James Rodríguez could play his first game in the Copa Sudamericana this Thursday, a tournament in which he has never participated and in which he reaches one of the candidates for the title.
With their eyes on their glories of yesteryear, former Liga champions Quito and Sao Paulo will seek to continue to get closer to the throne of the South American, when they meet in the first leg of the quarterfinals. The meeting will be seen on DSports starting at 5 pm, Colombia time,
Sao Paulo’s wound is fresher. In 2022, the Ecuadorian Independiente del Valle won the final of the Copa Sudamericana, which he had been pursuing for a decade after winning his first crown in 2012.
The League is a longing fermented over the years. Since he conquered the Libertadores in 2008 and the Sudamericana in 2009, he has not tasted honey in international tournaments again.
Duel of international figures in the South American
For this clash at the Rodrigo Paz stadium, in the Ecuadorian capital, both clubs arrive with heavy artillery.
The locals in the attack have the veteran Peruvian scorer Paolo Guerrero, while the paulista tricolor will be able to count on James Rodríguez, who, in principle, would start.
The team led by Dorival Junior arrived in Quito on Tuesday, and former Tottenham striker Lucas Moura is also on their squad.
The paulistas defeated San Lorenzo de Almagro in the round of 16, while the Ecuadorians eliminated Ñublense from Chile. The winner of the series will meet in the semifinals with the winner of the key between Defensa y Justicia and Botafogo.
The opponent’s illusion
Liga de Quito is the only non-Argentinian or non-Brazilian team in the quarterfinals of the South American. Facing the clash on Thursday, the DT of the League, the Argentine Luis Zubeldía is concerned about his team’s lack of goals.
In their last match in the Ecuadorian tournament, Liga drew 0-0 with El Nacional, a game in which Alexander Alvarado missed two penalties for the white cast.
“We threw all the artillery that we had available and hopefully (the ball) enters on Thursday, when we have the next game,” Zubeldía declared. Alvarado is in doubt and could be replaced by Lisandro Azulgaray.
The whites also recovered for this game the Argentine midfielder Mauricio Martínez and his compatriot Ezequiel Piovi.
Sao Paulo will be without Pablo Maia, who could not recover from muscle pain. James, whom they have been taking little by little, would start for the second time, after Saturday’s game, when his team drew 0-0 against Botafogo, leader of the Brazilian championship.
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with Efe
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