It wasn’t the idea for him to play. Due to the number of casualties there were, he accepted Gustavo Costas’ request and took the field 21 minutes into the second half for Agustín Urzi. Fate had prepared one of the unforgettable surprises: he was, precisely, the scorer of the goal of an agonizing victory at the Academy, in injury time, celebrated with the relief that this type of victory generates. And there Santiago Solari exploded in Racing, in that celebration that sent him straight to the fence to climb and shout his conquest in front of the fans who returned the same euphoria for the match sealed against Riestra.
At 50 minutes into the final stage, when there were only two minutes remaining until the seven-minute stoppage time given by referee Fernando Echenique was fulfilled, Agustín Almendra played for Salas. With his back to the goal, and first, Maxi assisted Solari with great quality, who scored against the left post of goalkeeper Ignacio Arce. He had previously created a clear dangerous chance in an action with individual imbalance, but the goalkeeper covered him in a one-on-one situation. The Academy winger took revenge and scored his fourth goal with the Racing jersey, which will end this date again at the top.
After the more serene outburst in the celebration, the winger tried to lower the decibels, although no one takes away his hope. And he invoked, without naming him, Mostaza Merlo, from whom he took the legendary lead at the Academy. “This is step by step, heh, like the phrase. It’s very long, so we don’t have to go crazy. We have to continue down this path. I hope we end up like the one who said that step-by-step phrase, heh”Solari released.
Urzi started in Racing against Riestra and Solari started on the bench
Given the loss of Johan Carbonero from the Academy (strain in the femoral biceps of his left leg), Costas had to choose between Agustín Urzi and Solari to replace him. He leaned towards the first, who had played well in the previous two matches. In the latter he had a lot of mobility throughout the attacking front, but not always with good finishes.
Solari had reappeared in the Academy against Sportivo Luqueño for the Copa Sudamericana. He did it after missing the games against Coquimbo Unidos of Chile and Argentinos due to bilateral adductor insertional tendinopathy. His last time as a starter took place on May 16 in the aforementioned match with the Chilean team.
“Solari was ruled out physically, we were already thinking about getting him back in the preseason (after the match with Lanús). But I told him that I needed him because we had a lot of casualties. The same thing happened with Almendra,” said Costas at the press conference. The former Boca was the bench and entered after having trained alongside the squad for just one day (Friday), after missing two previous training sessions because he was still resting in his home due to a feverish syndrome. What casualties did Costas refer to in the offensive aspect at the Academy? They were missing the injured Carbonero, Maravilla Martínez (sprained right ankle) and Juanfer Quintero (he traveled to Colombia to join the Pre-selection).
“We deserved a victory like that. The people spent ninety minutes helping and carried us. We are all united and it is much better,” Costas celebrated at the Academy.
Cover photo: Racing Press
