Racing and Vélez leave fans singing in the rain

In addition to the usual repertoire of terrace chants, Racing and Vélez fans would have been well-justified in doing their best Gene Kelly impressions on an epic Tuesday evening of Copa Libertadores action.  “I’m singing in the rain... what a glorious feeling, I’m happy again!” – the weather outside might have been frightful, with Greater Buenos Aires receiving a month’s worth of rain in the space of 24 extremely soggy hours, but the football was so delightful as the two Argentine clubs battled through the wind and puddles to set up a mouth-watering quarter-final tie at the expense of Peñarol and Fortaleza.

As we hinted last week in this ever-insightful column space, the footballer formerly known as Marcos Rojo found himself in the thick of the action during Racing’s epic comeback against Peñarol. Making his full debut for La Academia, Rojo immediately found himself at home at the heart of the organised chaos that is Gustavo Costas’ Racing team at its unsettling best. 

The defender helped set up Adrían Martínez’s early goal which erased the Uruguayan’s advantage from the first leg then, with Peñarol’s lead restored, struck with his own header that was later erased for a push in the area. Rojo went on to pull off a dramatic last-ditch tackle with the Manya looking to kill off the tie before ending the night on a sour note, receiving a red card having already been substituted for apparently directing choice words at referee Wilmar Roldán.  Nobody can say that Racing did not get the full Marcos R experience: the good, the bad and the ugly.

These kinds of evenings have a knack for producing unlikely heroes. Martínez was one, albeit rather more predictable. The forward has struggled after the season restart in July but when it comes to big continental games he is usually in the right place at the right time. 

Having opened the scoring, ‘Maravilla’ earned a decisive penalty for the hosts with seven minutes left on the clock when he made the most of hard contact in the area from Peñarol’s formidable defence. He picked up the ball himself – to the disappointment of Gastón Martirena, a diehard Nacional fan who was itching to convert the kick – and smashed it past Chile number one Bryan Cortes, taking his tally for the Libertadores up to six. It was now time for the aforementioned unlikely hero. 

Ignacio Pardo, signed without fanfare from Unión to bolster the Academia defence, found himself unmarked at the far post when everyone was ready for penalties (including Costas, who had subbed out the exceptional Gabriel Arias in goal) and headed the winner to bring the house down. This Racing team has flaws across the pitch, but is still yet to be beaten in an international knockout tie and no side will want to face it in this year’s Copa.

Such is Vélez’s fate, however. What the Fortín’s 2-0 win over Fortaleza lacked in the drama witnessed in Avellaneda, it made up for in complete dominance. The 20-odd Fortaleza fans who had made the long trip down to Buenos Aires (admittedly, a far less tempting prospect than the golden Ceará beaches the Vélez faithful flocked to last week) saw their interest in the game ended almost instantly. Maher Carrizo, the 19-year-old phenomenon and Vélez’s own answer to ‘Maravilla,’ netted his fifth goal of the Copa with a strong header seven minutes in, and before the half-hour River loanee Tomás Galván found some space in the area and converted. There was to be no response from the damp, demoralised Brazilians, and Vélez cruised through the rest of the match to make the Libertadores quarters in their first appearance in the competition since 2022, when they battled to the last four before being outclassed by Flamengo.

Redemption is the word for both Argentine challengers. Vélez were pitiful for the first half of the year and finished 13th of 15 in their defence of the Liga Profesional de Fútbol title. Guillermo Barros Schelotto’s arrival gave the Fortín a new focus and dynamism and they look like a team reborn, more than worthy of their place among the eight best teams in South America. Racing, meanwhile, were coming off three straight home defeats in the Liga but turned on the magic when it most counted to knock out an extremely accomplished Peñarol outfit, battling back from a seemingly hopeless position. 

September’s two legs will be required watching for fans and neutrals alike, as these two battling, hungry, talented teams put it all on the line for a place in the semis. And with a bit of luck, the weather will be a little kinder too.