Will São Paulo use Morumbi for Libertadores run-in? Club’s stance | OneFootball

Tricolor Stadium has a series of shows scheduled for the end of the year (Photo: Ricardo Moreira/Getty Images)

MARCIO MONTEIRO

@avantmtricolor

São Paulo had barely qualified for the Libertadores quarterfinals when rumors started spreading on social media, mostly from the ill-informed, about a possible semifinal in which the Tricolor would not be able to host its game at Morumbi due to the extensive schedule of shows already booked for the stadium at the end of the year.

But don’t worry, AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR is here to explain the whole situation that has been causing doubts among São Paulo fans.

Let’s first stick to what is already confirmed: São Paulo vs. LDU in the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals. Conmebol’s base dates for the clash are September 17 and 24, which do not create any conflict with the event schedule at Morumbi. Therefore, Tricolor will play the second leg against LDU at home.

The issue would arise in a hypothetical semifinal against Argentina’s River Plate, who face Palmeiras in their own quarterfinal matchup.

If the Argentinians eliminate Abel Ferreira’s team, and São Paulo also wins its duel against LDU, River Plate and São Paulo could meet in the semifinals of the South American competition. And that’s where a problem might arise, but it seems easy to resolve.

The Libertadores semifinals are planned for October 28 or 29. And on the 31st of the month, the .

The club has already planned for this in a new contract

“Starting with the Imagine Dragons show, stages at Morumbi will be set up behind the goals, allowing games and shows to coexist without impacting seating areas,” the club announced at the end of June, when it renewed its exclusive partnership with Live Nation to organize shows through 2031.

Internally, therefore, no one is worried about the issue yet, since many possibilities could still happen in the quarterfinal stage.

In the case of a semifinal against River at the end of October, what might happen is a slight reduction in the number of fans in the stands, as already happened this year against Sport, in the Brasileirão opener, with partitions and temporary structures already set up in the stadium, but still able to accommodate fans.

And this possibility only exists in a matchup with River Plate, since if Palmeiras faces São Paulo in the next Libertadores phase, they have the advantage of playing the second leg at home.

Since the Pompeia rival had the best group stage campaign in the Libertadores, they are the only team that would play the second leg at their stadium against São Paulo, who had the second-best points tally in the first stage. So, if it’s against Palmeiras, the first match would be at Morumbi and the second at the Alviverde arena.

Independente leader suggests semifinal at Maracanã

Henrique Gomes, known as Baby, leader of the Independente Tricolor supporters group, also got ahead of himself on social media. The fan suggested Maracanã Stadium, in Rio de Janeiro, as a possible venue for São Paulo to host its game.

“There’s a lot of talk about a possible semifinal. São Paulo vs. River Plate, the second game not being at Morumbi due to already scheduled shows at the stadium. Hello Maracanã, we’re coming – can you imagine 70,000 voices – invading Rio de Janeiro, just thinking. Imagine the bus reception upon arrival at Maracanã. Calm down, it’s just a dream. But you never know,” posted Baby.

The shows at Morumbi, as already explained, should not affect the team. The run of concerts begins with two Imagine Dragons shows, on October 31 and November 1.

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