The Brazilian Sao Paulo and the Ecuadorian Valle Independiente dispute this Saturday (22.00 Spanish time / DAZN) the final of the South American Cup 2022 in the Mario Alberto Kempes Stadium. In the Argentine town of Córdoba will see the faces of two former champions of the tournament, known as ‘The Great Conquest’.
Sao Paulo, champion of the Libertadores in 1992, 1993 and 2005, won its only Copa Sudamericana in 2012 with now coach Rogerio Ceni as goalkeeper and captain. Independiente del Valle, meanwhile, also knows what it means to win this tournament. The Ecuadorians established themselves in 2019 by beating Colón in the final in Asunción 3-1.
The path of the Brazilian team began in the group stage. He was leader of Group D with 16 points, beating the Chilean Everton (11), at Peruvian Ayacucho (4) and to Bolivian Jorge Wilstermann (two).
In the round of 16 they thrashed the Catholic University of Chile with a global of 8-3, but from quarters began to suffer. In the quarterfinals, they beat 1-0 Ceará in the first leg, but fell 2-1 in the second leg and had to wait for the penalty shootout (3-4) to advance to the semi-finals, where they faced Goianian, who beat him 3-1 in the first leg. However, in the second leg, Sao Paulo won 2-0, forced penalties and celebrated their place in the final in style (4-2).
The Valley Independenton the other hand, started in the Libertadores and went on to the Sudamericana by being third in Group D with eight points, behind the Atletico Mineiro and the Sports Tolima (11 points) and ahead of America Brazilian (2).
In the round of 16, he beat Lanus 2-1 in the first leg and a goalless draw in the second leg. In quarters he had no problem eliminating the Sports Tachira with an aggregate of 5-1 and in the semifinals he effortlessly defeated the peruvian melgar by an overwhelming 6-0.
Jonathan Calleri, in the Paulista attack
most likely Ceni, coach of Sao Paulo, Repeat the team that won 4-0 against Avaí on the last day of the Brasileirao. The only doubt is on the right side: Rafinha or Igor Vinicius. In attack, together with Luciano da Rocha, will be the Argentine Jonathan Calleri, who served in the ranks of Las Palmas, Alaves, Espanyol and Osasunaamong others.,
The ‘Tricolor”, one of the biggest teams in Brazil and that adds 12 international titles – including two Intercontinental Cups, a Club World Cup and three Libertadores – is not going through its best moment under Ceni’s leadership. Currently, he is eleventh in the Brasileirao20 points behind leader Palmeiras.
In Valley Independent the only player who raised doubts due to a recent injury was the team’s top scorer in the tournament, the Argentine Lautaro Diaz, although the team’s doctors announced that he will arrive in satisfactory condition for today’s final. In
“We already feel that tingling, that nervousness that the match starts as soon as possible and that we are the winners,” said the Ecuadorian striker Jaime Ayoví upon arrival in Córdoba, where the São Paulo fans are expected to have the majority support of their fans.
Likely lineups:
Sao Paulo: Philip Alves; Rafinha or Igor Vinicius, Diego Costa, Léo, Reinaldo; Pablo Maia, Rodrigo Nestor, Alisson, Patrick; Luciano and Jonathan Calleri
Valley Independent: Moises Ramirez; Matías Fernández, Mateo Carabajal, Richard Schunke, Luis Segovia, Jhoanner Chávez; Cristian Pellerano, Marco Angulo, Lorenzo Faravelli, Júnior Sornosa and Lautaro Díaz.
Referee: Wilmar Roldan (Colombia)
Stadium: Mario Alberto Kempes, from Cordoba (Argentina)
Hour: 22.00 Spanish time (DAZN)
