Why River’s ideal score in the Libertadores is a worrying statistic :: Olé

In a cardboard with six squares, River has already placed the first three pieces on the Libertadores Cup. He put his hand in the bag, rummaged and first came a victory in Venezuela against Deportivo Táchira, then a victory against Nacional at the Monumental and finally the 2-1 victory over Libertad in Asunción. In tune and with two home games of the remaining triplet, The objective is to seal qualification for the round of 16 with a full victory.

It’s that getting 6/6 and finishing at the top of the general table means earn the right to be able to define all the keys in the Monumental, a stadium that gives a plus to Demichelis’ team. However, in terms of statistics, the number 18 in the group stage does not represent the champions and it is far from being good luck for those who seek to conquer America.

What is the curse? In this case, the history shows that perfection does not lead to success: since the continental competition has its current format, Only four clubs won their group with an ideal score and none were able to lift the trophy because they were all eliminated before the final.

Vasco da Gama, Santos, Boca and Palm Trees They are the teams that started impeccably and could not maintain the level in the heads-up. In 2001, The Brazilian club that today has Ramón Díaz as coach was eliminated by Xeneize in the quarterfinalswho later became champion of that edition.

Six years later, Peixe closed the group stage with six wins, 12 goals for and just one goal against (Antonio Pierguidi converted it in the 2-1 win against Gimnasia en el Bosque), but fell in the semifinals against Gremio after losing the first leg 2-0 and winning the revenge 3-1, a result that was not enough due to Tricolor’s away goal.

In 2015, Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s Boca had an ideal start, but fate crossed them with River in the round of 16 and It was eliminated with controversy after that episode of pepper spray in La Bombonera (Marcelo Gallardo’s team had won the first game 1-0, with a goal from Carlos Sánchez from a penalty).

The last precedent was recorded by Verdao a couple of editions ago: it could not handle Athletico Paranaense in the semifinals and was left wanting to play in the final for the three-time championship.

The greatest soccer player says that the statistics are ready to break… Can River close its group with 100% of the points and be the exception to this mark?

For the victories of River and Nacional de Montevideo, which beat Deportivo Táchira 2-1, CARP is the leader with nine points followed by the Uruguayan team, with six; the Paraguayan, with three, and the Venezuelan, without units. In this way, qualification for the next round was just one step away: in the event that he wins his visit to the Bolso, on May 7, he will be virtually classified (he would reach 12 beans, he could only be equaled by Nacional and Libertad y so that they should win all their games, without taking into account the goal difference that greatly favors the Millionaire).

To qualify on the next date and no longer think about what should happen to your rivals, River must win in Montevideo and hope for at least a draw in Libertad-Táchira. In that case, the leader would reach 12 and the Guarani would remain at four units (they would be separated by eight points with six at stake).

At the same time, in the race to be the best first, River is very well positioned: For now it is the third best first, since it has nine points and has a goal difference of +5 (he scored six goals and they scored only one). Above are Atlético Mineirowith the same difference but with more goals in favor (nine, and four were converted), and Bolivarwhich has a +6 difference with nine celebrations and three goals in its goal.