By Gustavo Castilho
Goal at the very end guarantees the victory of Verdão, who now thinks about the world cup
The Copa Libertadores de América has come to an end. After all the readjustment in the calendar, due to the pandemic, the champion finally left. At Maracanã, Palmeiras beat Santos 1-0 and won the most coveted cup on the continent. When everything was heading for a penalty shootout, an unlikely hero gave the sacred air and brought the cup to Verdão. Just before the scoreboard was opened, a confusion between coach Cuca and full-back Marcos Rocha stole the show. The ball went out the side, Cuca went to catch it, Marcos Rocha did too, and the two got tangled up. The coach was expelled. He jumped over the wall, went to the stands and, from there, saw Palmeiras score in the 53rd minute of the second half. Striker Ron crossed to the area, and with his head, Breno Lopes stamped the Santos net. The 25-year-old player from Belo Horizonte, was at Juventude in Série B and was picked up in November, without much prominence in the press. Eleven years later, Palmeiras reached the second Libertadores title in history
Now Palmeiras returns all the keys to the FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar. The competition starts this Thursday at 11am. Tigres, from Mexico, faces Ulsan, from South Korea, and the winner will be Palmeiras’ opponent in the semifinals, Sunday, February 7, at 3 pm. The other quarter-final game, also on Thursday, brings together Al Duhail, from Qatar, and Al Ahly, from Egypt. Whoever wins, catches Bayern Munich in the semifinals, Monday.
On the return the team still has one more decision to face, which is the final of the Brazil Cup against Grêmio. The matches will be held on February 28, in Porto Alegre, and March 7, in São Paulo.
