The captains of Boca Juniors, Carlos Izquierdoz, and Tigre, Sebastián Prediger, agreed that their teams arrive at a “good time” and were optimistic about the final of the Professional Football League Cup, which will be played this Sunday from 4:00 p.m. at the Mario Alberto Kempes stadium, in Córdoba.
The central midfielder of Victoria’s own admitted the favoritism of his rival and stressed that “Boca and River are the greatest teams in the country”although he maintained that they “were never a surprise, since it is a process that comes from a year and a half of work.”
Six months ago Tigre achieved promotion to the highest category and in his first contest since the return leg he already got into the final.
At the press conference that both captains gave together at the Quorum Hotel in the Cordoba capital, Izquierdoz disassociated himself from the pressure and said: “That we are favorites, that’s what you say”, in reference to the journalists, and added: “We are aware that the rival did a lot of merit to be here. Tomorrow we start in the same conditions”.
Regarding the performance of the team that Sebastián Battaglia leads technically, the ‘Cali’ admitted: “We went from less to more, we varied a lot with the double competition, we had many injured, and that at the beginning cost us a bit but as the games went by we were correcting”.
“We have more fluidity in the game, it is a team that likes to be the protagonist, there are several reasons with which we can explain why we are finalists”completed the Boca defender.
For his part, the ‘Matador’ midfielder commented: “We did the merits to be in the final, we are going to face an extremely difficult game, with the illusion that we won it, but we are very clear about what Boca is, a winning team , but we are going to compete and try to bring joy to the people, which would be wonderful”.
Both thanked the support of their fans, who “make a great effort to be present”.
Izquierdoz was consulted on how tomorrow’s result could influence the match next Thursday for the Copa Libertadores against Deportivo Cali, crucial to know the fate of “xeneize” in that competition, and he was blunt: “Today we do not think about anything other than in tomorrow’s game,” he said.
The ‘Cali’ was sidelined for several weeks from the squad due to an injury, and stated: “Seeing it from the outside you live with more nervousness, an injury is hard, but always supporting and seeing the team that was growing, with positive things”.
“The message is of gratitude, those who accompany them know what I went through to be able to be there tomorrow,” he stressed to his surroundings, and the message to the fans was: “On the pitch we are going to do everything possible to embroider a new star on the club’s crest.
Prediger continued with his measured optimism, adding: “Tomorrow at this time I imagine myself celebrating, I have great faith that we can give this club one more title, thank the people, I know they are making a huge effort and hopefully we can give it a happiness”.
Boca, with 71 local titles added to the amateur (14) and professional (57) eras, will try to settle the pending issue that 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.
The president of the Córdoba Sports Agency, Héctor Campana, and the municipal government secretary, Miguel Siciliano, presented Prediger and Izquierdoz with a plaque of recognition for reaching the final, and thanked them for the opportunity to receive “an event of this magnitude” back in town.
Everything is given for this Sunday to be a true football festival, with a Mario Kempes playing field that looks in excellent condition, and a weather forecast that marks good weather, without rain.
Besides, in the previous one the cuartetero Ulises Bueno will singto kick off a day that will define the best team in Argentina in the first part of 2022.
