The 64th edition of the continent’s most important tournament features four representative coffee growers.
The Libertadores Cup 2023 has the participation of four coffee teamsthree of them with a long tradition as Atlético Nacional, Millionaires and Medellínto which was added a surprise Sports Pereira after winning the second semester competition.
Verdolagas and Matecañas secured their presence in the tournament from the group stage, which starts in April and the draw is expected the week of March 22.
For their part, Embajadores and Poderosos will start their participation in the repechage phases, so the competition will start much earlier, in February, once they have met their respective rivals in the draw that took place on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 at the conmebol headquarters.
For example, Colombian clubs play in the highest continental league.
NATIONAL ATHLETE
Santiago Rivera / Goal
El Verdolaga got their spot by declaring themselves the champion of the BetPlay 2022 I League and managed to gain direct access to the group stage. For the draw, which will take place in March, it will be placed in pot 2 alongside Libertad, Inter, Fluminense, Barcelona, Racing, Corinthians and Colo Colo and will be able to face a major rival from pot 1 such as Flamengo , Palmeiras, Boca or River, among others.
SPORT PEREIRA
Dimayor
The Matecañas achieved a historic ranking in the groups after winning their first star with the BetPlay 2022 II League. He will occupy pot 4 in the corresponding draw, joined by Uruguay’s Liverpool, Ñublense, Patronato and the four playoff qualifiers. You cannot share a group with Atlético Nacional, but you can share a group with Millonarios or Medellín if you are eligible.
millionaires
Dimayor
The Ambassador reached the Copa Libertadores by winning the 2022 BetPlay Cup, third in his record, earning him a place in Stage II of the playoffs. In the draw of these previous stages, he was in pot 1 together with Atlético Mineiro, Cerro Porteño, Sporting Cristal, Medellín, Huracán, Always Ready and Fortaleza.
His rival came from pot 2, the Catholic University of Ecuador, against whom they played the first leg as a visitor in Quito and which they ended with a goalless draw after a draw at the low end, with few emotions and a Colombian team that failed to show its full potential. The return was played on 2 March and left a 2–1 win for Embajadora with goals from Castro and Cataño coming back after the penalty scored by Díaz.
The Albiazul looked at the Atletico Mineiro in phase III. The first leg was at El Campín on 8 March, leaving the tie at one goal, despite the Ambassador taking the lead courtesy of a Macalister Silva header. Paulinho put down concrete numbers and benefited from the Frenchman’s dominance throughout the game.
The definition was on March 15 at the Mineirao in Belo Horizonte and condemned the removal of the Ambassador after the 1-3 defeat, with a local team who were by and large dominant and scored as they sank the accelerator thanks to Paulinho and the meaning of the Hulk. The honorary goal was by Fernando Uribe.
For example, Colombia was left with three representatives in the competition, while Millonarios was left with a place in the group stage of the Copa Sudamericana 2023.
INDEPENDENT MEDELLIN
Medellin
For its part, the Powerful was the best placed in the total reclassification of 2022 to keep last place in the Libertadores and in this way, like Millionaires, to be placed in pot 1 of stage II of the playoffs, pending of a rival to the hype 2.
The red from Antioquia had to face the winner of the E2 key of Stage I of the rematch, that is, The Ecuadorian national. It started as a visitor on Wednesday 22 February at the Casa Blanca stadium where it secured a two-goal draw with goals from Valencia and Londoño; In addition, Marmolejo saved a maximum penalty for Parrales. The series ended in the Atanasio Girardot where Gonzalez’s team won 2-1 with goals from Monroy and Cambindo to score in their favour.
The Mighty stood in front Chilean Magellanwho had a great draw against Always Ready with an aggregate score of 6-1. The first leg was on 8 March at Rancagua where after a contentious game the Reds missed out on victory with a goal from Zapata to balance the advantage they had gained with Emerson Batalla.
The return was played on March 15 at the Atanasio Girardot with a comfortable 2-0 win over Powerful, after a great performance by Luciano Pons that allowed him to turn the series in his favor and enter pot 4 for the draw for the phase of groups that will be held on Monday, March 27.
As a playoff qualifier, DIM could share a group with the other Colombian teams, Atlético Nacional or Deportivo Pereira, as the rule preventing two teams from the same country from entering a group no longer applies in this particular case.
Source: Goal