War-like atmosphere in La Plata? Estudiantes’ chances vs Flamengo | OneFootball

Coluna do Fla had an exclusive chat with journalist Martín Cabrera, from La Plata

Since the end of the match between Flamengo and Estudiantes (ARG) at Maracanã, tensions have risen between players and, especially, fans on social media. What can the Red-Black Nation expect in La Plata? A hostile territory?

In an exclusive interview with Coluna do Fla, Martín Cabrera, who works for the newspaper ‘El Día de La Plata’, ‘Rádio Gol’ and other media outlets, assured that there are no risks. The reporter believes that attention will be doubled, especially after recent incidents in Independiente (ARG) vs Universidad de Chile, in the Copa Sudamericana.

— I don’t believe there’s any risk at all. Yes, it will be a very heated match and certainly the Estudiantes fans will do everything they can to help their team, try to put pressure, but I don’t believe the integrity of the Estudiantes fans, Flamengo fans or the players is at risk. Here in the city of La Plata there’s no violence like in Buenos Aires, for example. Yes, it will be a heated atmosphere in terms of passion, but nothing more than that — Martín began.

— There’s no risk at all. If the police and security do their job well, absolutely nothing will happen, especially with the Brazilian fans, for sure. And after what happened in Independiente vs Universidad de Chile, Conmebol won’t allow it to happen again — he added.

WHICH FLAMENGO PLAYER STOOD OUT THE MOST?

Martín was at Maracanã for the first leg, which Flamengo won 2-1, and was delighted with what he saw. The journalist highlighted the Mengão fans in the Sacred Temple. But what really caught his eye was Pedro’s performance on the field, even calling for him to be in the Brazilian National Team.

— Pedro, Pedro, Pedro is a star! Also Samuel Lino, Varela, I really liked them. Pedro is a star, he has to play for the National Team. About Rio, very good. Lots of people (at Maracanã). I felt good at Maracanã, an icon of world football — he said.

— It was a pleasure for me to work in this stadium. It was very good. They treated me very, very well. The work is well done. I think the Flamengo fans are very popular in Brazil. They say it’s the team with the most fans in the world, isn’t that right? — he highlighted.

ARE ESTUDIANTES FAVORITES FOR PLAYING AT HOME?

The goal scored by Guido Carrillo in stoppage time of the first match lifted the spirits of the Estudiantes fans. However, Martín still sees Flamengo as having a greater chance of advancing to the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores da América.

— (The goal) brought a lot of motivation, yes, a lot. But Estudiantes have far, far, far fewer players and a smaller squad than Flamengo. The budget is much lower. Also, they have starting players who are injured: Leandro González Pirez, Edwuin Cetré and Eric Meza — Martín reported.

— They can’t play, and they also couldn’t buy a defender or another striker. Lucas Alario is at a very low level and the Estudiantes fans, I myself who was at Maracanã, thought that by the 9th minute of the first half it could have been a historic rout. Of course, the result brought motivation, yes — said the Argentine.

— Flamengo are the favorites. Of course, the favorite has a better team, they have experienced players who won’t be intimidated by playing away, in Argentina, in a small stadium, Arascaeta, Varela, even Rossi, who played here at Estudiantes, played at Boca. I believe the favorite is Flamengo, better team — he concluded.

WHAT WERE THE OTHER HIGHLIGHTS OF THE INTERVIEW WITH MARTÍN?

The Argentine journalist chatted with the Coluna do Fla team hours before Estudiantes vs Defensa y Justicia (ARG), held on Monday (22), with Flamengo’s rival winning 1-0, with reserves. Check out other highlights from the interview.

WHAT WAS THE REACTION TO THE REFEREEING IN THE FIRST GAME IN LA PLATA?

“In Argentina, the topic of the reaction came up, but it was not a scandalous refereeing at all. I think the referee made a mistake with the yellow card for Plata, but he could have shown a red card in a previous play, it could have been a straight red. Here, the press was surprised by Flamengo’s complaints.”

WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT PLATA BEING CLEARED FOR THE SECOND GAME?

“I think the situation was very disorganized, Flamengo announced it before Conmebol. That’s not right, regardless of whether the yellow card was wrongly given, I feel it sets a dangerous precedent and the timing was disorganized, with Flamengo announcing it first and then Conmebol. For me, that wasn’t right.”

WILL ESTUDIANTES GO ALL OUT?

“Estudiantes will go for the result, will propose a game with three forwards. There isn’t much (talent), honestly. There aren’t many players to play that way. They’ll have a more offensive approach than in Rio. I don’t know, it’s hard to predict the match.”

FOR ESTUDIANTES TO ADVANCE, WHO NEEDS TO HAVE AN INSPIRED NIGHT?

“Estudiantes have serious problems in defense, many. The best defender, Leandro González Pirez, who played for River, got injured a few days before the trip. That was a very important loss for Estudiantes. The defenders need to be on their game, they depend a lot on goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, on Santiago Ascacíbar, who is playing badly, and the only one capable of scoring is Guido Carrillo.”

DID YOU THINK FLAMENGO UNDERESTIMATED ESTUDIANTES IN GAME 1?

WHEN WILL THE FLAMENGO VS ESTUDIANTES MATCH BE?

Therefore, the ball will roll from 9:30 pm (Brasília time) this Thursday (25th), in La Plata, for the second leg of the quarterfinals of the Libertadores. Thus, Coluna do Fla will provide full coverage of the match on the website, social media, and also on our YouTube channel.

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