The preview of the meeting in Paraguay: Conmebol wants the cuts to be won on the ground

On the one hand,

Rodolfo D'Onofrio

. On the other,

Daniel Angelici

. The two presidents, surrounded by their lawyers. On neutral ground: Asunción del Paraguay. And invited by the owner of the house, Alejandro Domínguez, president of the Conmebol. In the agenda, a single theme: set the date and time of the party that will dedicate the new champion of America. In other words, finish the longest final in the world.

When the Paraguayan leader – who could be accompanied by the former Argentine footballer Gonzalo Belloso and the lawyer Monserrat Jiménez, two people of his utmost confidence – talks about the day, the time and the place of the match, River and Boca will explain their positions Sunday noon. Boca (Angelici will arrive today in the first hour after boarding a private plane from San Fernando airport) will refer to the complaint filed in the Disciplinary Tribunal, accompanied by a 15-page record, as well as documentary evidence of badault received the micro club last Saturday.

Throughout the day of yesterday – and beyond the profusion of videos on the stones and bottles intended for the xeneize delegation – Boca took the trouble to show that his team was victim of a ambush and that blunt objects flew from Lidoro Quinteros to Libertador until the entrance even into the bowels of the monumental. The objective was to dismantle that of the microphone that had received "a stone" and "outside the security ring" of the stadium, as had been settled in the minutes that signed Dominguez, Angelici and D & # 39; Onofrio after 19:30 Saturday, when they were postponed. the match for the next day.

River, who arrived yesterday afternoon in Asunción, will focus on the failures of the security operation, engaged – and paid twice – by the club. Although the regulation speaks of the local club's responsibility in acts of violence, River understands that there is no badogy with what happened in 2015, which led to the declbadification of Boca after the pepper spray in La Bombonera. D'Onofrio has landed in the Paraguayan capital, ready to adhere to the agenda indicated by Conmebol. He is convinced that the game will be played at Monumental. And with the public.

River will then want to advance in the calendar. Boca, however, is waiting for what the disciplinary tribunal decides. At the end of yesterday, Conmebol had not yet defined which of the four members of this body would be excluded from the definition. The disciplinary file, containing all the evidence and information relating to the case, had already been created. A source with access to the case confirmed that there was talk of a "balanced solution" in the corridors of Conmebol. That is to say that Libertadores does not have an office champion. Not in its last edition with a double end.

A congeion in the offices would cause the confederation a double prejudice: on the one hand, it would ruin the reputation of its more traditional competence. However, he should pay the price of the champion and the runner-up, even if he did not transmit the most convincing match of all the tournament: the final. With the economic damage that entails. And just before a new business cycle: between 2019 and 2023, the Conmebol had warned that the rewards granted to the clubs would "double", thanks to the best television recipes of a new contract signed with Fox Sports and Facebook. A paradox: the Council of Conmebol approved on Friday the sale of the television rights for its other competition, Copa Sudamericana. With another improvement in numbers, I planned to announce it today. The violent Superfinal disrupted his plans.

"It's the same situation as after the first match with Gremio, we scheduled the match beyond what the disciplinary unit decides, which is independent," said a source of Conmebol, who was not at the mic. Thus, the message of the confederation is to prepare the scene to organize the party. If you take into account the commitment to play a Saturday – an idea of ​​Dominguez that Mauricio Macri accepted from the start – the only available space in the calendar is December 8th. Next Saturday, the security forces will be serving the G-20. And for the 15th of next month, the champion of Conmebol must be defined: December 12th, the Club World Cup begins in the United Arab Emirates.

Once the position of Conmebol on whether to play or not is clarified, the unknown is the seat of the game. Beyond this river that intends to return to be local in its stadium, there are those who doubt. Lawyers specializing in sports law believe that the Monumental should be punished. And there is a near antecedent: the final of South America last year, between Flamengo and Independiente. In Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo supporters stoned the Los Rojos mic and tear gas was launched. The game was played for a matter of purpose: there was no serious injury in the Argentine team. There was an administrative file. And a failure: two in-camera games and a $ 300,000 fine.