Another disappointment. A new blow to the chin of the Atletico fan. Another ‘landed’ more, this last one, perhaps, more painful than the previous ones.
The 4-0 defeat against the modest Unión de Santa Fe, in the ‘Metro’, which left Junior eliminated from the 2022 South American Cup, joined a long list of disappointments that the rojiblancos have been involved in since winning their last title , the 2020 Super League.
Junior goes from ‘tumbo’ to ‘tumbo’, first under the guidance of coach Luis Amaranto Perea, then with Arturo Reyes and now with the Argentine Juan Cruz Real, who last Thursday took responsibility for the humiliating defeat in the ‘Coloso de la Ciudadela’ against ‘Tatengue’. “I apologize, I am responsible for everything,” he said crestfallen at a press conference.
And it is that this hard defeat has rummaged a wound that cannot heal, because, when it shows signs of improvement, a new rojiblanca disappointment opens it again to increase the pain and disappointment of the currambero fan, tired of seeing how in the peak moments his team fail to show character and hierarchy to overcome them.
EL HERALDO makes a compilation of key moments —without putting in the last two Copa Colombia eliminations, at the hands of two inferior teams, such as Medellín and Deportivo Pereira— where Junior was required to hit the table, after the obtaining the 2020 Super League title.
South American Cup 2020
Quarter finals. Affected in his payroll by the covid pandemic —he had some casualties due to contagion—, Junior fell 2-1 at home against the modest Coquimbo Unido, in the first leg, and won 1-0 in the second leg in Chile, but did not reach him. He was eliminated by the away goal rule. This fall hurt more, because that season the “Pirata” team was one of those relegated in Chilean soccer.
Liga 2020
Semifinal. The rojiblancos had drawn 0-0 in the first leg against América de Cali, at the Pascual, and only needed a win at home to advance to the League final. The ‘Tiburón’, which continued to suffer from casualties due to a covid outbreak in the team, ended up falling 2-1, with goals from Luis Sánchez and Adrián Ramos. Miguel Borja discounted for the rojiblancos. It was eliminated.
Copa Libertadores 2021
Group stage. Junior arrived alive to the last day of the group stage of the maximum continental tournament, occupying the third position in his zone with 6 points. River was the leader with 9 and Fluminense second with 8. The rojiblancos needed to beat Santa Fe and with that they were enough to qualify, eliminating one of the two favorites in the group (in this case River Plate, who lost at home to Fluminense in the last day). Those led by Amaranto Perea finally tied against the cardinal team, which was eliminated and had to play their match in Ambato, Ecuador, due to the social outbreak that occurred in Colombia. All a piece of paper.
In this same tournament, they had the opportunity to equalize the group on the fourth day, facing an irregular River Plate in Barranquilla. They won 1-0, with a goal from Miguel Ángel Borja in the 19th minute, and in minute 91, when everyone was already celebrating the Atletico victory, ‘Millo’ leveled the game with a goal from Paulo Díaz. A result that later ended up taking its toll.
League 2021-I
Semifinals. Junior beat Millonarios at home in the first leg 3-2 —a double by Carmelo Valencia and another by Fabián Sambueza; Fernando Uribe and Cristian Arango discounted— and ended up losing 2-0, in El Campín, with a brace from Fernando Uribe, to remain, once again, one step away from the final.
South American Cup 2021
Round of 16. Junior reached this stage after finishing third in his Copa Libertadores group. They faced Libertad del Paraguay, with whom they lost at home by 4-3, in the first leg. In the second leg, in Paraguay, he won 1-0 in a match where he missed a key penalty at the feet of Cristian Martínez Borja. He ends up eliminated by the away goal.
League 2021-II
Semifinal home runs. The rojiblancos reached the penultimate date as second in their group, with six points, four behind the leader, Deportivo Cali (10). He needed to beat the sugar team in Palmaseca to reach the last day alive —he would have been one point behind the leader—, and ended up losing 2-0 to the sugar workers, who finally went to the final that night, to later be crowned champions.
South American Cup 2022
Group stage. Junior came as leader to the last day of the group stage with 10 points. They needed to beat Unión de Santa Fe at home —second, with 9 units— and ended up losing 4-0 to their people, on a night to forget. They finished third in the zone, behind Fluminense, who had 11 points. First blow of weight in the ‘Juan Cruz Real era’, but, without a doubt, the hardest and most humiliating of all, due to the form, the locality, the instance and the rival that left him on the road.
