“And tomorrow is the revenge,” said a veteran journalist when he said goodbye to the newsroom until the next day. Tomorrow, or actually in four days, on Sunday at the José Amalfitani, Vélez will have the possibility of becoming champion of the League if it beats Huracán and forget his time in the city of Santa Fe, where he lost the last two games 1-0.
To the team of Gustavo Quinteros It is enough to win 1-0 to make the Olympic turn. But the big unknown is How will he recover a squad of players who are very beaten by the two defeats and tired by the string of matches. But they are not the only conditions. On Wednesday there were incidents on the Unión field between some fans and the players, who went into the stands to defend their families.
Everything was very confusing and there are conflicting versions. Did a couple of fans insult the family members when they recognized them and defended themselves? Did the fans start insulting the players after the defeat and family members and friends jumped up to scold them badly and then everything went haywire? Was the reaction exaggerated? The truth is that for the players involved, and for those who are not, this conflict can weigh negatively on the definition of the championship.
The other drawback is the feeling of a permanent short circuit between coach Gustavo Quinteros and some players. It was exposed in the match with River, with the phrase “you are a shit” of Elías Gómez when he took it out and with Claudio Aquino’s fight with Leandro Desábatofield assistant and coach’s cousin. There was a two-day suspension for the left back but he couldn’t afford to be left without one of the team’s best players in the final stages.
After that tie with River, Vélez played 10 games, won 3, tied 5 and lost 2 and except for the 4-3 with Boca, in the other 9 he barely scored 5 goals. It is only necessary to observe when the changes occur, how the players retreat to the substitute bench without greeting the coach.
“We, the entire group, the coaching staff, the players, the staff, are anguished. We wanted to give this enormous joy to people but sometimes there are circumstances that keep you from this possibility.“, Quinteros expressed after the defeat and once again dedicated a paragraph to the people, even after the incidents that occurred in the audience. “Thank you for the support on the street, in all the stadiums, my whole family, for example, is always where we play and many families close to us. I have no doubt that the field will be full on Sunday. and when fatigue hits us, which is going to happen, people are going to give us strength to keep going,” remarked the coach, who at the beginning of the season also had his family members have problems in the Vélez crowd.
Vélez has already returned to Buenos Aires and will remain concentrated in the Olympic Village until Sunday. There are tired players and that is why Quinteros will have to evaluate the team for the last date. “The only thing that worries me is recovering the players who are very, very tired, (Joaquín) García already looked tired in the first half, we had to take care of (Claudio) Aquino, and (Francisco) Pizzini the same. We were not prepared from the beginning to play a game with the possibility of winning it,” he explained.
Emanuel Mammana will not be able to play due to the accumulation of yellow cards and in that position he has two options: “With Damián (Fernández) and with (Patricio) Pernicone, who did not play, we can train, we are going to prepare the two who have that profile, on the right , and we are going to see how Valentín (Gómez), who has been playing every game, and Elías Gómez are doing, we will see if they can recover them and then we will make the decision,” he emphasized.
The defeats in Santa Fe filled with uncertainty the end of a team that was the protagonist all year, unlike 2023, which was saved from relegation on the last date. There is a lot of disappointment among fans, who fear being left empty-handed. Amid so much sadness, some remembered what happened to Lionel Messi with the National Team, which lost four finals. And he had his revenge in Qatar. Because football gives revenge. And as that old and beloved journalist said, “tomorrow is the revenge.”