December is here, the temperatures are soaring and the football season is coming to a close for another year. So to cap it all off, what better way than to bring the last two teams standing to the hottest place in all of Argentina?
Santiago del Estero is not exactly a prized summer tourist destination. Days in the northern province routinely record temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius or higher, and the nights often bring little relief from that searing heat. Not for nothing is the region known as the National Siesta Capital; attempt to do anything but take a snooze during midday hours and you will likely need your melted remains scraped off the pavement.
But what Santiago does possess is a fantastic-looking, shiny new stadium, and it is in the Madre de Ciudades that the unlikely duo of Platense and Rosario Central face off in the final of the Copa de la Liga this Saturday.
For Central, and in particular their ever-effervescent veteran coach Miguel Ángel Russo, this final appearance is rich reward for what has been a marvellous year on the blue-and-yellow side of Rosario.
The Canalla had finished 2022 flirting with relegation, and their task for the following campaign did not appear any easier after selling teenage superstar Facundo Buonanotte in January. But a team dominated by youth graduates, the odd wily veteran – goalkeeper Jorge 'Fatura' Broun and the impossibly stylish mullet-haired playmaker, Ignacio Malcorra stand out as crucial to their success – and smart bargain signings like Colombian wizard Jaminton Campaz have proved a match for almost anyone else in the league.
They are already assured a spot in the Copa Libertadores for the first time since 2019 after finishing third in the annual table and disposed of Racing and River in successive penalty shoot-outs to reach this final, a momentous achievement at any time but more so after losing another young ace, top scorer Alejo Véliz, to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur prior to the start of the Copa.
Vindication indeed for Russo, who was discarded by Boca in 2021 and who struggled to hold back tears of joy on Sunday as his charges celebrated an historic victory over one of Argentine football's giants.
From a past Boca boss, to a future one? While Martín Palermo's stewardship of Platense through to this final has been fascinating viewing, more gripping still has been the subplot linking the ex-Xeneize legend to a triumphal Bombonera return.
Palermo, after all, became hopelessly embroiled in the battle between former Juan Román Riquelme and Mauricio Macri when he stated in a press conference that he would accept the offer from the latter's ticket to take up the job of head coach should they prevail. He then seemed rather perplexed at the subsequent predictable media storm, pleading reporters focus on his exploits at Platense rather than the swirl of rumours around Boca in a classic attempt to shut the stable door when the horse was already long bolted and racing towards the next farm.
Exactly why Macri and Aníbal Ibarra have turned to the Platense man, idol status notwithstanding, is also unclear given the club's rather underwhelming 2023; though Palermo certainly did nothing to hurt his standing with two thrilling shoot-out wins over Banfield and Godoy Cruz to clinch this unexpected final appearance.
He will not have to wait long to find out what destiny holds. The latest twist in Boca's election saga saw the original judicial bar on voting lifted by another court, and the club will go to the polls on Sunday – as will Palermo, who plans to fly back from Santiago to cast his ballot the day after the final.
It will be a hectic weekend indeed, then, for all involved, and an unmissable, if rather sweaty, conclusion to the Copa in the province's showpiece stadium.
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