Sao Paulo (AFP)
The final match of the Copa Libertadores for South American clubs will be held tomorrow, “Saturday”, between the defending champion Palmeiras, and his compatriot Flamengo, the 2019 champion, at the legendary Centenario stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, and the winner qualifies for the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi.
It is the second time in a row that the Libertadores Cup final brings together two teams from Brazil, after last year’s final between Palmeiras and Santos.
Nadia Palmeiras from Sao Paulo state, and Flamengo from Rio de Janeiro, have dominated the cups in recent years, winning 10 out of 27 local and continental titles in the last five years, including 4 local titles in the last five years (2016 and 2018 for Palmeiras, and 2019 and 2020 for Flamengo).
Flamengo are second in the Brazilian League, ahead of Palmeiras in third, while Atletico Mineiro, led by veteran strikers Hulk and Diego Costa, seem almost guaranteed to win this year’s champion.
Both clubs will compete for their third continental title in their history, to become the most titled Brazilian club in this competition, along with Sao Paulo, Santos and Gremio, noting that the absolute record is held by the Argentine club Independiente with 7 titles.
Flamengo, who won the Brazilian championship in the last two seasons, enters the match, and he has a relative advantage over his opponent, due to his attacking performances, but the brilliant Palmeiras playmaker Rafael Vega considers that the balance will be equal. It will be tough, and we spoke in the dressing rooms and joked about entering glory and writing our names on the walls of the club.”
The confrontation will be between two different styles, as Flamengo includes many offensive players, while Palmeiras tends more to defensive plans.
Flamengo is led by coach Renato Portaluppi, better known as “Renato Gaucho”, who is the coach with the most victories in the Copa Libertadores with 50 victories, and is the only Brazilian to win the continental title as a player with Gremio in 1983 and then as coach in 2017.
“We will face a very strong team that aspires to win like us, but the opportunity is available to the club and to me to win the title for the third time,” said Portaluppi, 59, who took office last July.
His Portuguese counterpart, Abel Ferreira, 42, relies on the counter-attack method, and many compare him to the style of his compatriot Jose Mourinho, the current Italian coach of Rome.
His conservative style has been the subject of many criticisms since he took over as Palmeiras coach a year ago, but he proved his effectiveness by leading his team to five finals, two of which were crowned in the Copa Libertadores last year and the Copa del Rey.
And returning to the ranks of Flamengo, crowned for the first time in 1981, Uruguayan attacking midfielder Georgian de Arrascaeta, who recovered from injury to play behind strikers Gabigol and Bruno Henrique, who was the star of his team in the semi-final against Ecuadorean Barcelona, by scoring four goals in both home and away.
On the other hand, Palmeiras, who won his first title in 1999, will restore the services of his influential midfielder and veteran captain Felipe Melo.
Palmeiras, who has fasted from winning its last four matches, will try to become the first team to retain its continental title since Argentine Boca Juniors succeeded in that for two consecutive seasons in 2000 and 2001.
Brazilian football fans expressed their indignation at the high price of the final match ticket, which ranged between 200 and 650 dollars, knowing that the first amount is the minimum wage in Brazil.
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