One of the most anticipated moments of the year is the one that took place this Monday night at the Conmebol headquarters in Luque, where a new edition of the
Copa Libertadores
was drawn , which this year will distribute 226 million dollars and the winner of the final will pocket 23 million dollars.
And the result that the balls threw left smiles for
River
, who
will have a “friendly” group
, in which there are no Brazilians.
On the other hand, Estudiantes, Talleres, Rosario Central and San Lorenzo, the rest of the Argentines that play in the top continental tournament, will have to face a team from Brazil.
The ball containing the name River Plate came out at the end of the group heads, so
the Núñez club was placed in Group
H.
And the latter laugh better, they say.
This was confirmed as the Brazilian Fred Nantes, director of Conmebol Competitions, showed the pieces of paper that Cafú, Lucas Pratto, Martín Palermo and Oscar Ruggeri were taking out.
First of all,
Martín Demichelis
' team avoided the two Brazilians that could touch them, Atlético Mineiro, located in pot 2, and Botafogo, in pot 4. And the rivals that they had, a priori, would not represent complicated obstacles to for the Millionaire to reach the round of 16.
They will face Libertad from Paraguay, Deportivo Táchira from Venezuela and Nacional from Uruguay.
You will have little travel, too.
The only long one is to the city of San Cristóbal, Venezuelan land.
Of course, these rivals deserve your respect: Libertad and Táchira were champions in their countries in 2023 and Nacional is three-time champion of America.
“
Every game is a world, it is the Copa Libertadores
, the championship most desired by everyone, and we should not trust ourselves,” said Ignacio Villarroel, second vice president of River, after the completion of a draw that had a lot of Millionaire presence.
Also present were the president Jorge Brito, the first vice president Matías Patanian, Leonardo Ponzio and the manager, Enzo Francescoli, who was also honored by Conmebol.
They gave him replicas of the Libertadores, which he won with River in 1996, and the Copa América, which he won three times (1983, 1987 and 1995) with Uruguay.
Copa Libertadores 2024
Group stage.
Source:
Conmebol
Infographic:
Clarín
Excited by the entertainment, Enzo gave his opinion of the group that was assigned to the Núñez team: “River is a very good team and they have to think about River.
Sometimes you get what you think is easy and you have a terrible time.
You have to compete.
What is good is that we only have a long trip, there is no altitude, and there are no Brazilian teams.
But we have to have respect for the rivals we face.”
It could be a special Cup for River, too.
The final venue will be in Buenos Aires
.
And most likely, in the Monumental
.
So in Núñez all guns will be aimed at being at the big event on November 30.
But the illusion is not only from the River Plate.
San Lorenzo, Estudiantes, Rosario Central and Talleres also wish the same
.
El Ciclón has a kind of “group of death”, since it will play with Palmeiras, Independiente del Valle and Liverpool from Uruguay, all champions last year in their leagues.
In turn, Palmeiras won 2 of the last 4 Libertadores.
And the Ecuadorian team won the Sudamericana 2022 and the Recopa the following year.
For its part, Estudiantes will replay an old duel with Gremio from Brazil, will go to the heights to face The Strongest and will cross the Andes Mountains to face Huachipato.
Meanwhile, Rosario Central will have a tough Brazilian like Atlético Mineiro, but who brings good memories to Canalla since they won the final of the Conmebol Cup in 1995. They will also clash with a historic one like Peñarol and will have a long trip to Venezuela to face Caracas.
And Talleres will seek to make history and will fight it in an area that it shares with a great from Brazil such as San Pablo, Barcelona from Ecuador and Cobresal from Chile.
The balls have already given their verdict.
There are the groups.
In two weeks, the ball starts rolling.
And the passion for the Copa Libertadores.