Madness in South America! As is often the case, football unleashes passions on the South American continent and the final of the Copa Sudamericana (the equivalent of the South American C3), played this Saturday in Asuncion in suffocating heat, did not deviate from the ruler.
This match, which pitted the Argentinian club Racing against the Brazilians Cruzeiro, was the scene of exceptional scenes of jubilation and fervor, particularly from the Argentinian supporters who came in their thousands to the Paraguayan capital.
And, during the match, the Racing fans literally made the stadium dance, in the literal sense of the word, the vibrations of their rhythmic jumps making the structure of one of the corners of the Estadio La Nueva Olla oscillate in a mind-blowing way. Even though it seems extremely impressive and dangerous, no incidents have been reported. And the stadium, fortunately, held on.
On the field, Racing was the strongest to win the first Copa Sudamericana (the equivalent of the South American C3) in its history against Cruzeiro (3-1).
Gaston Martinera opened the scoring in the 15th minute with a lucky cross, and Adrian Martinez doubled the lead five minutes later. The former Juventus Turin player, the Brazilian Kaio Jorge, reduced the score in the 52nd minute, but in stoppage time the Colombian Roger Martinez ended the suspense by scoring the third goal (90th + 5).
This victory was also celebrated by thousands of Argentine supporters in Buenos Aires, around the Obelisk in the Plaza de la República, until late at night. Founded in 1903, the Racing Club de Avellaneda (city in the province of Buenos Aires), by its full name, is less famous than River Plate or Boca Juniors but is one of the five major Argentine football clubs. He had his hour of glory in 1967 when he won the prestigious Copa Libertadores and then the Intercontinental Cup. He has been crowned Argentine champion 18 times, most recently in 2019.
