Millonarios will seek to give another blow to Atlético Nacional this Wednesday, after beating him last Sunday in Medellín 0-1 on the first date of the home run semifinals of the local League.
Now, at home, in El Campín, he hopes for a new victory against the always challenging rival in the first leg of the Colombia Cup final.
Precisely, both teams are re-editing one more edition of the Colombian soccer superclassic that they also starred in in the last final of this year’s League I, in which Millonarios was crowned champion in a penalty shootout.
Millionaires, without their team in the first leg of the final
Millonarios will not have two of its key pieces in defense: Colombian goalkeeper Álvaro Montero and Costa Rican center back Juan Pablo Vargas, who will join their countries’ teams for this Fifa date of World Cup qualifiers in South America and the Concacaf Nations League. Goalkeeper Juan Moreno and center back Jorge Arias are expected to replace him.
“In these finals, one of the fundamental and essential points is to defend ourselves well. We are at home and we will try to suddenly put the team further ahead, with the risk that we always take here,” said coach Alberto Gamero.
Tomorrow everyone united to defend our Cup title! Ⓜ️⚽️🔥
▶️ These are the players summoned by teacher Gamero for the first leg of the 2023 Cup Grand Final.
💙🔝 GO MILLIONAIRES! 🔝💙 pic.twitter.com/nNxQd3RB5i
— Millonarios FC (@MillosFCoficial) November 15, 2023
Daniel Cataño, scorer of last Sunday’s winning goal, has a “minor muscle load,” according to the team. That illness prevented him from finishing the last game. However, Gamero said at the press conference that he hopes to have him.
National, with the hope of a title
Atlético Nacional, meanwhile, will lose Colombian goalkeeper Kevin Mier and Venezuelan scorer Eric Ramírez due to the national team break. Their coach, Jhon Bodmer, will also not have center back Cristian Castro, full backs Andrés Salazar and Andrés Román, and attacker Jayder Asprilla, who are injured.
That is why the strategist is expected to continue appealing to youth players such as full-backs Samuel Velásquez and Edier Ocampo or attackers Óscar Perea and Yair Mena. Likewise, midfielder Nelson Deossa is expected to reappear, who was unable to play over the weekend because he is finishing his recovery from an injury.
“In Nacional the pressure starts with the greeting. Anyone who does not know how to handle it cannot be in Nacional. I think about the well-being of the players, the families, the fans, that they know that we are working hard. I want it not to be one, but many titles,” said coach Jhon Bodmer.
If Nacional wins this tournament, it will obtain a place for the Copa Libertadores, but if the winner is Millonarios, that place will be given to another team based on location in the reclassification.
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