The
quarterfinals
of the
League Cup
began with pure excitement, and the teams that qualified for the
semifinals
of the Argentine tournament are already beginning to be known.
In the south of Greater Buenos Aires,
Argentinos Juniors
beat
Defensa y Justicia
on penalties after finishing tied 1-1 in the 90 regulation minutes.
This Saturday,
Diego "el Ruso" Rodríguez
was the great figure of the afternoon in Banfield. He had been during the game, with a monumental save when El Bicho went all out in search of equality, and he confirmed it in the shootout from twelve steps.
The former goalkeeper of Independiente and Godoy Cruz, among others, contained two shots of the six that the Halcón kicked (two of them deflected), and ended up asking for the ball to convert his own, with a shot from the corner when it seemed impossible to define the story .
Now, those led by Diego Guede wait for the winner of
Godoy Cruz
vs
Vélez
, who play tonight in San Luis.
League Cup 2024
Source:
Professional Football League
Infographic:
Clarín
The other semi-final key will be played by the winners of the match between
Estudiantes de La Plata
and
Barracas Central
, and whoever ends up winning this Sunday in the superclassic clash between
Boca
and
River
, in Córdoba.
Students against Barracas: more than a football match
Estudiantes
and
Barracas Central
played only three games in the first division. The first time they faced each other was in 2022 for the
League Cup
, on that occasion the victory went to
León
with a large score of 6 to 1. Of that starting
Pincha
team that beat the Barracas team, only
Fernando Zuqui
remains . At
Guapo
the only one who is still on the squad is
Carlos Arce
.
The other two matches were also for those from
La Plata
with a 3-1 victory in the
2022 Professional League
and their last match was also in the league, but in 2023 and was a 5-2 victory for
Eduardo Domínguez
's team . They have faced each other more times as amateurs, their first confrontation being in 1918 for the
Competencia Cup
with a victory for Estudiantes by 2 to 0. Before the professional era they played six games, two victories for
Pincharrata
and four draws.
This match will not only be played on the field but also between leaders since it will be crossed by the dispute that revolves around the arrival of
Sports Joint Stock Companies
to Argentine football. "The first thing you do is look at the bad examples of corporations, not the good ones.
If we are going to look at the civil companies that went bankrupt in Argentina, there are a lot of them
," Juan Sebastián Verón had said. And
Pablo Toviggino
, treasurer of the AFA and man close to Chiqui Tapia, attacked him harshly.
Despite the crossfire between leaders and the controversies that revolve around the
AFA
president's team , the one who sought to distance himself from the matter was the coach of the La Plata team. "We have nothing against anyone.
We are a team that wants to give the best and an institution that wants to grow
." We will have to wait until Saturday at 6:30 p.m. to find out which of the two reaches the semifinal of this La Liga Cup.
Godoy Cruz and Vélez close the day on Saturday
Godoy Cruz
y
Vélez
They played a total of 26 times and the statistics are favorable to Liniers' team. Those from Mendoza
won seven games
, tied seven and those from
V Azulada
won 12
.
The first time they faced each other was for the 2006 Apertura at the
José Amalfitani
. The victory went to the locals with two goals from
Mauro Zárate
. For the La Liga Cup they played only once in 2022 on date 10. That match ended in a 0-0 draw. However, the last match was for the
Professional League
in 2023 and also ended in a draw, but this time 1-1 with goals from
Lautaro Gianetti
and
Thomas Galdames
.
Godoy Cruz was the best team in the first phase of this tournament, winning nine games, drawing two and only losing three games, in addition, it is the team that has earned the most points so far this year (29).
Daniel Oldrá
recovers a player in the midfield, it is the Uruguayan Nicolás Fernández, who was not present in the match against Boca in
La Bombonera
due to a physical discomfort.
He is set to join his compatriot
Vicente Poggi
to form the starting double five alongside Bruno Leyes. Likewise, on the left side, the Chilean
Thomas Galdames
would return to the starting lineup to take the place of Elías Pereyra, from a weak game against
Xeneize (
Édison Cavani
's goal play
came from his sector).
Meanwhile, Vélez arrives after obtaining classification in agonizing form after beating
Independiente Rivadavia
in Mendoza and being favored by the tie between Independiente de Avellaneda and Talleres in the
Libertadores de América
.
The same week in which the termination of the contract of goalkeeper
Sebastián Sosa
, one of the four footballers reported for
sexual abuse
, was made official,
Fortín
seeks the atmosphere of tranquility conducive to achieving a new victory, the one that will put it in the semifinals.
It will be a spectacular weekend for football lovers with the
La Liga Cup
coming to an end and everyone wants to win not only the trophy, but also direct qualification to the next edition of the
Copa Libertadores. America
.
Boca vs River and their antecedents in the "hand in hand"
It could happen and finally it did. There will be
Superclásico
in the quarterfinals of the League Cup. The eighth
head-to-head
in the last 10 years,
number 21 in history
, with a favorable balance for
River
, which won 13 times against
Boca
's 8 . In addition, it will be the 262nd match, with a general balance in favor of Xeneize of five games: 91 wins against 86 and 84 draws. On the other hand, on a neutral court - like what will happen next Sunday - they have already played 13 times, with 8 million-dollar wins, 2 boquenses and 3 draws.
Of the 20 heads-up that they played, 11 were a single match, like the two most recent, in 2021, one for the League Cup and the other for the Argentine Cup. The first ended 1-1 at La Bombonera, on May 16, and Boca won against a rival full of youth players on penalties 4 to 2. The other, on August 4 at the Unico Diego Maradona stadium in La Plata, ended 0-0 and the Ribera team won 4 to 1 in the shootout from eleven meters. After those Boca celebrations, the balance in a single match was 7 to 4 in favor of River.
But it's always good to review history. The first two duels were in the second decade of the 20th century. In 1915, in the first round of the Copa Competencia, they tied 1-1 on May 2. That game was played on the field that
Boca
had that year in Wilde. In addition, there was 30 minutes of overtime. Given the parity and lack of light, on May 9, in GEBA, a new match was played that River won 4 to 2.
Three years later, in the same competition and instance, the then-Dense player won 1-0 on the Racing field, where he played at home. Already in the rented era, River and Boca equaled first place in the first round of the 1937 tournament. As there were medals for the winner, a match was established between the two, which was only played on February 11, 1939. River 5 won. to 3. A detail in this meeting. José Lizhterman debuted in Boca, scoring three goals in just 6 minutes, a record in the club's history.
The Escobar Cup is the greatest official creation that Argentine football had. It was played at the end of the tournament between the 7 best, the matches lasted 40 minutes and if there were ties it was decided by a corner. In 1942, they tied the semifinal 0-0 but River went to the final because they had one more corner kick: 3 to 2.
On the other hand, the British Competition Cup was played by all First Division teams, by direct elimination. They met in the semi-finals. On August 15, 1946, at the Gasómetro, they won 2-0 against Boca, who for the first time were able to celebrate against their classic rival.
The 1969 Metropolitano was played in two zones, like the current Cup. Both qualified and immediately met in the semifinals. On the Racing field, they played 120 minutes and no goals were scored. River passed because it had more goals in the tournament.
Three years later, in the 1972 National, they were again in different areas. And they met in the semifinals. River won 3-2 at the Vélez court on December 13.
The first final in history was for Boca. The most remembered heads-up until the arrival of the 21st century. On December 22, 1976, on the Racing field, they defined the National tournament: Boca won 1 to 0 with a goal from Chapa Suñé.
In the 80s, after the League tournament, a Pre-Liguilla Pre Libertadores was played to find the champion's companion. In 1989, both reached the round-trip final, which also required a tiebreaker after two 0-0 draws. In the decisive duel, on July 27 in Vélez, River won 2 to 1.
The AFA celebrated its centenary in 1993. And it put a Cup on the line. In the first phase of the Centenario Cup, which Gimnasia won, all the classics were played. They tied the first leg 0-0 in Boca and the rematch, in Vélez (local River), Millonario won 1-0 with a golden goal from Cuqui Silvani (116 minutes).
Entering the 90s, River had a clear advantage of 8 to 2 definitions won. And Boca's time arrived. First in the quarterfinals of the 94 Super Cup. After two draws, 0-0 and 1-1 in the Bombonera, Xeneize went through after winning the penalty shootout 5 to 4.
Six years later, the first unforgettable duel for Boca's team arrived: the quarterfinals of the 2000 Libertadores. River won the first leg 2-1 on May 17 and the second leg went to Boca 3-0 on May 24 (cano de Riquelme to Yepes and return from Palermo). The goals: Delgado, Román and the Titan.
With Carlos Bianchi again as coach, Boca redoubled their bet in the 2004 Libertadores semifinals. The first leg was 1-0 at the Bombonera and the rematch was 2-1 for River at the Monumental, but the visit was won on penalties ( 5-4). It was the day that Tevez earned the red card after the goal for charging the local fans with the little chicken gesture.
And finally the Doll arrived to River's technical leadership and the five heads-up went to his team. First, in the semifinals of the 2014 Sudamericana: 0-0 in the first leg in the Bombonera and River 1-0 in the Monumental, a goal from Pisculichi and a penalty that Barovero saved from Gigliotti.
The following year, the round of 16 of the Libertadores. In the first leg, River won 1-0 at the Monumental. A week later, they were 0-0, there was an attack with pepper spray on the River players, suspension and elimination of Boca from the tournament.
Another single-match Superclásico was the second final in history. River won the 2018 Argentine Super Cup played in Mendoza after winning 2-0. But that year has a unique memory, “the eternal final” of the Libertadores. After the 2-2 in the Bombonera and the suspension in the Monumental due to the attack on Boca's bus, everything was decided in Madrid, where River won 3 to 1.
In the following edition of the Copa Libertadores, they met again, but this time in the semifinals. In the first leg, Millo was much more than Gustavo Alfaro's team and the 2-0 win was a little disappointing. The second leg, in La Bombonera, the home team's 1-0 lead was not enough and Gallardo reached his fifth duel with a perfect record.
In 2021, the two penalty shootouts that Boca won came. Now, almost three years later, Argentine football vibrates with the classic of classics, the Superclásico, as the remembered and beloved journalist Juan José Lujambio baptized it in the 70s.