This Tuesday begins the group stage of the Copa Libertadores. Boca, River, Colón, Talleres, Estudiantes and Vélez go for the highest trophy on the continent, for the glory and for that succulent prize, for those 16,000,000 dollars! that the champion will take. Racing, Independiente, Lanús, Banfield, Unión and Defensa dream of winning the second most important contest, adding a new star and keeping five million dollars.
The game begins: in this April full of cup matches, part of the second half of the Argentine clubs will be defined. Those who are in the Libertadores know that they must finish among the first two to stay alive and if they don’t, at least finish third to go down to the South American. On the other hand, those who go for the second cup have no margin for error: either they win the group or the continental dream ends.
And there is no doubt that this double competition will change the Argentine scene, since except for Boca and River, the rest do not have a large squad to surf with the same quality on Wednesdays and Sundays. Will all the priority be at the international level, thinking of accumulating dollars for the meager treasuries? There is something in favor of the 12 Argentine clubs: none suffer from the average. And those who have the obligation not to miss each other on both fronts are the big four.
In this context, Conmebol announced the start of the group stage with an image on its social networks in which it chose a representative from each team. For Boca it was Benedetto, while for River they put their finger on Quintero. And the rest? Valoyes for Talleres, Boselli for Estudiantes, Pratto for Vélez and el Pulga Rodríguez for Colón.
The announcement of the Libertadores: today the group stage begins.
Benedetto, Boca’s chosen one.
Quintero, the visible face by River.
