This Saturday the El Campin Stadium will crown the successor of Junior de Barranquilla, the last champion of the Colombian League. Independent Santa Fe will seek to end the semester with a title and after several years of complicated seasons in which even the word relegation roamed the halls of the institution. For your part, Atlético Bucaramanga He has the Santander capital in a single party, with the hope of being able to embroider the first star on the club’s shield, a hope that increased in the fans with the first leg that left the advantage by the minimum.
Both teams are playing it all or nothing to not only win the title, but also buy direct ticket to the 2025 Copa Libertadores. On the side of the Bogotá team, which has not known what it is to lift a trophy since 2016, it seems to have a more complicated time, as it will have to tie the series and then come back to win the championship and put the finishing touch to a semester in which the coach Pablo Peirano He infused gallantry, tactics, unity and good football into a group that bought the idea and longs for the star, which would be the tenth for the club.
On the Bucaramanga side, it will not be an easy task to maintain that minimal advantage that they achieved at the Alfonso López with Freddy Hinestroza’s annotation, in a game in which they were vastly superior and in which they will seek to do a similar job to successfully finish a tournament that is already historic. From the hand of Rafael Dudamel, who already knows what it is to be a champion in Colombia as a coach with Deportivo Cali (2021-II), the fans dream as they only once did, in the 1997 final against Américawhich ended in defeat, with the first crown.
Santa Fe, to “battle hard” before its people
“It is the most important game, the last battle. Let everyone come because this team is going to fight hard”, were some of Pablo Peirano’s words at the press conference prior to the commitment. The Uruguayan, champion of the South American Cup 2015 As Gerardo Pelusso’s assistant, he also highlighted the privilege of being able to experience the pressure of what a final means.
For his part, he stated that he will ask his players to give themselves and empty themselves, so as not to be left with any regrets that more could have been done to achieve the goal. When asked about variants in the eleven, he stated that he will look for a deeper team and although he did not dare to name names, all paths lead to him making a modification that could be key on the attacking front to seek more mobility and impudence: Jersson González would enter for the Uruguayan Agustín Rodríguez.
In the defensive zone there are also doubts about what Peirano chooses for the commitment, as well as in the midfield. David Ramirez was the one who lined up as a first baseman, but everything indicates that Diego Hernandez would go in his replacement, as well as Juan Pablo Zuluaga could reappear as a starter instead of Jhojan Torres. Whoever the Uruguayan coach aligns, the players are in line with the objective and will seek to respond in the best way to end the drought.
Bucaramanga, a party with the aura of the first
The first leg left the fans of the Santander team much calmer than those of the Bogotá team, not only because of the one-goal advantage with which they will define in the capital, but because of the way in which they played that duel at the Alfonso Lopez and how well Dudamel’s painting has done on his visits to Bogotá. And the fact is that of four games in the capital in the semester, the Bumangués team has not lost in any, of those two were against Santa Fe (W1 D1).
Height has not been a problem for the Auriverdes, but it is known that all games are different. Concentration and solidity in defense, which they have already demonstrated throughout the tournament, will be key to maintaining the advantage and, why not, taking advantage of attacking options to stretch it. The only doubt in the eleven, passes through defender Kevin Cuesta, who came out with a knock in the first leg, but is available for the game.
“We are going to play a final, there is no greater motivation than that. What that implies is having a city around us, with unrestricted support, and more than a city “We have felt that a country is sympathizing and supporting Atlético Bucaramanga,” Dudamel said at a press conference.
A packed El Campín stadium is what is expected this afternoon. With all the seats sold for the Cardenal team and the thousand tickets that were awarded to the visiting fans, despite the controversy that existed around this issue. The sports arena will open at 3:30 pm, but the ball will roll from 7:30 pm under the direction of referee Carlos Betancur.
Possible alignments of Santa Fe and Bucaramanga
Santa Fe: Andrés Mosquera Marmolejo; Elvis Perlaza, Marcelo Ortiz, Diego Hernández (David Ramírez), Julián Millán, Francisco Chaverra; Yilmar Velásquez, Juan Pablo Zuluaga (Jhojan Torres), Daniel Torres; Jersson González (Agustín Rodríguez) and Hugo Rodallega. DT: Pablo Peirano.
Bucaramanga: Aldair Quintana, Aldair Gutiérrez, Kevin Cuesta, Jefferson Mena, Carlos Henao; Freddy Hinestroza, Leonardo Flores, Fabry Castro, Fabián Sambueza, Jhon Córdoba and Daniel Mosquera. DT: Rafael Dudamel.
Technical sheet of the grand final
- Stadium: El Campin
- Match time: 7:30 pm
- Opening of doors to the public: 3:30 pm
- How to follow the game?: For the transmission of Caracol Radio through streaming and the different dials in the country. Likewise, experience the emotions with the minute by minute from caracol.com.co
- Referee: Carlos Betancur.
- Assistant 1: Javier Patiño.
- Assistant 2: Mario Tarache.
- Fourth referee: Bismarks Santiago.
- VAR: Mauricio Perez.
- AVAR: Leonard Mosquera.
