The Belo Horizonte team could become a rival of Xeneize if Diego Martínez’s team moves to Independiente del Valle, and the Brazilians have already added several important reinforcements.
The draw for the final draw of the Copa Sudamericana put him Mouth A complicated path ahead towards the continental title: he will have to face Independiente del Valle in the playoffs prior to round of 16, and if they surpass the Ecuadorians – protagonists of the Conmebol tournaments in recent years – in the next round they would face Cruzeirowho on his return to international tournaments after having played in B between 2020 and 2022, is determined to be one of the strong protagonists of this South American.
Cruzeiro will watch the series between Independiente del Valle and Boca from the outside, waiting for its rival in the round of 16 while continuing to expand its squad. Looking ahead to the second semester, Those from Mina Gerais have already made several renowned and hierarchical additions:
- Kaio Jorge
- Cassio
- Dudu
- Lautaro Diaz
- Fabrizio Peralta
To begin with, they bought the pass Kaio Jorge to Juventus: an old acquaintance of Xeneize, who faced him in the Libertadores 2020 and 2021, when the forward played for Santos. In Italy he did not perform as he expected, and he returned to football in Brazil.
Kaio Jorge’s goals in the 2020 Libertadores in which he eliminated Boca
Another old acquaintance of the Xeneize who arrived in Cruzeiro is Cassius, the historic Corinthians goalkeeper who ended his contract with Timao after 12 and a half years at the club, and has now signed with Belo Horizonte. The 37-year-old goalkeeper was the one who defended Corinthians’ three goals in the 2012 Libertadores final.
Continuing with the champions of America, Cruzeiro reached an agreement for the return of Duduformed in the club’s youth ranks, with a spell at Dinamo kyiv, and several years at Gremio and Palmeiras, where he was part of the two-time Libertadores championship.
And that was not all, because the Brazilians also bought Independiente del Valle from Lautaro Diazforward from Estudiantes de Caseros, who also has international experience: with the Ecuadorians he won the Sudamericana 2022 and Recopa 2023. The Argentine striker played three games in the group stage of this year’s Libertadores and scored three goals.
Finally, Cruzeiro bought Cerro Porteño from Fabrizio Peralta, 21-year-old midfielder who is going to play in the Copa América with Paraguay, and is close to agreeing to the permanence of Matheus Pereira, his goalscoring forward with time in Portugal, Germany and England before spending a few years in Arab football and arriving in the middle of last year on loan to Cruzeiro.
Independiente del Valle will leave its stadium for the series against Boca in the Copa Sudamericana
The team that eliminated the La Ribera club in the 2016 Libertadores does not meet one of the many requirements imposed by the competition for this type of match. Despite having been at home against Palmeiras, San Lorenzo and Liverpool, the three teams with which they shared a group in the continental competition, they will no longer be able to do so for the play-offs. And this has an explanation.
For the first phases, Conmebol requires a minimum capacity of 10,000 spectators. However, as you progress, that sum grows; and for the 16th that number reaches 20,000. The Negriazul stadium has room for 12,000 fans, which is why they will have to play on another field against Boca on July 17.
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