This Monday, April 15, after ten at night, the four qualifiers from Zone A for the quarterfinals of the Professional League Cup. The attraction will focus on four games, in four cities, in four stadiums. In the City of Buenos Aires, in the Diego Maradona of Argentinos; in Avellaneda, in the Libertadores-Ricardo Bochini of Independiente; in Córdoba, at the Juan Domingo Perón de Instituto; and in Mendoza, at the Feliciano Gambarte in Independiente Rivadavia. Four places for six candidates. Who will come in and who will stay out?
The leaders of the area are Argentinos Juniors y Central Tents with 25 points. A tie qualifies both. He who wins, too. Now, what happens to the one who loses. He has to suffer a catastrophic defeat. In the case of Animal, lose something like 8 to 0, something never seen in Juan Agustín García and Boyacá. In the case of Handsome, lose by 4 0 5 goals, something possible but quite difficult taking into account the level of the last games. With these results, the beneficiary would be Vélezwho also has to win in Mendoza.
The one who never won on the court Córdoba Institute es River. They played 12 times, drew 4 and lost 8. Of the 12, eight were with the local team (6 draws and 2 losses), two with Talleres (loss and draw) and two with Racing de Córdoba (loss and draw). The team of Martin Demichelis With a win you qualify. Can you get out with a draw? Yes, if Vélez wins in Mendoza by more than 14 goals. Almost impossible. In all professionalism, only one team scored 13 goals in a match: Banfield to Bahía Blanca Commercial Port in 1974 (13-1). A defeat would complicate their aspirations to play in the playoffs, with a winner in Avellaneda and Fortín winning just 1-0 in Mendoza.
The clash between Independiente and Talleres is a head-to-head. Whoever wins, is classified. But a tie can leave them both out. As? Simply with a draw from River and a victory from Vélez. Furthermore, equality favors the Córdoba team because it has one more point than Rojo. That is, Carlos Tevez’s team needs to win to ensure qualification.
In Mendoza, Vélez goes for the miracle. After not scoring goals in the last two games and adding just one point (0-1 with Talleres and 0-0 with Argentinos), they need to beat Independent Rivadavia and wait for the other results. If they do it by a landslide, it can alter the entire table if Argentines or Barracas also lose by many goals. If they win by the minimum, they need a defeat for River or a draw in Avellaneda. Anything can happen. There is guaranteed excitement.
The four qualifiers will have to wait until Tuesday the 16th to find out their quarterfinal rivals, since that day, starting at 7:30 p.m., there will also be four matches. The first from zone A will play with the fourth from B, the second from A with the third B, the third from A with the second from B and the fourth from A with the first from B. The four Games will be played on a neutral field starting next weekend and surely on Wednesday the Professional League will announce venues, days and times.
On Tuesday, zone B
The definition of zone B became much clearer after Estudiantes’ victory over Boca last Friday. Godoy Cruz is already classified and there are three places for six teams.
- Students visit Lanús. The winner is classified and the loser must wait for the results of those who are below. A draw favors Pincha.
- Defensa receives Newell’s, with the same advantage. But if the Rosario team wins, they will surpass them in points and they will also have to wait for the results of the other games.
- Boca receives Godoy Cruz and needs a victory to reach the quarterfinals. The tie only works if Lanús and Defensa lose and Racing does not win.
- In Córdoba, Belgrano receives Racing, which no longer depends on itself. The Academy must win and wait for the other results.
Tuesday will also see an exciting closing.