River Plate fans rally on Twitter, ask goalkeeper to stay

Fans of Argentinian football club River Plate have begun a campaign via Twitter to try to persuade goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero to stay with the club.

With the hashtags "NoTeVayasTrapito" (Don't Go Trapito) and "QuedateEnRiverTrapito" (Stay With River Trapito) -- Trapito is the goalie's nickname, the fans managed to broadcast their petition and it started to trend on the social network website on Wednesday, reports Xinhua.

Also, under the slogan "this Thursday everyone to the Monumental (Stadium) to support Barovero", the fans want everyone to attend the Copa Libertadores match against Sao Paulo (Brazil) wearing green as it is the color the goalkeeper plays in.

The fans' "devotion" for the player became so great that his shirt was the most sold River Plate merchandise between 2014 and 2015.

The initiative came about after Barovero recently announced his decision to leave River in June due to "personal issues".

Barovero, 32, arrived at River in the 2012-2013 season and quickly became a fan favorite.

The former Huracan and Velez Sarsfield goalkeeper has played 150 matches and won two local and four international titles with River Plate. The international titles include last year's Copa Libertadores which the team won for the first time in 19 years.

One of Barovero's best moments for River was in the semifinals of the Copa Sudamericana in 2014 against their biggest rivals, Boca Juniors.

In the match, Barovero denied a penalty from forward Emmanuel Gigliotti, who now plays for Chinese side Chongqing Lifan.

Saving that penalty allowed River to win the series and they later went on to become the champions, the club's first international title in 17 years.