Independiente del Valle does not have the record that Liga de Quito has in the national championship. The Albos debuted on that track in 1960; those of Sangolquí, half a century later, in 2010 (as Independiente José Terán). The university students have eleven crowns from Ecuador, and the black and blue have only one. As for the fans, the differences are also huge. And as for the presence in the domestic finals, the League collected eight of them, and those from Dolina one.

But none of that plays any part, it doesn’t matter in defining the monarch of the Pro League in 2023. Each has conquered the stage. Both have been awarded the current Conmebol awards: Independiente champion of the Recopa and Liga Copa Sudamericana (both are, moreover, the last winners of that competition). But they are also equal in two other respects: institutional strength and financial soundness.

“Independiente del Valle is used to playing in finals,” says Marcelo Martins Moreno

Thus, the greater prospapi of the Liga de Quito and its extensive history in the national tournament, compared to the present of both, will not weigh this Sunday in the final, the first game. Both teams have players with experience in successful international disputes. Only the statistics are in favor of the League: six of the eight local finals ended in the Olympic rounds of white.

Lautaro Díaz is a doubt at Independiente del Valle for the Pro League final

How did Independiente do in their only Serie A final? Although he was the runner-up in 2013, he reached that position through the accumulated table because Emelec was the king of that campaign, winning in both stages.

In 2021, led by Portuguese coach Renato Paiva, the men from Valle gave AFNA a national star after beating Emelec in the double-header of that season’s final.

Pro league: Independiente del Valle vs. Liga Quito, possible lineups for the first final match

The millionaires won the first stage with 34 points; Independiente was third, with 27. But second was for those from Paiva, with 34 units, with electric accompaniment, with 30.

On December 5, 2021, they played the first game at the Banco Guayaquil stadium, and the home team won 3-1 (Junior Sornoz’s double and Jonatan Bauman’s goal. Sebastián Rodríguez conceded).

The second leg of the final was played a week later in Capwell, in abnormal conditions. Referee Augusto Aragón allowed the match to be played on a field turned into a swimming pool due to the torrential rain that lasted for fourteen hours. The 1-1 scoreline helped the men from Valle become champions in their first Ecuadorian football final. Richard Schunke gave the visitors the lead, and then Dixon Arroyo equalized. (D)