The Argentine River Plate embraced the epic by defeating the Colombian Independiente Santa Fe 2-1 on Wednesday in the Copa Libertadores with an improvised goalkeeper, Enzo Pérez, and without any substitute due to an outbreak of covid -19 in the squad that affected a score of players.
“I just tried to focus on helping the team,” said Enzo Pérez at the end of the game, an exquisite midfielder who more than fulfilled his improvised goalkeeping role.
Millionaire fans already compare this feat with the Copa Libertadores title that River achieved against archrival Boca Juniors in Madrid in 2018, in both cases under the baton of a successful coach Marcelo ‘Muñeco’ Gallardo.
“Obviously my fellow goalkeepers wrote to me and the goalkeeper coach also helped me,” added the member of the Argentine team, who confessed that he still had not noticed the historic victory.
All his teammates went to embrace the new millionaire idol, a pedestal in which only a few take place such as coach Marcelo Gallardo, former Uruguayan player Enzo Francescoli and world champion with Argentina in 1978, Noberto Alonso.
The four goalkeepers registered on the Copa Libertadores list are among those infected by covid-19 and River could not add another in that position as well as add new field players, so it did not have a substitute bank.
– Surprise –
River’s goals scored in the wake of the match by Angeleri (3 minutes) and Julián Álvarez (6) generated surprise before a totally confused opponent.
And although he lacked a life to conclude the game, ‘the millionaire’ knew how to maintain the victory and Santa Fe could only discount at minute 83, but it was not enough to avoid the role.
The party had unprecedented spices in the midst of a pandemic that relentlessly punishes the region, with almost a million deaths and, in the case of Argentina, just on the day that the daily record with almost 40,000 infections occurred.
An attempt to add a youth goalkeeper at the last minute failed on Tuesday when Conmebol denied it, relying on regulatory issues. Gallardo had submitted a roster of 32 players out of the 50 allowed.
The president of the “millionaire” institution, Rodolfo D’Onofrio, considered the situation “ridiculous”, but the club communicated its decision to play anyway to avoid sanctions.
Conmebol regulations establish that as long as there are a minimum of seven eligible players on the list in good faith, the teams must appear to compete.
The unbridled advance of the pandemic in the region and soccer’s reluctance to carry on despite the tragedy, can put the regulation to the test.
«The situation is totally atypical, very strange, very complicated. Going out to play this game will not be easy. Hopefully nothing happens and they can finish the game and that River has a good result. It is a very compromised situation, “Argentine national team coach Lionel Scaloni told ESPN channel.
The contagions in River also affect Scaloni, who must complete the list of summoned players with local players for the dates of the South American qualifier for the Qatar-2022 World Cup on June 3 and 8 and then the Copa América: «In this situation we have to value a lot because there are many days off, “warned DT.
– Bizarre match –
The extraordinary circumstances draw greater attention to this match in which River plays its chance in the Cup at the Monumental Stadium and Santa Fe aims to achieve its first triumph in the group.
The Colombians also reported three infected players, but did not reveal their identities, in addition to three other injured.
River is now in the leadership of Group D with 9 points, as does the Colombian Junior winner of Fluminense who was left with 8, while Independiente Santa Fe is eliminated.
The bizarreness of the situation has even motivated the game to be deleted from the list of games in the main online betting houses.
– Failure –
“It is discouraging to confirm that it was not enough to design specific processes and expand care to avoid a spiral of infections,” River admitted in a statement.
Neither the public ban, nor the suspension of concentrations or training bubbles were enough.
Despite everything, Argentina remains firm in its intention to host the Copa América, of which it is the organizer together with Colombia.
Even the president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, said on Tuesday that his country would be willing to host the oldest national team tournament in the world alone, given the difficult social situation in Colombia. AFP (HN)