The 2022 Pré-Libertadores draw put Fluminense in the path of two Colombian clubs: Deportivo Cali or Millonarios. Everything depends on the Clausura tournament of the Colombian Championship, which will have its winner next Wednesday and will define the tricolor opponent. The games of the second preliminary phase will take place in the weeks of 02/23 and 03/02. The tricolor decides at home.
To understand, it’s necessary to pay attention: Deportivo Cali and Tolima play the second game of the Colombiano’s final — in the first leg, in Cali, a 1-1 draw. If Tolima is champion, Fluminense will face Deportivo Cali. If the title goes to Deportivo Cali, the tricolor opponent will be Millonarios. If he advances, he waits for the winner between Atlético Nacional, Cesar Vallejo or Olimpia in the third phase. If he passes, he will be in the group stage of the Libertadores.
But one step at a time. And to learn about possible tricolor adversaries, GLOBO spoke with Colombian journalists Cristian Pinzón and Salomé Fajardo, from Rádio Caracol, who dissected the teams. In Millionarios, watch out for the altitude. At Deportivo Cali, he bets on a historic top scorer in South America and a well-known goalkeeper from the Tricolor crowd.
Millionaires: embezzlement and altitude
Firstly, the atmosphere is expectant in Bogotá. That’s because everything indicates that the favorite Tolima should win the Clausura Colombiano and thus qualify Millonarions for the group stage of the Libertadores. Thus, the tricolor opponent would be Deportivo Cali. But there is also the possibility of facing Fluminense and this is treated with some fear in the Colombian capital. For that, the bet is with the El Campín Stadium.
— The main bet of Millionarios is the altitude. El Campín is located at an altitude of 2,600 meters in Bogotá and, although it is not defined which stage the club will enter, no fans want to face Fluminense. They considered him the strongest possible rival,” says Cristian Pinzón, from Rádio Caracol.
The journalist says that the fans’ trust is also in coach Alberto Gamero, who has been with the club since 2020 and, despite not having won titles yet, is praised for using the youth categories and making room for new talent. The cases of strikers Emerson Rivaldo and Andrés Gómez, defender Andrés Llinás, and midfielder Daniel Ruiz.
In the Colombian Championship, Millonarios was eliminated in the Clausura semifinals for Tolima. In June, it went to Apertura’s decision, but fell in the final to the same opponent. In the overall standings, they were the second best-scoring team in the country — they were third in the Apertura (33 points) and second in the Clausura (36 points).
For Pré-Libertadores, Millonarios will have important embezzlements. Forward Fernando Uribe, formerly of Flamengo, who was the competition’s top scorer, and Daniel Giraldo, a Colombian national midfielder, were sold to Junior Barranquilla. But the Colombian club is targeting reinforcements.
— The first big reinforcement confirmed is Álvaro Montero, goalkeeper of the Colombian national team and champion with Tolima in the middle of the year. There is a lot of talk about who will replace Uribe in attack, that is the concern. There has even been talk about the possibility of Hugo Rodallega, who is now at Bahia, and Fredy Montero, who works at MLS — completes the journalist.
Right now, it can be said that Millonarios is a team that mixes young players with experienced athletes. The captain is David Silva (35 years old), while Daniel Ruiz is one of the highlights (20 years old). In fact, the athlete has already lived through a dangerous situation.
The match, which was valid for the last round of Clausura, reached its peak 36 minutes into the first half, when Atlético Nacional fans threw objects at Daniel Ruíz, who was preparing to take a corner kick. Amid shouts and bottle throws, a stiletto hit the player’s arm.
Deportivo Cali: known striker and goalkeeper
At Deportivo Cali, the mood is final, as the Clausura will decide next Wednesday against Tolima. If they go to Pre-Libertadores, Fluminense needs to know that this is a team that has been consolidating throughout the season and had many defensive problems until the arrival of coach Rafael Dudamel, ex-Atlético-MG and Venezuelan national team.
— Deportivo Cali is a team that has improved a lot in the defensive aspect with the coach. They have two excellent defenders, Hernán Menosse and Jorge Marsiglia, who is a very important player in set pieces. At the ends, Jhon Vásquez stands out and helps a lot in offensive construction — says Salomé Fajardo.
To solve the problem of missing goals, Dudamel leveraged Teo Gutierrez. The 36-year-old Colombian striker was at Junior Barranquilla, who faced Fluminense in the 2021 Libertadores, but was not on the field in both games due to an injury. In Brazil, he was speculated on Corinthians.
— He was an idol at River Plate and is well remembered in our country. Also in Junior de Barranquilla is an idol, won titles with the cast. At Deportivo Cali, he is the reference, the leader, the thinking and creative player — says the journalist.
Another outstanding player is Harold Preciado, who even scored in the first leg of the Clausura final against Tolima. The striker came from China, where he spent four years and is the tournament’s top scorer with 12 goals.
Another acquaintance is goalkeeper Guillermo De Amores, who accuses Fluminense of medical error after a serious injury in 2018. He went to court claiming a misdiagnosis and returned to training before the injury was cured. He did not work for the club in a year and a half of passage. The total share is R$1,569,138.95.
In the records, De Amores claims that he had complications in the surgeries he underwent at the club, such as an infection, and that he only treated the problem with a specialist in Spain. According to the accusation, the goalkeeper was left with a permanent sequel in his thigh muscle due to the procedures carried out by Fluminense.
De Amores was named best goalkeeper at the U-20 World Cup in 2013, by Uruguay, and was hired by Fluminense in January 2018, during Pedro Abad’s administration after a campaign by fans on social media. The Uruguayan had stood out against his own tricolor in clashes with Liverpool-URU, for the 2017 South American Championship.
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