River Plate's players celebrated their heroic status with 60,000 of the club's ardent supporters as they returned to Argentina for the first time since beating fierce rivals Boca Juniors in the final of the Copa Libertadores.

River had no time to mark their victory with fans as they headed to the United Arab Emirates to play in the Club World Cup on the back if their triumph. They finished third in the tournament.

The second leg of their final against Boca was postponed twice due to fan violence before the match was relocated out of Argentina, to Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

After much uproar, the two sides headed out to Spain after drawing the first leg at Boca's La Bombenera stadium 2-2.

There, River ran out 3-1 winners after extra time on December 9 - 5-3 on aggregate - to win South America's equivalent of the Champions League for the fourth time. 

Manager Marcelo Gallardo adressed the crowd during the parade and thanked the supporters for their backing.

"Thanks for being here, thanks for supporting us, for enduring us and for encouraging us, for all the love received over the years," Gallardo said.

"It's a great emotion what I am feeling right now, it's a great feeling to share with this group of players."

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