Racing started 2023 the same way it ended 2022: beating Boca and coming out champion. There will be those who relativize these two triumphs –the Champions Trophy and now the Al Ain International Super Cup–, there will be those who exaggerate them, but the only truth is reality: the one who celebrates, the one who takes the photo with the cup, the posters, the papers and the corporeal letters is Racing. Fernando Gago’s Racing.
It is the same Racing that disappointed in the definition of the last Professional League, because they had the tournament served in a penalty and missed it, but also the one who knew how to recover from that blow and dilute the anger of their fans with two resilient games: first against Tigre – lost 2-0 and won 3-2 after extra time – and then against Boca in San Luis, in an upside-down ending, with the League champion leaving first because of his expulsions, and the second letting off steam.
What happened yesterday in Abu Dhabi was different from what happened in San Luis, because there were no expulsions and very little harshness, but it also ended with controversy over the penalty that Rapallini gave at the last minute: Sandez goes to the ground and touches it with his hand, although there is no unanimity on whether the decision was right or wrong. Does it enlarge the volume of his body, as the regulation mentions? Yes, because his hand is on top of his head. Was there a way to avoid the tag when he slides across the floor and hits your hand off a rebound? Not.
The one who kicked the penalty was Piovi, and for a moment the morbidity took over in that final scene of the game: Racing once again had a tournament from a penalty shot, and on top of that the one who was going to kick it was one of the players who asked to kick against River – “let me break the bow”, said Piovi before Galván grabbed the ball and designed one of the saddest and most disappointing afternoons in academic history.
But all that happened. And yesterday the story ended well – or at least well for Racing. Piovi broke his bow (that’s why Javi García stayed quiet: because he sensed that he could go strong in the middle) and Racing lifted its 39th title, of which 15 are national cups like this one. Because the International Super Cup that is played in Abu Dhabi is an Argentine national cup, only that the business and the petrodollars of that emirate confuse everything a bit.
The certain thing is that Racing won, and that it deserved it. Because the penalty messed up the end, but the outcome of the night rewarded the team that had the greatest offensive presence, mainly in the initial part due to the good work of Maxi Morález – who banished in just a few minutes the fear that he would return slow and old– , Nicolás Oroz and Johan Carbonero.
As it happened when he shone in Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, the Colombian does not run: he goes on skates. Racing’s first goal proved it: after an exquisite assist from Moralez, he outpaced Boca’s defense and defined a stick to achieve a quick draw, key so that Boca did not reinforce a defensive scheme after Roncaglia’s bombing that had put to the advantage.
After that there was parity, but Racing always tried more: that is why that victory at the end was deserved, and that celebration 13 thousand kilometers from the Cilindro de Avellaneda, the land to which it will return to try to win this year, the titles it won so long ago
You may also like