No goalkeeper, no substitute: River Plate wins anyway No goalkeepers, no substitutes, no problem: because all CA River Plate goalkeepers had tested positive for COVID-19, midfielder Enzo Pérez, who effectively healed a muscle injury, had to enter the goal in the match of the group stage. of the Copa Libertadores, and get him out of his task with great success.
And with his remaining ten teammates scoring a heroic 2-1 (2-0) against Independiente Santa Fe despite an empty bench, Pérez was even named "Man of the Match" for his saves. Urged by circumstances, coach Marcelo Gallardo tested midfielder Enzo Pérez in the goal on Tuesday, but the player is still recovering from a contracture and the gloves could fall on full-back Milton Casco or newcomer Tomás Lecanda, which will force an unusual formation and without substitutes. An attempt to bring in a youth goalkeeper at the last minute failed on Tuesday when Conmebol denied it, relying on regulatory issues. Gallardo had submitted a roster of 32 players out of the 50 allowed. The president of the "millionaire" institution, Rodoldo D'Onofrio, considered the situation "ridiculous", but the club communicated its decision to play anyway to avoid sanctions.
Conmebol regulations establish that as long as there are a minimum of seven eligible players on the list in good faith, teams must appear to compete. The unbridled advance of the pandemic in the region and the stubbornness of football to carry on despite the tragedy, can put the regulation to the test. “The situation is totally atypical, very strange, very complicated.
Going out to play this game will not be easy at all. Hopefully nothing happens and they can finish the game and that River has a good result. It is a very compromised situation, ”Argentine national team coach Lionel Scaloni told ESPN channel. The contagions in River also affect Scaloni, who must complete with local players the list of summoned for the dates of the South American qualifier for the Qatar-2022 World Cup on June 3 and 8 and then the America's Cup: “In this situation we have to value a lot because there are many days off ”, warned DT. (D)