Di María’s club win Copa Sul-Americana after shock decision 😳 | OneFootball

Has your team ever won a trophy that wasn’t expected after the end of a qualifying stage?

Well, that’s exactly what happened to Di María’s Rosario Central this Thursday (20th).

The regulations drawn up by the AFA did not state that the team with the best overall performance in the combined qualifying stages of the Apertura and Clausura would be crowned champions of the “tabla anual”.

But the Argentine Football Association surprised everyone by revealing that Los Canallas secured this trophy.

Exactly three days after the last matches of the Clausura qualifying stage.

Rosario racked up a total of 66 points between the Clausura and Apertura. Four more than Boca Juniors.

They led Group B of the Apertura with 35 points, but were knocked out by Huracán in the quarterfinals – a team that would go on to be runners-up after losing to Platense.

The strong performance was repeated in the Clausura. They led their group again, this time with 31 points.

Their opponent in the round of 16 will be Estudiantes, who finished eighth in the other group, Group A, with 21 points.

At 37 years old and back at the club that developed him, Di María had the most direct goal involvements in the “second round”: he scored seven times and provided three assists. 

Crest UPDATED ⭐

The unexpected achievement has already led the Rosario club to modify its crest.

It now features EIGHT stars. There were seven until last Wednesday.

Symbols that represent their greatest achievements.

The full list is now: First Division titles in 1971, 1973, 1980, and 1986-1987, Copa Argentina-2018, Copa de la Liga Profesional-2023, League Champion-2025, and Copa Conmebol-1995. 

Rosario already in Liberta-2026

The standout campaign this season has guaranteed Rosario one of Argentina’s spots in next year’s Libertadores.

The aforementioned Platense was the first to celebrate after winning the Apertura. And Independiente Rivadavia will compete in the tournament after claiming the Copa Argentina title.

Boca Juniors (second-best overall campaign) and Argentinos Juniors (third-best overall campaign) are the others with guaranteed spots. 

Only one spot remains to be decided. 

If Rosario, Boca, or Argentinos Jrs. win the Clausura, that spot will go to River Plate, who had the fourth-best overall campaign. 

But they would enter the Libertadores starting from the second preliminary phase.

The Millonario will only secure a place in the group stage if they win the Clausura. In that case, Argentinos Jrs. would need to eliminate two opponents to reach the main stage of the Libertadores.

If they don’t succeed and a rival doesn’t “help,” Marcelo Gallardo’s team will have to settle for the Copa Sudamericana.

Platense and Independiente Rivadavia did not advance to the knockout stage and, therefore, are not part of River’s “calculation.”

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