Santiago del Estero was the first stop of Run after suffering the blow that made him realize his biggest dream: the Copa Libertadores. In northern Argentina, with the latent sadness of having stumbled against the mighty Flamengo – eventual champions – in the semi-finals of South America’s highest competition, the academy team had to face Central Córdoba.
Five days earlier, in Avellaneda, the group of players passed by Gustavo Costas He had experienced his greatest pain in a cycle marked by epic and joy. With a lump in his throat and unable to hold back his tears, Luciano Vietto complained in the dressing room below the Cilindro stand because Agustín Rossi, goalkeeper and figure of the Mengao That night he had a shot on goal in the last minute.
The striker from Córdoba, another activist born from the estate of Tita Mattiussi, dreamed, like the rest of his teammates, of giving another Libertadores to the club whose shield he kissed while celebrating a goal against Aldosivi. This huge badge, painted on the side of the pitch and bordering the local substitutes’ bench, is monitored by Costas in every game.
The technician ensures that no one steps on the colors of his soul. The crash in the series with Flamengo also affected him. “I let my people down,” Costas said despite an injury raw He was responsible for revitalizing the group, with whom he developed a connection that went beyond tactics and strategies.
At the Madre de Ciudades Stadium, the father of this insatiable racing sport, who thinks aloud about the word champion in every competition he faces, did it again: he began to motivate and focus his team to strive for glory in the Clausura. So the competition, which had logically remained in the background during the attempt to conquer the continent, became the new fuel that would bring the team into being.
When adversity threatens, the group of players who become brothers on the field becomes stronger. Mobilized because The coach uses actions to demonstrate the support he also offers them in front of the microphonesBefore the duel with the Ferroviario, the footballers were the first stop towards a new goal: the Clausura.
“When we weren’t united, things went to hell for us (sic). That’s why we all have to carry on together,” Costas reflected a few minutes after saying goodbye to the Libertadores. Diego MilitoThe idol, who has been president since December last year, broke the silence in Santiago del Estero, where he revealed that he had told the coach that he wanted to extend his contract.
“We have offered Gustavo to stay with us for another year. We are very happy and very satisfied, we believe that this is the right path. We hope that after the end of the championship he makes up his mind and we can sign another year of contract,” Milito announced on November 3, when he also explained that Costas was “immersed in the championship because the goal is to reach the final.”
Racing, without a guaranteed place in the playoffs, had the difficult task of distancing themselves from the international defeat duel and taking points from Santiago, where the margin of error was minimal: then it would host Defensa y Justicia behind closed doors and complete the regular phase as guests at Newell’s.
To make the game even more complex, essential figures such as Santiago Sosa, Adrián Martínez and Gabriel Rojas, who played torn with Flamengo, were missing. Franco Pardo, Marcos Rojo, Tomás Conechny and Matías Zaracho were also not there. All those absent had been injured – or exhausted – during (or before) the Libertadores’ crossing.
“I’m proud of you,” Costas repeated to his team as he prepared a team without some of the strongholds and much of it damaged Product of accumulated physical and emotional stress. His team in this game was Facundo Cambeses; Gastón Martirena, Nazareno Colombo, Agustín García Basso, Facundo Mura; Bruno Zuculini; Santiago Solari, Juan Nardoni, Vietto, Duvan Vergara; and Adrian Balboa.
The goalless draw that the academy achieved did not guarantee a place in the round of 16, but it offered a more valuable certainty than the unity reflected in the table: it was a starting point to try to heal as best as possible. “I want a championship that closes my wound“claims an anthem born in the academic gallery in the 90s, at a time when disappointments and untitled years were accumulating at the national level.
Just over a month has passed and Racing de Costas returns to Santiago del Estero with a goal as great as the hope of an audience that will take over the city – and the surrounding towns – to cheer them on. The return will also take place with a lineup that will feature several of the starters who were unable to play in November.
Santiago Sosa, who just completed the first week after undergoing surgery for a quadruple fracture of his right molar in the 0-0 draw with Central Córdoba, will put on the protective mask and captain’s ribbon and lead the line towards the field.
He, who was confined to Mercedes for a few days due to the pain of the serious injury and the farewell to the Libertadores, is a synthesis of the process that the team has gone through: recovered faster than expected. Racing, like its captain, could have finished with Flamengo a year after the series. But instead of elimination being the end of the cycle, another final with four wins and three draws awaits. And with the possibility of returning to the Copa Libertadores with a win.
“History is written by those who win,” Costa said after beating Boca at La Bombonera and securing a breakthrough at Santiago del Estero. In Asuncion. In Rio de Janeiro or in the city that is the birthplace of Chango Cárdenas, author of the most important goal in the history of the Academy, the goal of this group is the same: to strive for greater fame.
About The Author
