Mauro Icardi (222, 126)

8- Diego Milito (171, 75)

9- Rodrigo Palacio (171, 58)

10- Nicolás Burdisso (139, 8)

11- Antonio Valentín Angelillo (127, 77)

12- Hernán Crespo (117, 46)

13- Joaquín Correa (99 12)

14- Ricardo Álvarez (90, 14)

15- Diego Simeone (85, 14)

16- Cristian Kily González (75, 0)

17- Juan Sebastián Verón (74, 4)

18- Daniel Passarella (73, 15)

19- Santiago Solari (71, 7)

20- Alfredo De Vincenzi (56, 21)

21- Oscar Massei (54, 21)

22- Andrés Guglielminpietro (48, 1)

23- Matías Almeyda (47, 1)

25- Hugo Campagnaro (39, 0)

28- Juan Pablo Carrizo (27, 0)

29- Cristian Ansaldi (26, 0)

31- Mariano González (24, 1)

32- Victor José Pozzo (24, 0)

34- Matías Silvestre (20, 0)

35- Juan Landolfi (19, 0)

36- Humberto Maschio (17, 6)

37- Alberto Cerioni (16, 4)

38- Antonio Ferrara (15, 1)

39- Ezequiel Schelotto (13,1)

40- Gabriel Batistuta (13, 2)

44- Valentín Carboni (7, 1)

45- Tomás Palacios (3, 0)

47- Sebastián Rambert (2, 0)

48- Hernán Dellafiore (1, 0)

49- Lisandro López (1, 0)

50- Marcello Pagani (1, 0)

51- Franco Ponzinibio (1, 0)

52- Juan Salvador Rizzo (1, 0)

Report and statistics: Oscar Barnade