Vélez Sarsfield had a long and prosperous road to the final of the League Cup, which will be defined against Estudiantes de La Plata, and its people did not hesitate: He left everything, sold out tickets, flights and bus tickets to be present in Santiago del Estero and be that extra that his team will need to shout champion again after 10 years of drought.
Far in time was the Argentine Super Cup that Fortín won in 2014 after beating Arsenal 1-0 that January 31 in San Luis. That was the end of a period of glory for the club, that between 2009 and 2014 won a total of four titles with Ricardo Gareca (and Turu Flores) as coach of that ship full of football and good play.
Time flew, Vélez began to be increasingly relegated in the local fight, although in 2022 it reached the semifinals of the CONMEBOL Libertadores, an instance in which it was beaten by Flamengo. 2023 was a cruel year for Vélez, with a lot of anguish and an uncertain future. The dreaded red table was getting closer and closer and the Liniers team looked with suspicion at a word that scared all the fans: relegation.
He fought it, he suffered until the end. With a lot of sweat and hard work achieved permanence on the last date of the tournamenta breath of air for a fan who endured the bad campaign and ended up celebrating with relief a result that left their beloved Vélez in the First Division.
2024 seemed to begin with the same tone. Gustavo Quinteros landed on the Liniers team with the aim of floating this ship, but the first steps were far from being with aplomb. The League Cup began without victories in the first three rounds and, added to this, lost 5-0 against River in El Monumental in what was a tense moment of the incipient cycle.
The DT overcame the bad situation and began to add. He won important victories, gained experience and began to find in his youth a letter of response to his football needs. As in 2023, he met his goal on the last day, although this time the scenario was no longer with a painful relegation involved, but with the excitement of entering the top four in the tournament.
He consummated the fact and celebrated, finished in fourth place in Group B and faced Godoy Cruz, the best team in the entire competition. With one less for 40 minutes he overcame it, with a lot of attitude and solidarity. The next challenge was Argentinos, with a good level in the League Cup. He stayed with 10 again, this time for more than 80 minutes, and found the key to the final on penalties with a key Marchiori.
This May 4, hours before the opening whistle of the final against Pincha, Vélez landed in Santiago del Estero to play everything against León and he didn’t come alone. Thousands of fans accompanied the team and stood guard in front of the Hilton hotel to receive the players’ microphone.
They sang, jumped and got excited together. Stories here and there, travel diaries and endless journeys crossed on the sidewalk of Alem Streetwhich was dyed blue and white.
“Vélez is family, it is peace and celebration, like what we see here,” recited the first voices. There, in front of the cameras that began to arrive and the imminent final that will begin on Sunday, The football ritual began before a key duel: the promises.
From the most common to the most crazy, Vélez fans made all kinds of pacts to try to get even closer to the League Cup. Exotic cuts and hair dyeing were the most repeated. One took a gamble and broke the mold: He vowed to get a tattoo of coach Quinteros’ face in case he lifted the trophy.
Fabricio Toledo, one of the many fans who came to Santiago to watch the final, told his story and could not avoid the emotion, which came accompanied by tears and the love that Véles Sarsfield awakens within him.
Originally from Río Cuarto, but with family in Santiago, he took the opportunity to approach the club of his loves and leave everything on the stands this Sunday, from 3:30 p.m., at the Madre de Ciudades.
“We are here and enjoying the final. A few months ago we got rid of the specter of relegation and this team, rower, deserved this, as did its people. This is football, the beauty of it and the ugly too,” commented Fabrizio, who step he thanked the province’s supporters club for their help and to whom he promised a barbecue if she consecrated herself.
The atmosphere became even warmer when, After 7:15 p.m., the bus that arrived with the Fortín players began to appear around the corner of Alem. The first screams fell, the drums began to sound with more power and the flares also helped to decorate a Velez space that was experiencing his own party.
The players descended at their own pace, many of them banging on the windows of the microphone and singing together to the fans. They left the luggage they arrived with and faced the fences that separated them from the fervent heat of the Fortineros.
Photos, signatures, hugs and greetings everywhere. People rushed towards those who represented them on the playing field and took advantage of the beautiful moment to take away an unforgettable memory, one of those that perhaps tomorrow, after 5:30 p.m., could take on much more value after the final whistle of referee Nicolás Ramírez in the Mother of Cities.
Vélez did everything to get there, his people exhausted all the opportunities to support them and now the only thing left is for the ball to roll to define whether or not Fortín will be able to break that ten-year curse without shouting champion.
