Racing boss teases Filipe Luís, obsessed with Libertadores | OneFootball

Gustavo Costas, Racing (ARG) coach, held a press conference on Friday night (17th)

“I'm thinking about Lima and bringing this Cup home.” This phrase, spoken by Racing (ARG) coach Gustavo Costas, sums up the feeling of the Argentine team ahead of their clashes with Flamengo in the semifinals of the Libertadores. In an interview given this Friday (17th), the coach revealed that he spent the night analyzing the Rubro-Negro and gave a light jab at Filipe Luís.

— Yesterday (Thursday), it was two in the morning and I was watching Flamengo games. I'm not nervous, but very anxious. Since I was six years old, my stomach would hurt when I knew I was going to the stadium to watch Racing. Now my stomach hurts a lot too — Costas began, before joking about the Flamengo coach.

— My sons have also never seen Racing win the Copa Libertadores. It's a dream. We manage with craziness, we're here, just like in the Sudamericana or the Recopa (…) Now we're in the semifinals… It's tough, their coach (Filipe Luís) earns much more than I do, their players (from Flamengo) played in Europe… It doesn't matter, we're going for it all — added the Racing coach.

HOW DID RACING'S GAME GO TODAY?

With nine reserves, Racing took the field this Friday (17th) for the Argentine Championship and beat Aldosivi (ARG) 1-0, with a penalty goal – a chip shot – by Luciano Vietto. The match took place at El Cilindro, for the 13th round of the competition. Despite the positive result, Costas only wanted to talk about Flamengo at the press conference.

— Right now, I'm thinking about going to Lima (host city of the Libertadores final) and bringing the Cup to Avellaneda. That's our focus. We have to keep our minds on that. We know it's tough, but we have huge faith and, if we're together and with the fans as they are, it will be easier, and they'll help us like they did today to win this game, which we won together — he pointed out.

— These are beautiful moments that Racing is experiencing, it makes me very happy that new generations are living this, which is beautiful, even if sometimes they don't know everything the club has been through. I like everything, I like what's mine and I also like what's ahead. We've achieved something beautiful. I don't know how many things we've achieved like this internationally, I think it was in 1967. It's a beautiful moment, we have to enjoy it. It's been 28 years since we were in the semifinals, now we have to get to Lima no matter what — he concluded.

WHEN DO RACING AND FLAMENGO FACE EACH OTHER?

Flamengo and Racing are fighting for a spot in the Copa Libertadores da América final over the next two Wednesdays, October 22 and 29. The first leg will be at Maracanã, with the return at the Cilindro de Avellaneda. Whoever advances will play the final in Lima, Peru, on November 29, against LDU (EQU) or Palmeiras.

While Racing has its eyes only on Flamengo, the Rubro-Negro is focused on the Brasileirão. This Sunday (19th), o Mais Querido faces Palmeiras at Maracanã, starting at 4pm (Brasília time). Thus, Fla is in second place with 58 points, three less than their opponent.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.