Gustavo Costas himself pointed out that “the wound from the elimination in the Libertadores did not heal”, but the Racing players rescue some positive marks as an incentive that go beyond the achievement of reaching a semifinal: already consecrated champion of the Flamengo competition, with el 1-0 over Palmeirasthree were the footballers who made up the ideal team put together by the @sofascore_latam account (dedicated to statistics) due to the performances exhibited throughout the international tournament. They are Adrián Martínez, Santiago Sosa and Gabriel Rojas, who uploaded the selected team to their stories on Instagram.
In this way, the Academy has the same number of representatives as Flamengo, with the presence of Giorgian De Arrascaeta, Léo Pereira and Léo Ortiz; Estudiantes (reached the quarterfinals) has Guido Carrillo and Tiago Palacios; Palmeiras (finalist) to Gustavo Gómez and José López; and Liga de Quito (quarterfinals), to Gonzalo Valle.
This was the formation, made in a 3-4-3: Valley; L. Ortiz, G. Gómez, L. Pereira; T. Palacios, S. Sosa, G. De Arrascaeta, G. Rojas; J. López, A. Martinez and G. Carrillo.
As a consolation, after the disappointment of the series defeat against Fla, Maravilla Martínez finished as the Cup’s top scorer with seven goals, the same number as José López, Palmeiras’ number 9. He started in the 12 games he played and scored two doubles: one against Colo Colo in the group stage and another against Peñarol in the 3-1 in the Cilindro, in the rematch for the round of 16 with qualification to the quarterfinals.
Key player in Racing, one of the best midfielders in Argentine football, Santi Sosa played 11 games in the Cup and scored twice. He did one against Fortaleza from Brazil and another Atlético Bucaramanga from Colombia, both in the group stage. Santi missed the return leg against Flamengo because in the first leg, at the Maracaná, he suffered a fracture in his right malar bone after an involuntary elbow from Marcos Rojo and had to undergo surgery.
After the serious injury in the Libertadores, and beyond that ideal cup team, Sosa returned in Racing against River
In a great demonstration of commitment and courage, Sosa reappeared against River and was a figure wearing a protective mask, when he still had several more days of recovery left. He wanted to be there no matter what and was the figure of the recent classic.
For her part, Gabi Rojas, another fundamental piece in the Costas Academy, played 11 games and had three assists. The left back was able to play the series with Flamengo with just 11 days of recovery from a tear, suffered against Vélez.
