At his worst, Costas has the first mata-mata against Huachipato to sustain his promise of “winning an international title”

Vina del Maron the shores of the Pacific, is far from a vacation adventure for Racing. Tonight, starting at 7 p.m., the first of two key games for the club will be played. And also, for Gustavo Costas. In the end, when he took charge of the team and spoke to the fans who went to the presentation that took place at the Cilindro, the coach assured that the Academia “an international tournament” was due.

And Costas, Super Cup champion, has his mind set on winning the Sudamericana. 36 years after the feat at Mineirao with that unforgettable team led by Alfio Basile, the coach who knew how to be a central marker under the command of the Coco He hopes to devote himself to another role, that of his mentor.

Of course Racing is in the worst moment of the cycle that began in January. The unevenness shown in recent dates, enhanced by the poor performance on Friday against Gimnasia in Avellaneda, opens a question mark and sets off all the alarms. Beyond the sense of belonging and the affection that he knew how to earn from the time he was the mascot of José’s team, Costas is questioned by the fans.

Hay two heavy casualties for this duel with Huachipato, which will be played in the spa city because the Concepción stadium was not in condition, according to the parameters of Conmebol. Juan Nardoniwith a sprained left ankle, stayed in Buenos Aires. It will also not be available Marco Di Cesaresuspended due to accumulation of yellow cards.

The coach has not yet defined the team. The good news is that Gabriel Ariaswho was replaced at halftime of the duel with Gimnasia, has recovered from the overload and will start. In defense, he would finally lean towards a line of four with the additions of Facundo Mura and Leonardo Sigali.

Agustín Almendra will return to the middle of the fieldand Bruno Zuculini will appear. Santiago Sosa will leave the rearguard and join the midfield. Also, Baltasar Rodríguez. Going forward, I would bet on the same gala trident with Salas, Maravilla and Carbonero.

This is how Racing would form: Gabriel Arias; Facundo MuraLeonardo SigaliSantiago QuirosGabriel Rojas; Augustine AlmondSantiago SosaBaltasar Rodríguez; Maximilian SalasAdrian Martínez and Johan Carbonero.

There is another concern that overwhelms Racing, regardless of tonight’s game. It is the playing field of its own stadium. This Monday, Conmebol inspectors toured the facilities and observed a notable improvement in the grass, which had the contribution of the AFA court players, sent by Claudio Tapia.

“We did everything necessary,” Víctor Blanco told Clarion. The president is confident that there will be no problems and the team will be able to play in the Cilindro. During the group stage, they had to move their home base to the Lanús field as a result of the deficiencies that the terrain showed. Moving again, as happened with Sportivo Luqueño, is a situation that the partners are not willing to tolerate, according to what was stated on social networks.