Alberto Gamero is ready to play his fourth final with Millonarios, after eliminating Cúcuta Deportivo in an eventful match at the General Santander stadium.
The match ended 1-1 and the blues had to last almost the entire second half with ten players, due to the expulsion of Stiven Vega. Now, they will play for the Colombia Cup title against Atlético Nacional.
Gamero spoke at a press conference about his feelings from the match and regretted what happened at the end of the game, when fans of the local team went onto the field to attack the Millonarios players.
“It is unfortunate what happened after the game but the fans have to stay with what happened in the game. It was an intense match. I loved it”, Gamero said. “We knew that the game was going to be very tough. Our goal was to qualify for the final. “We had an advantage and we defended it well,” he added.
The Millonarios coach spoke of his team’s suffering after the red card. “It was a controllable match until Vega’s expulsion. Afterwards we defended ourselves well. I don’t remember a clear option for Cúcuta in the second half. He cornered us with centers but he had no options,” he said.
Gamero accepted that he should have taken Vega out to avoid expulsion. “We coaches learn every day. What I learned was that I should have taken (Steven) Vega out. You have seen games in Bogotá where we have not been able to close the games. Sometimes, with a result in our favor, we want to go find the rival and it seems to me that in the way we finished, I loved it,” he said.
Gamero spoke about the loss of time of Millonarios
The Millos coach also defended himself against criticism because his team ended up burning time. “Millonarios is the team that plays the most in Colombian soccer. Millonarios is the team that has the most effective playing time in Colombian soccer. They also did it there, they also burned time in El Campín. Yes, time was burned, but it is the first time I have seen in Colombian soccer that they give 10 minutes. We burned time, but they gave it to us later. I would have been angry if Carlos Betancourt (the referee) called 3 or 4 minutes. What they had to have replaced was replaced. If there’s one thing I like about my players, it’s that they don’t pretend. They know that I need intensity and I want to play,” he concluded.
Ⓜ️ Alberto Gamero when faced with a question, (more like a point), about “the waste of time”. “You’re not going to tell me that today we tied because they didn’t make up 15’… today we played 100′, they made up enough… today was good for many things, it was a semi-final, to go to the final.” pic.twitter.com/vldLIh0TVp
— Cristian Pinzón (@Crispinllos) November 6, 2023
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