Independiente del Valle and Flamengo will once again play in the final of the South American Cup Winners’ Cup as they did in 2020, when the Brazilian club won the trophy with a 5-2 aggregate victory at the iconic Maracana.

History will repeat itself as it is: the Ecuadorians will host the first match in their stronghold of Sangolquí this Tuesday, as Copa Sudamericana monarchs against ‘Mengão’ as owners of the Libertadores.

Three years ago, the Ecuadorian ‘giant killer’ failed to hold on to a partial 1-0 win in Quito after 20 minutes of the first leg and barely equalized at 2-2 with an agonizing penalty on 90+1.

Already dead, those from Sangolquí – a valley near Quito – went down 3-0 in the second leg in Rio de Janeiro, which could then have given them the second international title of their young professional careers.

The Rio de Janeiro team “today is the club with the highest hierarchy on the continent”, said Argentinean Martín Anselmi, the Blue and Black strategist.

He added that “here you have to try to make a difference. We play at home, on our field, with our people, it’s a game we have to play and then go to Maracana to be ourselves, to never give up”.

Independiente has barely played an official game since October, when it beat Brazil’s Sao Paulo 2-0 in the 2022 Copa Sudamericana individual final to close out its participation in the annual national championship, placing third with 56 points from 30 games.

Less than two weeks ago, they faced Aucas, the current local monarch, from Quito, whom they defeated 3-0 in the final of the Ecuadorian Super Cup.

‘Fla’, with the biggest fan base in Brazil, has been in intense high-level activity since beating Athletico Paranaense 1-0 in the Libertadores final, also in October.

They suffered a heavy setback when they finished third at the recent Club World Cup in Morocco, when they were tipped to play Real Madrid in the final, but went down 3-2 to Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia in the semi-finals. In this tournament, he then achieved a pale third place, defeating Egypt’s Al Ahly 4-2.

Before that, they experienced another setback, this time in the Brazilian Super Cup against Palmeiras, which they lost 4-3.

Since the failure at the World Club Championship, its skipper, the Portuguese Vítor Pereira, has made several changes in the formation.

With midfielder Gerson injured, doubts are growing for the clash with the Ecuadorian blue and black.

Casualties due to physical discomfort were also added to center Léa Pereira (start), winger Filipe Luís (alternating position with Ayrton), winger Marinho (substitute) and substitute goalkeeper Hugo. Long-term injured striker Bruno Henrique did not arrive in Ecuador either.

The big question is whether Pereira will favor the defense – in which case he would field three defensive midfielders – or keep a solid four up top but with Everton Ribeiro operating as a mixed midfield.

However, Flamengo is not a sweet pear at all.

“I like the kill-kill because at the end I think it has a challenge,” Anselmi said.

The second leg of the South American Cup Winners’ Cup is scheduled for February 28 in Rio de Janeiro.

In the event of a tied score and goal difference, an extra time of 30 minutes will be played, and if the situation continues, a penalty kick will be played. (D)