It’s just 13 minutes into the semi-final of a cup that looks like a championship. A match that, without being a classic, has many seasonings and backgrounds to be spicy before starting. The stands are full after both fans had to make a pilgrimage through half the province of Buenos Aires to reach a headquarters almost 250 kilometers from the home of both teams (It would be good to know exactly what leads the AFA to complicate the lives and finances of two fans when any stadium in the suburbs could have been designated).
In that crucial moment, Braian Romero, former Argentinos Juniors player but now Vélez scorer, He struggles with Román Vega at the door of the Bicho area. He seems to gain the position of the defender, who stretches his opponent’s shirt from behind until he falls on his back. Romero does not give up, he wants to continue playing, he extends his leg as far as he can and hits the shin guard of Nicolás Oroz, who had arrived to help his teammate on the mark. The impact with the plugs does not cause damage but is strong.
Facundo Tello, the referee, calls the forward for a foul and admonishes him. Mauro Vigliano, in charge of the VAR, calls him, shows him the plank and puts his partner between a rock and a hard place. With the regulations in hand, there is room for assessments of recklessness, excessive vehemence, and excessive force. In the context of the action and the match, and in accordance with what historically made football the wonderful game we know, the warning seems sufficient. Tello chooses not to be exposed: he changes the card and throws out Romero.
The numerical inequality gave the party a 180 degree turn that would not be modified until reaching the penalties. Because if in that little while that the ball was rolling on the grass we had seen what was expected: an Argentinos Juniors that took the ball from the first minute guided by the baton of Alan Lescano and a Vélez more concerned about bailing, scoring and quick exit from the counter, the expulsion changed everything.
A team, say those who understand the subject, can have one of those days when nothing goes according to plan, but in no case should it be allowed. lose style, disfigure the image that has been created with work and time. However, this is what happened to the La Paternal team. His renowned way of approaching and feeling the game, which comes from the depths of its history, in recent seasons grew under the direction of Gabriel Milito and continued with its variants with Pablo Guede, He was shipwrecked after meeting another soccer player.
Vélez was exactly the opposite case. “This group had a very bad time last year, but they always showed up. Playing better or worse, we never give up,” the kid summarized. Valentin Gomez, one of those who suffered the fight to avoid relegation just a few months ago and in San Nicolás it was one of the defensive bastions of Liniers’ team. Because just as happened in the quarterfinals against Godoy Cruz, Gustavo Quinteros’ team was forced to play while resisting, or rather, to resist while playing. And he did it once again.
The best of the match
With more poise in the final 30 of the first half, while he had air not only to suffocate his rival in the middle and force him to jump lines with long passes, many times without destination and many times won. by the implacable Damián Fernández and Gómez, but to hurt with the push of Agustín Bouzatthe management of Claudio Aquino and the sharp back and forth of Francisco Pizzini and Thiago Fernandez by the wings. Diego Rodríguez must have excelled in that period by making two notable double covers in that period, at 23 and at 30. Vélez suffered from the absence of a player on the court but it was impossible for someone who didn’t know it to notice.
Guede tried to change course, but Argentinos would never find the north. He fell into the tangle that Vélez was weaving for him – first a 4-4-1, and a 5-3-1 at the endafter the entry of Emanuel Mammana- and he did not find the exit to the labyrinth. It’s true, after insisting so much she had a chance. It was then that the figure of Tomás Marchiori emerged, to take a low left foot shot from José M. Herrera and another mid-range shot from Santiago Montiel, until he crowned his afternoon with the save from Luciano Gondou’s penalty in the decisive shootout.
Vélez reached an unexpected final –“It was somewhat difficult to believe after the 0-5 against River, but here we are,” said Quinteros. with a mischievous gesture -, qualifying for the playoffs almost by chance and spending both series playing very long minutes with ten men. Overcoming external problems, appealing to a quarry that never stops producing kids who understand the game. It reaches the final calling for epic and emotion, moving locals and strangers, appealing to that inexplicable fire that beats in football.