The 2024 Copa Libertadores final will be held in Buenos Aires on November 30 and Uruguayan giants Nacional and Peñarol need to be there as much as any team. The two teams from Montevideo have won 8 Libertadores titles between them and their fans would give anything to cross. The Rio de los Angeles Plos angelesta at the end of November to try to do it again.
Uruguayan clubs once ruled South America, in the same way that their national team ruled the world in the field of football by winning two World Cups between 1930 and 1950, but in fashionable times they have been left in charge of Argentine teams. and Brazilians at club level.
Only Boca Juniors and Independiente of Argentina have won more Copa Libertadores trophies than Peñarol of Uruguay, which won its fifth name in 1987. A year later, in 1988, rival Nacional won its third name. Between 1980 and 1988, they won four Cup trophies between them, but since then neither of them have had their hand in the famous cup again.
In 2011, Peñarol managed to return to the Cup final, but were defeated in two games by Brazilian side Santos, who had the young talismanic skill of Neymar in their ranks. That was not the case, however, this season both groups are back in the knockout stages and their enthusiasts are once again dreaming of maximum glory.
In the history of the Uruguayan league, Peñarol has registered 51 titles and Nacional 49. The next luckiest clubs have only managed 4 league wins. Their internal dominance cannot be underestimated, and therefore their history of good fortune on the continent is not a surprise. So why have those clubs struggled so much in recent years and may be about to be replaced in 2024?
Modern football and its strategies make the Uruguayan skill factory one of the hottest markets for foreign clubs. It is increasingly likely that a young Uruguayan talent will emerge playing for Benfica, or even in the Brazilian league, than at home with Peñarol or Nacional.
Talent is so young that he plays a little in the first team before being sent off. In 2023, Uruguay won the U-20 World Cup in Argentina, but instead of those talents progressing to win titles with Uruguayan teams as might have happened in the past, that good luck is turning into a new transfer.
Two key players in that Uruguayan U-20 were Sebastián Boselli, who after that tournament left Defensor Sporting for River Plate, and Fabricio Díaz, who went from Liverpool Montevideo to the Qatari club Al Gharafa.
A globalised market means that skill rarely stays at home and this is largely due to Nacional and Peñarol’s lack of good luck at continental level. Even though they can save players from moving to Europe or the Middle East, players from Brazil’s Serie A giants have enough budgets to attract the soccer ability of young Uruguayans across the border.
So what are the chances of good luck for any of those groups this year?In truth, either group may have faced much worse ties in the round of 16. Peñarol will be slightly favored to advance against Bolivian side The Strongest, despite Meanwhile, Nacional faces Brazilian side São Paulo, who are a more potent team than them on paper, although they have only won two of their last five league games and are far from invincible.
Nacional fans pay tribute to Santiago García at a match between Nacional and Peñarol as part of the 2022 Clausura Tournament at the Gran Parque Central stadium on September 4, 2022 in Montevideo, Uruguay.
To put things in context, Nacional and Peñarol have not qualified together for the round of 16 of this festival since 2002. Let’s forget winning this tournament, modern history would suggest that simply making it to the next round would be a feat. However, teams and fans are not satisfied with it. Yes, they are aware that things are against them, but they have a “big club” mentality and expect to compete for each and every possible trophy.
Nacional has only lost once in nine games and CA Penarol was in incredible form in the first part of this season, going 15 unbeaten in the first part of the national championship and scoring 31 goals and conceding just seven. Both clubs will also take advantage of the incredible environment. created through their respective supporters for their home games.
They can also draw confidence from their performances in the stages of organizing the Cup. Peñarol Calcio has won 3 of 3 home games, adding great effects against visitors Argentina and Brazil. Nacional also remained unbeaten at home with two wins and a draw against River Plate, having to recover from a 2-0 deficit.
The scale of those clubs means they will face anyone in the rest of this season’s Copa Libertadores. Their effects at the organizational level and in their national form have demonstrated this, and the atmosphere created for their home games will be unbeatable. It may take a miracle to win the competition, but at least those two Uruguayan giants, once back, have a chance to win the grand prize, as they have done in the past. Don’t rule them out just yet.
A Peñarol fan waves a flag of his team before the derby of the Uruguayan first department against Array. [ ] Nacional at the Centenario Stadium in Montevideo on 11 May 2008. AFP PHOTO/Pablo Porciuncula
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