Mexico City /
“We arrived, we changed and went out on the track without warming up,” recalls the coach of thes Chivas, José Luis Real, his run over and injured I arrive at the Beira-Río de Porto Alegre Stadium, the night of August 18, 2010 to play the Libertadores Cup Round Final in front of the International. It was the second time that a Mexican team was installed in the anteroom of the most important title at the level of American clubs.
The technician of Chivas remember that passage just this Saturday, when the End of the Liberators between Palmeiras and Santos, both from Brazil, just like the rival he faced Chivas a little over 10 years ago.
El Guero, who is one of five coaches not born in South America who have managed to reach a Final in this competition, said in an interview with Half time that this match had to be played 10 minutes lateand, as the bus carrying them from the hotel to the stadium, was stopped and diverted on three occasions due to threats from Brazilian bars.
“In the classic South American style … The match started 10 minutes late because on our bus they stopped it every 10 minutes to divert it. They said that there were threatening bars to prevent the truck from arriving. We had forced stops and detours, we arrived late, we changed and we went out on the track, without a normal warm-up and then we faced a great team surrounded by a spectacular stage. “
“We thought they wanted us not to come. We contacted people from the Federation (FMF) to let them know this. CONMEBOL and that they saw that we were going to be late and that there was no sanction “, remembers the Mexican coach in a talk with Half time.
Synthetic Pasture: The Disadvantage of Playing at the Omnilife Stadium
The Sacred Ram came to this match with a heavy load, as in the Final of Ida played the August 11th Inter prevailed 2-1 coming from behind with goals from Guliano and Bolivar, in the newly built and inaugurated Omnilife Stadium, where they played for the first time in this whole tournament in synthetic grass, something that according to Real did not favor the team.
“It was the first Final in its new stadium and unfortunately for us we played it on synthetic grass. It was not a disadvantage for Inter, it was a disadvantage for us. We had played three games before in natural grass. We understood what Jorge Vergara he wanted to win the championship at his stadium. In the end it did not benefit us “, added the Güero, who considered that if this first duel had been played in natural grass, at least they would have tied it.
“What I can assure you is that at least we don’t lose Guadalajara. It was different to come up with a draw on a stage like Porto Alegre to arrive with a 2-1. I think we lost in Guadalajara and that was the main reasoning we had, ”he said.
The invading fan, the quarrel and the forgiveness of the Royal Guero
At the end of the Round of 16 with a favorable 3-2 score for Inter Porto Alegre, The TV broadcast went to the center of the field where several players from Chivas and from the Brazilian box they exchanged blows and pushes.
The narrators’ versions pointed to the frustration of the Mexican players, however José Luis Real revealed that this quarrel was started by a Brazilian fan who got on the track to hit Marc Fabián, situation that started a struggle that had to control the local police.
“In the end a fan gets into hitting Fabián and Omar Bravo lets go and hits the fan who got in. Everyone at Inter is going to protect the fan who got in. Then it looked like it was a quarrel between Inter and Chivas and it was not.
“The police came in but not to arrest the person who had gotten on the track. They didn’t get in for anything and they protected themselves as they always do. Of course, in the locker room it was the police and they took me to this fan. ‘This is the fan who came down and hit a player‘What sanction do you want for him’, and I told them to let him go that I didn’t care that they would sanction him. What he did could no longer be remedied and he apologized to me and left, “he said.