Are you ready for the greatest final of the century? After two weeks of long waiting, on Saturday night River Plate will host Boca Juniors at the Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti stadium for the 2nd leg of the Copa Libertadores. Will River win their 4th title in the history or will it be the 7th of Boca? Both teams met only once on November 24th and it was back in 1957. River won 5-3 that day and they won’t mind to repeat it.
Two weeks ago both teams were part of one of the best football matches of the year. Despite the early concerns and with a delay of one day due to heavy rain which prevented the 1st leg to take place in its original date, the match eventually ended in a 2-2 draw and no violence at all at the Bombonera stadium. The match was completely even with offensive football from both sides and four goals. We really couldn’t ask for more and it clearly opened our appetite for the second game which will decide who will be crowned as the 2018 Copa Libertadores champion. An important reminder: Unlike the rest of the knockout stage, in the final the away goals are meaningless, which means that any draw will send the game into a 30 minutes extra time, also unlike the knockout stage.
The fans saved all their money in order to be in this stadium tomorrow. River Plate fans (REUTERS)
River plate knows that the pressure will be on them. They host maybe the most important match in their history, in front of their won fans, knowing that with minimal victory they will be crowned as champions. River style will be more offensive comparing to the first leg but they will suffer from significant absences of their strikers: While Colombian Santos-Borre will miss the game due to suspension, wonderful Ignacio Scoco won’t be able to play due to his injury, which also prevented him from playing at the Bombonera. This may say that unlike the first match, this time the Colombian talented playmaker, Juan Fernando Quintero, will be in the starting line-up. The good news for River is the returning of captain Leonardo Ponzio, who recovered from his injury which kept him out from the first leg.
Boca Juniors on the other hand, will try to celebrate in the stadium of their bitter rival and to win the Copa Libertadores for the first time since 2007. On November 5th 2017 both teams met at the Monumental and it was Boca who came out upper handed with a 2-1 victory, including a magnificent free kick goal by Edwin Cardona. They will surely buy the same result tomorrow. As for their starting line-up, Boca will miss one of their main player, Cristian Pavon, who got injured in the first leg and won’t be fit for the match. According to the latest rumors, it seems that veteran Carlos Tevez will be the one who will take his spot on the left flank, while Sebastian Villa will continue on the opposite side. Another question may be the starting striker, as Pipa Benedetto may replace Ramon Abila. Two days ago Boca fans filled ‘La Bombonera with 50,000 people in the team’s practice and it means one thing: World War III will take place tomorrow night at the Monumental stadium. You really don’t want to miss this!
50,000 people in Boca’s practice. Amazing! (Getty Images)
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