2024-05-05 03:01:00
Enzo Pérez, Estudiantes de La Plata midfielder, waves his arms, his back sports a huge River tattoo and a big smile of celebration appears on his face. “Again, again,” is the war cry that travels through the air of the Mario Alberto Kempes stadium. His team left out Boca and Pérez’s frenetic celebration is an allusion to his statistical power over Xeneixe and at the same time, it also seems to be a disclaimer towards a certain sector of football that was approaching the end point of his career. .
With this victory, those led by Eduardo Domínguez will play the final of the League Cup against Vélez this Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at the Madre de Ciudades stadium, in Santiago del Estero. Pincha comes with the emotional boost from the comeback they achieved against Boca, but tactically they will have to move some pieces to not give up the spotlight to the rival from the start of the match. The trident Fernando Zuqui, Enzo Pérez and Santiago Ascacibar, which worked well against Xeneixe to stop the passing circuits, will be one of the keys to balance the middle of the field and the possible entry of Edwin Cetré from the start, the card for dismantle the defensive block of the Fortín.
But the revelation of Estudiantes, without a doubt, today falls on their goalkeeper, Matías Mansilla. He is 28 years old, has a long journey through promotion football (Midland, Morón, Patronato, Central Córdoba de Santiago del Estero) and his performance against Xeneixe – hero in the definition from the 12 steps – ended up giving him the confidence he needed to be the replacement for Mariano Andujar.
“Of course it has merit, we give him confidence not by telling him it, but because we show it to him. He has to be calm and be him, when he is he he will act much calmer, much more comfortable and he will really show the potential it has and that we see,” Domínguez said in the last press conference, after the game against Boca.
With the interpreters defined, the group of diagonals seeks to answer the questions of who is – or should be – the big sixth. Of the last five games where Pincha and Fortín met, the balance left two victories for each and one draw.
On the side of Vélez – the team of the failure – to reach this stage they left out Godoy Cruz, who finished as the leader of zone B, and last weekend they did the same with Argentinos Juniors, a rival that arrived with signs of good football and together with Boca, he was one of the candidates. Gustavo Quinteros’ team knew how to reverse the image of a team that had just fought relegation, that started the year with a 5-0 defeat against River and that fought to qualify for the playoffs.
Faced with all adversity, Fortín is a finalist for the League Cup. Now they go with renewed hope to face Estudiantes, but with a significant decline in the offensive. The early expulsion of Braian Romero against Bicho leaves Quinteros without one of his strong men in attack and the doubt is between Thiago Vecino or Alejo Sarco. Although it is the Uruguayan who has the greatest advantage to be in the starting eleven. On the other hand, Elías Gómez returns to defense. The former River had been expelled in the match against Tomba and after completing the sanction date, he joins the coach’s orders.
“I feel very proud of these players, I am very excited. In a short time we managed to reach a final, although at the beginning the objective was to form a competitive team,” Quinteros said at a press conference with partisan media. And in the face of the dizzying change of semester , the analyzes are positive, with a team that shows signs of greater prominence in attacking situations.
“The true Vélez fan has a lot to do with all this. They raised players who were not doing well, they support the team and encourage…”, highlighted Quintero, who recognized an overwhelming presence of the Vélez partiality when it came to accompanying these instances. “It moves you, it motivates you, it gives you the strength to do what these players did today, so I am eternally grateful to the Vélez fans.”
If the definition is not defined in the ’90 minutes, it should be noted that Fortín’s goalkeeper, Tomás Marchiori, is a key figure. Against Argentinos Juniors he had a consecrating afternoon and now the desire is to complete the dream in Santiago del Estero. “I feel very happy. This is a dream for us. We set out to do this when the tournament started. There are many kids from the club who had a tough time last year and today they are celebrating, passing a final and delivering in all the matches of this cup. For us it is something very nice, very special and nothing more beautiful than celebrating it with the fans,” said the Mendoza goalkeeper in a press conference, who, like goalkeeper Pincha, had his greatest experience during promotion.
This Vélez de Quinteros reaches the final with signs of humility and sacrifice. With the exact dose of rebellion when he has to do it and very advanced in that resilient pilgrimage, which today places them just over ’90 minutes away from getting another trophy for their showcase of national titles.