Independiente del Valle and Liga de Quito meet in pursuit of the Pro League 2023 title, a definition that has special extras, such as the fact that the two teams face each other for the first time in the final, with each club having the possibility of double crowns after winning international tournaments this year. everything contributes to making this an unprecedented final in Ecuadorian football.

The first thing is that Rayados and Albos will compete for the first time in the national tournament definition. Liga in search of a twelfth title, while Independiente goes for a second local crown.

There is also the fact that the two Pro League finalist clubs are the only ones in Serie A to have won Conmebol: League tournaments with five crowns after winning the Copa Libertadores, two Sudamericanas and Recopa, while Independiente arrives with three international crowns, after one Cup Winners’ Cup and two South American championship titles.

This will be the first time in national football that two international champions face each other for the local title, especially with two current champions from different tournaments, the striped champions of the Recopa Sudamericana and the white champions of the Copa Sudamericana, an example of the progress of Ecuadorian clubs at the South American level.

“It’s always nice to reach the final, that’s what leaves you in the history of any club. Here, everyone is used to playing finals because despite the short time, the club was champion in several finals and that is clear to us as players,” said Marcelo Martins Moreno, a Bolivian forward in the ranks of Independiente.

For their part, the Albos arrive in a “calm” atmosphere, according to striker Paolo Guerrero.

“Throughout the season we had a good atmosphere, and now we are focused on work that is intense, serious, with a lot of discipline to prepare for this final. We are thinking about the first final, but we are calm,” he pointed out.

Albos and Rayados will meet again in a week, at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado Stadium, where Ecuadorian football will crown a new national monarch. (D)