Football has resumed its rights in the mythical enclosure of Rio de Janeiro, which hosted, at the start of the health crisis, a temporary field hospital.
But its 80,000 seats will remain empty, an additional symbol for Brazil which has more than 220,000 deaths attributed to Covid-19, the deadliest death toll after the United States.
On paper, the Sao Paulo state derby evokes a lot of passion.
For Santos supporters, memories of Pelé and Neymar inevitably resurface, the two superstars having been at the origin of the three Libertadores won by Pisces (1962, 1963, 2011).
A fourth title would see Santos become the most successful Brazilian club in the competition, ahead of Gremio and Sao Paulo FC (three each) .Black & White are relying heavily on their 19-year-old nugget Kaio Jorge, who scored five goals in the competition.
An additional achievement will allow him to match Ney's 2011 total, to which he is often compared.
10th in the Championship against 5th
Santos, in financial difficulty, bet everything on the lucrative Copa Libertadores (10 million euros for the winner) and abandoned the Brazilian championship where he occupies a disappointing 10th place, coach Cuca often aligning a reworked team.
“It's a satisfaction that is out of the ordinary.
The difficulties are very great.
We cannot recruit, we have difficulty paying salaries but we always play in a positive way, ”summed up Cuca, who is making his third term at the helm of Santos. Palmeiras is not having a great season in the league either. domestic, pointing to 5th place.
But the club coached by the Portuguese Abel Ferreira, former coach of Braga, has a solid collective, with players from Europe like Luiz Adriano, author of five goals in six Copa Libertadores matches this season.
Wingers Rony (5 goals) and Willian (4 goals) are the other main dangers of a club aiming for a second continental coronation after that of 1999. “We know the importance (of this final) and I think the The team is preparing well for this match, ”said Paraguayan central defender Gustavo Gomez, captain in recent weeks in Felipe Melo's absence due to injury.
The winner of this match will play the Club World Cup in Qatar, at the semi-finals stadium, on February 7.
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