First modification:
At a time when Brazilian soccer dominates the international scene in South America, the Ecuadorian Independiente del Valle managed to sneak into the final of the second club tournament within Conmebol. On the other hand, Sao Paulo assumes the commitment with the mind set on, in addition to saving a year, erasing the bad image of the club in the last final played by the competition.
In 2012, Rogério Ceni was in charge of guarding the Sao Paulo FC goal during the Copa Sudamericana that year. The Brazilian team, which entered the tournament after finishing sixth in the domestic championship, had no rivals in each of the instances and found its greatest opposition in the Argentine club Tigre during the final.
The series, played in round-trip matches, left a 0-0 in the first duel held at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires. For the second match at the Morumbi stadium in Sao Paulo, the locals won 2-0 in the first half when the Argentine eleven left the stadium on the grounds that they had been attacked by members of the Brazilian security agencies.
Tigre’s absence gave the first South American Cup title to the eleven from São Paulo who were in their seventh participation in the tournament. However, the way in which he raised the trophy continues to be a source of discussion and debate among football specialists.
But, as the romantics often say “football gives revenge”, a decade later the club reaches a new Copa Sudamericana final that presents a different condition from that of 2012, it will be a single game, so the club has little margin of error if you want to keep the title.
But, beyond the aforementioned fact, the club arrives in Córdoba under pressure, in part, due to the need to win a new continental title and the difficulties to qualify in the ‘Brasileirão’, a tournament that has eluded them since the year 2008.
“The pressure exists here because it is a gigantic club that does not win an international title. I hope that the mystique continues with us to return with the title,” Ceni, Sao Paulo’s current technical director, said before the game.
Independent of the Valley without pressure, but with responsibility
Unlike Sao Paulo, which was founded in 1930, the Independent High-Performance Specialized Club of the Valley, since its creation in March 1958, has moved between amateur football and professionalism, but it has been in the 2000s that it has achieved the consolidation and international respect.
After ascending from the second division to Serie A in 2010, he had his first participation in the Copa Sudamericana in 2013. However, in 2016 he finished runner-up in the Copa Libertadores in his showcase, in a season where he left River on the way Plate and Boca Juniors from Argentina, in the round of 16 and the semifinal respectively, in addition to the Pumas from UNAM from Mexico in the quarterfinals before losing in the final key against Atlético Nacional from Colombia.
But his greatest achievement was reached in 2019 when he became champion of the Copa Sudamericana. That final was the first to be played under the format of a single match and their rival was the Argentine club Colón de Santa Fe who lost 3-1 in the match played in Asunción, Paraguay.
From that final, only three players remain in the team. Additionally, they have Martín Anselmi, assistant to the Spanish Miguel Ángel Ramírez in 2019, as their current technical director.
“We want to go for more, that the fans continue to feel proud of the team they have (…) On the field we are not more or less than anyone, we depend on ourselves,” Anselmi said upon arrival on Argentine soil.
Looking ahead to the match on October 1, the two teams arrive with the similarity that both come from winning in their domestic tournaments, but with completely different realities in general terms.
Sao Paulo is in 12th place ‘Brasileirão’ in 22 games while Independiente del Valle occupies the second position in Serie A in Ecuador with 23 points in 12 games.
The public, a factor that returns to Córdoba along with the final
The city of Córdoba was designated by Conmebol as the venue for the final due to the impossibility of holding it in the city of Brasilia due to the development of the general elections in Brazil on Sunday, October 2. It will be the second time that the Mario Alberto Kempes stadium hosts a Copa Sudamericana final, the first was in January 2021 when Defensa y Justicia defeated Lanús, both from Argentina, in the second single-match final.
On that occasion, the stadium was unable to receive an audience in its stands due to the health crisis caused by Covid-19, a situation that will change for the final between Sao Paulo and Independiente del Valle.
According to the EFE news agency, the Brazilian club is confident that it will have the support of those present at the stadium.
Throughout the last week of September, hundreds of fans have arrived in the city to enjoy all the events organized by Conmebol on the eve of the game.
With EFE, AFP and local media
#Independiente #del #Valle #Sao #Paulo #seek #twotime #Copa #Sudamericana #championship #Córdoba