Eintracht hero Rafael Borré seeks fresh start after title glory

Dream comeback like in 2022: The former Eintracht hero Rafael Borré faces a tough test of patience after his return to River Plate, after he had converted the decisive penalty in the 2022 Europa League final against Glasgow Rangers for the historic title for Eintracht Frankfurt, scoring the club’s first European winning goal.

European Cup Glory 2022

Maja Hitij/GettyImages recalls the magical night in Seville 2022, when Colombian attacking midfielder Rafael Santos Borré first scored the crucial equaliser and later converted the winning goal from the penalty spot. This strike gave Eintracht Frankfurt the historic Europa League title.

After the signing of Randal Kolo Muani, Borré lost his regular place at Eintracht Frankfurt and subsequently sought a loan to Werder Bremen, which was only modestly successful.

In January 2024 he moved for €6.5 million to SC Internacional in Porto Alegre. There he scored 28 goals in 104 competitive matches and led the team temporarily as captain.

In July 2026 he returned for roughly €2.2 million to his beloved club CA River Plate and signed a contract until the end of 2029. Previously he had already played for River Plate from 2017 to 2021 and won the Copa Libertadores in 2018.

Current Crisis

Under coach Eduardo Coudet, Borré is mostly found on the bench; in the first eight league games the 31‑year‑old striker has been used six times only as a super‑sub and has not yet scored a goal.

River Plate fell in the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana to Independiente Santa Fe at the end of August, and Borré was surprisingly not selected for the 2026 World Cup squad of the Colombian national team, which further intensifies his test of patience.