The final that will consecrate the first domestic champion of the year in Argentina will be played this Sunday, starting at 4:00 p.m., at the Mario Alberto Kempes stadium, in Córdoba, it will be refereed by Darío Herrera from Neuquén and televised by ESPN Premium.
Mauro Vigliano will be in charge of the VAR and if the game ends even after 90 minutes, there will be 30 minutes of extra time to define the champion, although if the equality persists, definition with shots from the penalty spot will be used.
Boca, with 71 local titles added to the amateur (14) and professional (57) eras, will try to settle the pending issue it has in “La Docta”, where it lost the last two finals it played against San Lorenzo for the Argentine Super Cup in 2016 and against Tigre for the Super League Cup in 2019.
The team led by Sebastián Battaglia will assume its first final of the semester, with the great reward that if it wins it will obtain the title and qualify for the 2023 Libertadores, while the second will be next Thursday at La Bombonera against Deportivo Cali, which will need to win to advance to the round of 16 of the current edition of the Cup.
For this reason, Battaglia will put his gala 11 in Córdoba, with two changes in relation to the formation that last Tuesday equalized with Corinthians (1-1) in La Boca, which will be the return of two key pieces such as defender Marcos Rojo and striker Sebastián Villa, both suspended in the Cup.
Those who will leave the team will be the Peruvian Carlos Zambrano and the striker from Santiago Exequiel Zeballos.
Boca built their campaign in the League Cup with a second place in Zone B behind Estudiantes de La Plata, then in heads-up they eliminated Defensa y Justicia and Racing Club.
Tigre, for his part, was fourth in the same group as the “Xeneizes” and in heads-up he eliminated River Plate and Argentinos Juniors, while against Boca he played for the last time on the last date of the zone and lost in Victoria by 2-0 with goals from Darío Benedetto and Luis Vázquez.
Victoria’s “Matador” will play the final instance of the tournament, with the enormous chance that if he wins it he will be in the Libertadores next year, just five months away from achieving promotion to the First Division, and in case of lifting the trophy will achieve a mark that very few teams have: return to the highest category and be champion.
In Boca, Battaglia’s squad will be strong in the midfield, with the presence of Guillermo “Pol” Fernández, the team’s strategist, the Paraguayan Oscar Romero, with great punch, and especially Alan Varela, who took over the position central midfielder and changed the face of the team with presence, cut and good foot.
The most dangerous of Boca is in the offensive, with the scorer Darío “Pipa” Benedetto, Eduardo “Toto” Salvio and the Colombian Sebastián Villa, the most unbalanced player of the team with an enormous speed and who is involved in a second legal case as accused of “aggravated sexual abuse with carnal access”.
Villa, 26, has a previous case of gender-based violence brought to trial and a week ago he was reported again but by another woman who accused him in UFI 3 of Esteban Echeverría for sexual abuse and attempted murder.
Tigre, directed by Diego Martínez, the coach with whom he achieved promotion from the First National, will have his captain and key man in the midfield, Sebastián Prediger, from Entre Ríos, who left behind a muscular discomfort and will be part of the game.
The most salient thing about Tigre is the recovery of the ball in the midfield with Prediger and Ezequiel “Equi” Fernández, the good handling of the ball by Cristian Zabala, Facundo Colidio and Alexis Castro, and the danger of area forward Mateo Retegui, who played a great game against River with a goal included and he took the place from Pablo Magnín, who was the starter for almost the whole year.
It is presumed that it will be a final of equal development, because Tigre is a hard-working team and Boca has experience in decisive matches, in addition to the individual hierarchy of players such as Marcos Rojo, Benedetto, Villa and the foreign full-backs, the Peruvian Luis Advíncula and the Colombian Frank Fabre.
In total, Boca and Tigre met in 78 official matches, with 51 victories for the “Xeneizes” against 14 for the “Matador” and 13 draws.
Boca also prevails in the number of goals scored: 183 points against 82 for the Victoria team.
The final promises a spectacular setting in the stands of the Cordoba stadium, with 52,000 fans and sold-out tickets, 35,000 for Boca and 17,000 for Tigre.
Probable Formations
Boca Juniors: Agustin Rossi; Luis Advíncula, Carlos Izquierdoz, Marcos Rojo and Frank Fabra; Guillermo “Pol” Fernandez, Alan Varela and Oscar Romero; Eduardo Salvio, Darío Benedetto and Sebastián Villa. DT: Sebastian Battaglia.
Tiger: Gonzalo Marinelli; Lucas Blondel, Víctor Cabrera, Abel Luciatti and Sebastián Prieto; Sebastián Prediger and Ezequiel Fernández; Facundo Colidio, Cristian Zabala and Alexis Castro; Matthew Retegui. DT: Diego Martinez.
Referee: Dario Herrera.
Field: Mario Alberto Kempes, from Córdoba.
Start time: 16.
TV: ESPN Premium.
