Leading and undefeated, the Libertadores Cup became a palliative for the controversial closure of Workshops in the League Cup. The height of Calama, 2600 meters above sea level, did not make the Cordobans dizzy or disrupt their plan: attitude, concentration and fast play to fuel the illusion on the international level after the elimination of the Argentine tournament.
One minute, which elapsed from 26 to 27 of the first half, was the time that marked the final pulse of the match: from the “no goal” by the Chileans, due to an advanced position that the VAR invalidated, to the immediate celebration of Ramón Sosa, who simply read the rival’s defensive frailties. A 2-0 victory that reflects the firepower of La Twhich he scored in the three presentations, two of them outside the Docta. Completing the task in Córdoba to travel to San Pablo with the ticket to the round of 16 in hand, is the mission of a group that moves as a whole and shines with the light of some of the individualities.
The days of international tournaments bring indelible memories for Talleres, which in 1999 became champion of the Conmebol Cup, a trophy that Rosario Central and Lanús also won among Argentine clubs. The relationship with the Libertadores began 22 years ago and the current one is the fourth time la T plays the highest club competition in South America; two decades after that premiere, the best campaign: he fell in the quarterfinals with Vélez.
The new adventure did not appear easy from the moment the draw was rehearsed: a giant like San Pablo for the debut, the visit to Guayaquil to face Barcelona and the trip to close the first stage against Cobresal. He was not afraid of the difficulty that the program presented and the support of the public is a sign of enthusiasm: the celebration in front of the popular, a symptom of unity.
The stopped ball to open the way and the intelligence to take advantage of a doubt in Cobresal’s defense, the arguments that Talleres exploited to guide the victory in the first half. From a corner, the Colombian Kevin Mantilla He showed his power to prevail in the aerial game and leave goalkeeper Leandro Requena out of action, a man from Córdoba who grew up in Talleres and joined the mining team four years ago. “I was there for 17 years, it is the club of my life. I have enormous love and affection for him,” said the goalkeeper, who had an outstanding performance when Cobresal left spaces in the defense, in his desperation to score and get into the game.
The victory of Talleres in Chile
Requena’s interventions drowned out the celebrations of Rubén Botta, Federico Girotti, Ramiro Ruíz Rodríguez and Sosa, the offensive squad that coach Walter Ribonetto set up and who managed to team up in several parts of the game. Talleres’ deficit lay in not taking advantage of the various dangerous situations, particularly in the first half, when the head was oxygenated and the physique responded.. Slowly, the energies were fading, although he managed to withstand the tangled attack that the rival designed and launched a couple of counterattacks to catch his breath and demonstrate that even without the freshness of the first episode he has the talent to handle the rhythm.
The moment of greatest anxiety for Talleres turned into celebration. From a free kick taken by Leonardo Valencia, Franco Bechtholdt – an Argentine nationalized as a Chilean, although he never played in Creole football – scored, after the fantastic response shown by goalkeeper Guido Herrera. The Bolivian assistant referee Juan Montaño raised the flag indicating an offside position and the VAR – with his compatriots Wilfredo Campos and Jorge Justiniano – validated the sanction, after four minutes of deliberation; As soon as the main referee Ivo Méndez gave the order to resume the game, Talleres punished Cobresal’s distraction: Herrera tried a long shot, Girotti combed the ball and Sosa was in charge of the definition.
There were few similarities between the Chileans, ninth in their championship, and Talleres, who did not qualify for the playoffs and in the final game with Independiente he became involved in controversy with Girotti’s high-sounding statements against the refereeing and the AFA, although the forward later retracted the accusations. Cobresal’s ideas were few, he repeated himself in centers that were thwarted by defenders Matías Catalán and Mantilla, or left in the hands of Herrera, who was not complicated if the play asked to send the ball to the corner kick.
Returning energy to the team with the change windows was a methodology that Ribonetto practiced. Juan Portilla, Juan Portillo, Valentín Depetri, Nahuel Bustos and Gustavo Bou became the quintet with which Talleres reorganized the lines to avoid hot flashes. With less offensive presence than in the first half, La T He already had what he went to Chile for: the victory to stay at the top of the standings, the undefeated record and the strength of the goal, because San Pablo, Barcelona and Cobresal were victims of the Córdoba artillery.