The Broken Cup: San Lorenzo, Eliminated and in an Uncomfortable Situation for the Future

One detail made the difference. Rodrigo Battaglia’s accuracy in placing the ball next to the post after a corner changed the score, the mood, the planning and ended San Lorenzo’s dream of winning the Copa Libertadores . A dream that was always tied up with wire and discovered its last episode in Belo Horizonte, with the 1-0 defeat against Atlético Mineiro in the rematch for the round of 16. An outcome that was tinged with violence with the clash between Barça fans and the police , who fired tear gas and caused the partial suspension of the match, with the players affected by irritation in the throat and eyes.

The Broken Cup: San Lorenzo, Eliminated and in an Uncomfortable Situation for the Future.

The hope of the Copa Libertadores became an explosive for San Lorenzo. A limited squad, with players with little experience in international competitions, embraced a hope that would allow them to hide their weakness in the Professional League , where they are second to last among 28 teams and far from the places for the international cups of 2025, and to heal the elimination from the Copa Argentina.

But the fantasy of progressing in the most important Conmebol club tournament collided with reality, the one that is played out daily in the offices and on the playing field: in both scenarios, the Cyclone did not offer arguments to feed the dream. The leaders, headed by president Marcelo Moretti, must overcome the economic-financial chaos that reigns in the treasury and lift inhibitions from past administrations to grow: 35 lawsuits and an operating deficit of 400 thousand dollars per month, the burden.

The defeat and elimination of San Lorenzo.

On that thorny path, the team lost two starting players – Adam Bareiro and Agustín Giay, who were transferred to River and Palmeiras, respectively – and managed to enable reinforcements late, three dates after the tournament resumed, which was stopped by the Copa América. This combination annoyed the fans, who some time ago lost patience with a management that got rid of an idol like Rubén Insúa and covered itself with another figure who serves as a shield, like Leandro Pipi Romagnoli, who a handful of games ago put his position at disposal and with the elimination no one dares to assure his continuity . The step aside of Néstor Ortigoza, responsible for professional football, and of the secretary Pablo García Lago expose the political crisis.

The scenario pushed to idealize with the miracle of the Copa Libertadores, although the round of 16 was played with three youngsters between 19 and 20 years old, such as the full-backs Nahuel Arias and Elías Báez Sotelo and the midfielder Elián Irala ; without a striker, because it is not the most comfortable role for Alexis Cuello; with Matías Reali, a reinforcement whose transfer was a mess between comings and goings in the payment, being the offensive axis with only six games in the club… The last movement was arranged by Romagnoli, who made a change and a day after ratifying the goalkeeper Facundo Altamirano – he made a mistake in Mineiro’s goal at the Nuevo Gasómetro, although he was already dragging a string of errors – he positioned Gastón Chila Gómez as a starter, who saved in the victories against Independiente del Valle and Liverpool, in the group stage.