Fluminense makes history: Diniz's prophecy leads to victory over Boca Juniors and first Libertadores
Fluminense made history by winning its first title in the main continental competition and also achieved a record for Brazilian football: The country became the first to win the tournament five consecutive times.
This is Tricolor's first title in the Copa Libertadores da América - Photo Reproduction / Social networks
Fluminense achieved a historic feat on Saturday night (04), when defeat the Argentine Boca Juniors, 2 to 1, in the final of the Copa Libertadores da América, played at the Maracanã Stadium, thus guaranteeing their first title in the competition and putting an end to the bitter defeat to LDU in the 2008 final, when Tricolor das Laranjeiras lost on penalties to Ecuadorian team LDU in the same Maracanã. Now, Flu celebrates its achievement in extra time.
The victory, in addition to being a milestone in the history of the Rio club, also drew attention due to a surprising prophecy made by coach Fernando Diniz, during the match, which ended up coming true. Diniz told player John Kennedy, before he entered the field, that He would score the decisive goal to win the title. The tricolor player, heeding the coach's words, scored the winning goal and became the hero of the match and the club's title. Fluminense opened the scoring in the first half with a goal from Keno, but Boca Juniors equalized in the second half thanks to a goal from Advíncula.
Match
Diniz joined Fluminense with Fábio; Samuel Xavier, Nino, Felipe Melo, Marcelo, André, Martinelli, Ganso; Keno, Arias and Cano. Boca Juniors entered the field with Sergio Romero; Advincula, Figal, Valentini and Fabra; Pol Fernández, Ezequiel Fernández, Medina and Barco; Merentiel and Cavani.
The match was quite intense, both on the playing field and off it. During the first half, the confrontation provided few opportunities, resulting in a balance between the finalists. However, at 35 minutes, Tricolor managed to open the scoring. Fluminense's goal was a clear demonstration of the tricolor coach's playing style: wingers Keno and Arias played on the right side, exchanging passes before Cano finished and scored the goal. Thus, Fluminense went into the break with an advantage.
At the beginning of the second half, Boca Juniors advanced with more intensity in the attack and began to surround Fluminense's area. At a crucial moment in the match, Marcelo made a mistake in marking, which allowed the Argentines to equalize the score. In the 26th minute, Advincula advanced from the right side, cut to his left leg and fired a shot from outside the area, aimed at Fábio's right corner, resulting in the match being tied.
Before putting JK on the field, coach Fernando Diniz secured the striker's face and predicted: "You will score the title goal." At the end of regulation time, Fluminense launched an attack and had a great chance with full-back Diogo Barbosa, but he shot wide and the decision went into extra time.
Extension
In extra time, the game returned with the Argentines better in the match, but after eight minutes, John Kennedy shone by scoring a beautiful goal and put his team ahead on the scoreboard. However, after celebrating with the fans, the attacker received a second yellow card and was sent off. Fabra attacked Nino, receiving a red card at the end of the first half of extra time, making life easier for the locals.
Brazil became the first country to have five titles followed in the competition - Photo Reproduction / Pablo Porciúncula / AFP / Armando Paiva / Lance
In the second half of extra time, in an excellent opportunity to score a goal, Guga saw the ball hit the post, wasting the chance to increase the score. A few minutes later, Tricolor das Laranjeiras became champion and lifted the most coveted cup on the continent.
Brazilian domain
Fluminense winning the 2023 Copa Libertadores is a milestone in the club's history but also in Brazilian football. In addition to breaking the taboo, the team made Brazil the first country to have five titles followed by Conmebol Libertadores.
Club World Cup
By winning the Libertadores title this Saturday, Fluminense secured the last available spot for the 2023 Club World Cup, scheduled to take place in December this year in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Therefore, we already have confirmation of the seven clubs that will participate in the tournament. Here they are:
Al Ahly (Egypt): African Champions League 2022/23
Al Ittihad (Saudi Arabia): Champion of the Saudi Championship 2023/23
Auckland City (New Zealand): OFC Champions League 2023
Fluminense (Brazil): Libertadores 2023
León (Mexico): CONCACAF Champions League 2022/23
Manchester City (England): Champions League 2022/2023
Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan): Asian Champions League 2022
