by This Wednesday, March 15, Millonarios was eliminated, once again, from the Copa Libertadores de América in its previous phase. Those led by Alberto Gamero fell 3-1 to Atlético Mineiro and said goodbye very quickly to the most important club tournament on the continent. What is striking is that the elimination, as in previous years, took place in Brazilian territory, a country that the history of the blue team does not like at all.
The ambassadors they had already been eliminated in the last two Libertadores at the hands of Brazilian teams. His previous executioners had been Atlético Paranaense and Fluminense. so that between the swollen ambassador The fact of not being able to reach the group stage of the international tournament is already annoying. Something that could have been achieved, without the need for a preliminary phase, being the BetPlay League champion.
But despite the frustration over the elimination, the captain and reference of Millonarios, David Macalister Silva, asked the fans not to focus on the elimination, but to see the positive part of what was done, referring to the fact that the blue team may be part of the group stage of the Copa Sudamericana, due to having been eliminated from the Libertadores in the last qualifying phase before the groups when all the classified teams start to participate.
“I invite you to see what is achieved and not only what is let go, we returned to an international tournament, which is something we had been looking for,” said Macalister Silva in the middle of the press conference in Belo Horizonte, after the defeat and elimination against Atlético Mineiro from Brazil.
For the blue captain, it is important to recognize what those led by Alberto Gamero have done, since despite the fact that they again did not play the group stage of the Copa Libertadores, they managed to secure an international tournament, something that may allow them more economic gains and fight for a tournament that is much more accessible than the difficult Libertadores.
The blues will be in pot four for the Copa Sudamericana group stage draw, so they could be in the Independiente Santa Fe or Deportes Tolima area, which are the other Colombian teams that will participate in “the other half of the glory”.
Copa Sudamericana Group Phase Draw
The draw for the Copa Sudamericana, in which there will also be three clubs representing Colombia, will take place on Monday, March 27, minutes before the draw for the Copa Libertadores, at a ceremony scheduled in Luque (Paraguay), where the headquarters are located. from Conmebol.
Independiente Santa Fe will participate in the contest, which defeated Águilas de Rionegro in the previous phase to obtain a place in the group phase. The same thing happened with Deportes Tolima, which left Junior from Barranquilla on the way, who is just making Bolillo Gómez his new coaching director.
Millonarios will be the third coffee team in the Copa Sudamericana, as they obtained a place by advancing to phase three of the Copa Libertadores, from which they were eliminated against Atlético Mineiro.
It is worth remembering that in the Copa Sudamericana, only the group leader goes to the round of 16, while the other three clubs are eliminated, where they will face those who occupied third place in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores. Thus, coffee growers must be first if they want to star in this contest.
South American Cup Drums
Pot 1: Peñarol, São Paulo, Santos, Liga de Quito, Estudiantes de La Plata, Emelec, San Lorenzo and Independiente Santa Fe.
Drum 2: Defense and Justice, Guaraní, Red Bull Bragantino, Universitario, Deportes Tolima, Botafogo, Newell’s and Palestino.
Drum 3: Oriente Petrolero, Estudiantes de Mérida, Danubio, Tigre, América Mineiro, Blooming, Goiás and César Vallejo.
Drum 4: Audax Italiano, Gimnasia de La Plata, Academia Puerto Cabello, Tacuary, Millonarios, Magallanes and two other losers from phase 3 of the Copa Libertadores.
