Rosario Central, with the former Millonarios coach Miguel Ángel Russo on the bench and with the Colombian Jaminton Campaz as the starter, gave the surprise and eliminated River Plate in the semifinals of the Argentine League Cup.
The match, which was played at the Mario Alberto Kempes stadium in Córdoba, ended tied 0-0 and was broken by kicks from the penalty spot.
In the final, Rosario Central will seek the title against the modest Platense, which earlier also beat Godoy Cruz in the tiebreaker from eleven meters (6-5), after tying 1-1 in regular time.
The great figure of Rosario’s success was goalkeeper Jorge “Fatura” Broun, who first kept his goal at zero in the match, and at the moment of the penalty shootout he shone by saving the shots of Enzo Díaz, Agustín Palavecino and Gonzalo ‘Pity ‘Martinez, while Manuel Lanzini raised his shot over the crossbar to leave River empty-handed.
For Central, Maximiliano Lovera and Ignacio Malcorra converted in the tiebreaker, and Franco Armani saved the shot from Colombian Jaminton Campaz.
“We have this hope left. Today (Saturday) we suffered against River, which has a different team than ours, but football is like that. I have to enjoy it. We went from the bottom up, this is a reward, and I’m glad that the people of Central is happy,” highlighted Miguel Ángel Russo, the veteran coach who at 67 years old led the Rosario team to a new definition.
In the 90 minutes, none of them managed to break the parity, within a development in which River had more control of the ball and which also generated the most favorable situations, including a bomb by Uruguayan Nicolás de la Cruz that was blocked by goalkeeper Jorge Broun and a free kick from Esequiel Barco that shook the crossbar.
Although coach Martín Demichelis moved the substitute bench, River did not find a way to violate Central. Thus, Rosario Central and Platense will host an unprecedented final, in which Calamar aims to win the first title in its history.
Central aims to win its eleventh crown, after winning four league titles and six national cups, the last of which was the Argentine Cup.
Russo, champion of the 2017-II League and the 2018 Super League with Millonarios, will seek the tenth title of his career as a coach. He has eight local and one international, the Copa Libertadores, which he won with Boca Juniors in 2007.
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With AFP
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