The Copa Libertadores entered its defining stage and tonight it will meet the last team to enter the select group of the best four on the continent. In the Alberto J. Armando, Boca receives Racing. The referee is Colombian Wilmar Roldán and will televise ESPN 2.
Those led by Miguel Ángel Russo jumped onto the playing field ready to take their rivals ahead. With extended pressure and concentration in order to recover the ball well submerged in the opposite field, he took the reins of development and transformed the Racing lanes into sidelines. The visit, besieged, appealed to try to slow down the actions.
After 5 minutes, Boca reached the bottom: Franco Soldano was hand in hand, but Arias shook well and the striker finished him off to the body. At 10, after an overflow of Fabra, Tevez crossed the attempt and again forced the intervention of the Chilean nationalized goalkeeper.
In the first leg, played last Wednesday, those of Avellaneda asserted their locality and prevailed by 1 to 0 in the Cilindro thanks to a goal from Paraguayan Lorenzo Melgarejo. Due to this result, Xeneize is obliged to win to advance to the round, while the Academy will get into the semifinals with a victory, a draw or any type of defeat by a goal difference, except 0-1, which will deposit it. in penalties.
Boca, who leads Championship Zone A of the Diego Maradona Cup along with River and Argentinos, arrived at this stage after leading Group H (there were Libertad from Paraguay, Caracas from Venezuela and Independiente Medellín from Colombia) and eliminating Inter from Porto Cheerful. Racing, which only has one point in Complementation Zone B, was second to Nacional de Uruguay in Group F (there were also Estudiantes de Mérida from Venezuela and Alianza Lima from Peru), but then gave the big blow by eliminating the current champion Flamengo from Brazil.
This commitment will be vital in the process of Miguel Ángel Russo as technical director of the La Ribera club, the second cycle that began with a local title, snatching it from River on the last day. The blue and gold set, which has not raised this trophy since 2007, He has not found regularity since he returned to activity and that is why the technical director made several modifications.
On the right side Leonardo Jara won the pulse from Julio Bufarini. In the middle, Diego Octopus González prevailed in the bid against Capaldo. In addition, Sebastián Villa is in charge of occupying the left wing, instead of Cardona. On offense, to accompany the captain and benchmark Carlos Tevez, Franco Soldano won the place after his goal against Independiente.
In the run-up to this duel, Vice President Juan Román Riquelme broke the silence and released an important phrase: “The Copa Libertadores is the most important tournament that I played with the Boca jersey. It is difficult to win a local tournament, it is difficult to win any tournament. If you’re good, you have to win the Libertadores”.
Those of Avellaneda, for their part, are one step away from making history, since they have not qualified for the semifinals of this competition since 1997, when he beat Peñarol from Uruguay on penalties. They then fell 6-4 on aggregate to Sporting Cristal of Peru.
Prior to this commitment, the technical director Sebastián Beccacece was dissatisfied for some situations that were experienced with respect to arbitration: “We are used to what Boca and River generate. For us it is natural, as they have also approached the issue of the appointment of arbitration, of the VAR. We had information from a leader that (Wilmar) Roldán was not going to be there and he appeared in the quarterfinals. They are all media things that we do not have reach and we do not want to have it ”.
“As long as they are clear about what to do on the field of play, the coach is calm. I perceive a lot of connection between them, with us, the people, and that gives me peace of mind. We are going to face the candidate; to one of the candidates. But we believe in these dreamers who are nurturing that dream of all Racing people, which is accompanied by action, dedication and a plan, overcoming adversities, unforeseen, imponderable, actions that have nothing to do with pure play ” he added.
The winner of this crossing will be measured in the semifinals against Santos from Brazil (the first leg will be in Buenos Aires, on January 6, while the return will be played on the 13th). On the other side of the box River will collide with Palmeiras.
Trainings:
Boca Juniors: Esteban Andrada, Leonardo Jara, Lisandro López, Carlos Izquierdoz, Frank Fabra, Eduardo Salvio, Jorman Campuzano, Diego González, Sebastián Villa, Franco Soldano and Carlos Tevez. DT: Miguel Ángel Russo.
Racing Club: Gabriel Arias, Fabricio Domínguez, Leonardo Sigali, Nery Domínguez, Alexis Soto, Eugenio Mena; Lorenzo Melgarejo, Leonel Miranda, Matías Rojas, Héctor Fértoli and Lisandro López. DT: Sebastián Beccacece.
Stadium: Alberto J. Armando (La Bombonera)
Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)
Time: 21.30
Television: ESPN 2
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