Liga de Quito and Fortaleza will square off this Saturday in Uruguay in the Copa Sudamericana 2023 final, a matchup with no clear favourites, few numbers and promising plenty of team play.

Domingo Burgueño Miguel de Maldonado stadium, kilometers from the famous resort of Punta del Este, the scene of the clash that opens the golden week for Sudamericana men’s soccer.

In seven days, Argentina’s Boca Juniors and Brazil’s Fluminense will fight for the Libertadores-2023 title at the legendary Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.

Double championship or an unprecedented title

A double championship for the Albos, who won their first and so far only Sudamericana title in 2009, or the first tournament win for the Brazilian northeast, accustomed to looking sideways at major international competitions that almost always have their players as protagonists. compatriots from the south.

In the former Liga can boast of successes – Libertadores champion (2008) and Sudamericana a year later – and Fortaleza can boast of the cards of a team that is more valued in the current market.

On the field, the two teams have many similarities and that parallelism starts on the bench, where both have trusted the Argentine strategists to lead their dream.

Luis Zubeldía in the league and Juan Pablo Vojvoda in Fortaleza, two U-50 coaches from the Albiceleste school looking for their first major continental title.

On Vojvodina’s side, the key will again be in the strength of the midfield with Ze Welison at the head, and in the attack, which could go with Guilherme and Lucer with Pikachu or Marinho.

“Anything can happen”, the final is “open”, summarized Vojvoda before the match.

The winger Tinga admitted that it is “a very big responsibility” to be part of the team that can bring Fortaleza its first continental title, but he also admitted that it is a pleasure to be part of this moment for the club that caused the euphoria of the fans who crossed Brazil in large numbers from north to south to reach Uruguay to cheer on their team.

A Peruvian warrior in the service of the League

Under the leadership of Luis Zubeldía, Liga presents a team that combines youth with the ever-necessary wisdom of veterans. And Paolo Guerrero is the team’s standard bearer.

Having just turned 40, the Peruvian shooter is at a special moment in his career. Far from the streak of goals that turned him into one of the most feared strikers in the region, the ‘Predator’ scored key goals in the Sudamericana.

However, his greatest contribution to the team is behind closed doors where his leadership leaves its mark on his peers.

Zubeldía knows that this Saturday you have to have guts to win the title in a game where the key will be “in the efficiency of passing”, warned the coach.

The contribution of the ‘Predator’ Warrior to the game and the experience is huge. Paolo wants to win things and that’s why I didn’t hesitate to bring him,” the league coach concluded.

As night falls in Maldonado, it will be known whether the Peruvian has achieved his goal or whether an emboldened Fortaleza was enough to turn history around. (D)