Copa Libertadores: River begins the odyssey to stop the Brazilian tsunami for a prize of 23 million

Alberto de Gasperi would never have imagined the desires that the Cup he created 65 years ago would awaken. It was precisely this Italian immigrant residing in Lima, with the collaboration of a dozen craftsmen, who gave shape to the trophy which from 1960 became the obsession of South American clubs. And although in 2022 it has undergone some changes (it became silver instead of steel and the little man above stopped kicking with his left leg to finish the ball with his right), obviously the Libertadores has not lost its essence. Everyone, but absolutely all the teams in the region, dreams of the unique final on November 30th which will be played in Buenos Aires, no more and no less.

For this new edition of the top continental competition, the enthusiasm of the five Argentine teams is launched with different nuances. And a current question, of course. Who will be able to stop the Brazilian tsunami? Because despite it being an obsession that pushes you “to leave your heart and soul”, as the song says, the Tasa (as they call the Cup in the country of order and progress) is also the priority objective of the seven representatives of Brasilerao, the most coveted championship in South America, almost as strong as the major European championships.

River emerges as the main candidate to dismantle the Brazilians’ hegemony, especially from Flamengo (2019 and 2022) and Palmeiras (2020 and 2021), who have shared four of the five cups in the last five years. The remainder (2023) went to Fluminense.

In short, it is the Argentine club with the largest budget and a record surplus. And as its history indicates, strengthened by the level of demand it has imposed Marcelo Gallardothe goal is to win it like in 2015, 2018, 1996 and 1986. Tonight they will take their first step as guests, against Táchira in San Cristóbal, but in Núñez they are already preparing the framework to make the Monumental a full-fledged fortress of fans , since by decision of its president Jorge Brito, it will have the cheapest players on the market with a package of 11,700 dollars for home games.

Martin Demichelis will try to change the face of what remained the only defeat of the year, last Friday against Huracán. His team is the protagonist of the League Cup, but has yet to make the leap to excellence a staff of 95,500,000 dollars. The other members of group H are Libertad of Paraguay and Nacional of Montevideo.

Saint Lawrence He is the other great who arrived at the Libertadores thanks to a great season in 2023, but today he is far from having a good 2024. Unlike River, who only incorporated Nicolás Fonseca, Rodrigo Villagra and Agustín Sant’Anna because the investment largest was made in the middle of the year, President Marcelo Moretti has incorporated 12 playersalthough only two are starters for Rubén Insua: Jhohan Romaña and Cristian Ferreira.

The Cyclone, precisely, they will have one of the favorites as their first rival: Palmeiras, no less, who will arrive tomorrow at the Nuevo Gasómetro with one of the jewels of the world: Endrick. In any case, the 17-year-old striker purchased from Real Madrid for 60 million dollars has an adductor problem after the friendly matches with the Verdeamarela national team, which had a correlation in the championship final in Sao Paulo against Santos (he had to be replaced a second time). Valle’s Independiente and Uruguay’s Liverpool complete Group H.