In
River
they are aware that they had a difficult group in the draw for the
Copa Libertadores
.
Even so, the hope of being able to play a good role is latent, due to the quality of the squad, the specific weight of the shirt and the latest background from the hand of Marcelo Gallardo.
Although there is now another coach, the Libertadores
is also one of the priorities in the cycle of Martín Demichelis
, who, dressed in an impeccable suit, was in the draw in Luque, together with the president of the club,
Jorge Brito
, the vice presidents Matías Patanian and Ignacio Villarroel and the sports director,
Enzo Francescoli
.
“It is a challenging group”
, they admitted to
Clarín
from the Millionaire entourage.
But at the same time they believe that it will be important to generate filming.
That is to say, the thought in Núñez will be focused on the fact that, if River reaches the round of 16, he will be strengthened for the one-on-one matches.
The draw for the Libertadores.
(AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
“The draw could have been better,
but it is not a group of death either
.
In truth, there was no such group.
When it started and we saw Flamengo and Racing, it seemed that there would be, but no.
It was quite even"
, said Francescoli. And then, about Fluminense, a priori the most difficult rival that River will have, the Uruguayan remarked:
"It is well known that Brazilian football has a certain advantage, but we will try to fight them. We have to become strong at home "
.
The River group, in any case, has some peculiarities that refer to coincidences that arouse enthusiasm in the fans.
When he faced a Bolivian team and a Peruvian team in the same area, as it will now be against
The Strongest and Sporting Cristal
, he came out champion.
It happened in the 2015 edition, in which they faced San José de Oruro and José Aurich.
And the other is that when he joined Group D, as now, he also lifted the most important continental trophy.
It was in 2018, in which, in addition, he had to face a Brazilian team and more precisely, from Rio de Janeiro.
On that occasion to Flamengo,
now to Fluminense
.
Copa Libertadores Draw
On the other hand, going to the purely football,
the four teams in this Group D are leaders in their local tournaments
.
After eight dates of the Professional Soccer League have been disputed, Martín Demichelis's team is the only leader.
With 18 points, he took two from San Lorenzo after a good run of three consecutive wins.
Regarding Fluminense, although it must be said that the Brasileirao has not yet started, it is also going through a present to take care of itself: it finished top of the Carioca championship, above Flamengo itself, its rival in the final.
He added a world figure like Marcelo, the former Real Madrid
, and has a top scorer like the Argentine Germán Cano.
The last time they met in the group stage (in 2021), River failed to win either of the two games.
He tied in Brazil and lost in Núñez.
The Strongest is also a pointer in the start of the Bolivian league.
Directed by the Argentine Claudio Biaggio
, leader march undefeated in six disputed dates, with 16 units (5 wins and 1 tie), one more than Bolívar.
And it has in favor the advantage of 3,600 meters above sea level of its location in La Paz, where River has not won for 53 years.
The last time was in 1970, with a 2-0 win over Universitario.
Lastly,
Sporting Cristal is the leader of the Peruvian tournament
after seven rounds, with 15 points, a position it shares with Universitario (it has played one more game) and Alianza Lima.
He arrives with a history of eliminating Huracán in the last preliminary phase of the Cup and on the bench he has Roberto Mosquera, an old acquaintance of River: he was the DT of Juan Aurich in the 2015 Libertadores and of Jorge Wilstermann in the 2017 edition , rivals of the Millionaire team in those editions.
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