Racing’s rivals in the Copa Sudamericana are now clear. That’s it. On Saturday night the remaining match for said competition was completed and the draw was finished. A meeting that was important precisely because it changed what could happen with Gustavo Costas’ team. Now, the victory of Inter de Porto Alegre against Delfín of Ecuador left the Ecuadorians out of the competition. And the Brazilians qualified as second. However, due to goal difference, they displaced Racing de Uruguay as second worst.
This way, the H key, which is the one that the Academy had, has already been fully defined. The worst second in the Copa Sudamericana will face the best of the third in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores. The clean crossing will be between Racing from Uruguay and Hauchipato from Chile. The winner of this head-to-head match that will be played in July will face Acadé in the round of 16. Match that Gustavo Costas’ team will play between the week of August 14 and August 21. The first game will be as a visitor and the second in the Cilindro, to define the series.
Beyond respecting all rivals and not underestimating any, this week the panorama changed noticeably. When the draw was announced, still with games pending, a clear possibility is that Acadé will win the winner of Inter de Porto Alegre vs. Guild. These would have been very tough rivals for Racing in a round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana. But logic occurred and he ended up playing a simpler series which opens the way a little thinking about that long-awaited finale.
The rivals of Racing’s path in the Copa Sudamericana are already here
Racing in the Copa Sudamericana is very excited and now that it knows the rivals everything is clearer. It is the great objective of this year. Being able to achieve something international is what the coaching staff, the players, the leaders and all the fans dream of. That long-awaited achievement that has been denied to us since 1988, when Gustavo Costas happened to be at the club. In that case in the role of player, leaving life on the playing field. Today he does it from the other side of the white line, although with what he runs he sweats more than the players. Frantic, he tries to spread the word from the outside in and lives it like any other fan. Both the defeats and the positive.
The Academy will not be able to trust itself in the round of 16. Hauchipato had a good group stage in the Copa Libertadores and was on the verge of reaching the round of 16. He was the best third in a group that included Gremio, Estudiantes and The Strongest in La Paz. Very hard. He even left Pincha in fourth place, leaving him with no chance of anything. Of the six he lost only two games, in La Altura and with Gremio in Chile. Qero beat the Brazilians in Porto Alegre and Estudiantes in La Plata. That is to say, as a visitor, he is going strong. The Uruguayans also gave a surprise. They won both games against Argentinos Juniors and tied at home with Corinthians. They only lost one game, against the Brazilians as a visitor.
