Lessons from the past make the Libertadores final at Maracanã – 09/03/2023 – Sport
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The Maracanã is Conmebol’s safety ball to receive the 2023 Libertadores decision. After traumatic experiences with empty stadiums, transportation problems, accommodation, high costs and changes in venues, the CBF convinced the South American organization to take the main game on the continent for Rio de Janeiro.
The match will be on November 11th.
Being the ideal showcase for the only continental final was the definitive argument to convince the Confederation Council, responsible for the choice, to place the confrontation in Maracanã, which last hosted the event in January 2021, when Palmeiras and Santos faced each other for the 2020 title.
Whoever looks at the history of proposals and negotiations for the winning city could be surprised by the choice of Brazil. Until the end of 2022, the favorite was Colombia, which wanted to hold the final in Barranquilla. Earlier this year, it looked like Buenos Aires, in the refurbished Monumental de Nuñez, would end up elected.
Both candidates lost traction. Barranquilla awakened in Conmebol leaders the same feeling as Guayaquil in 2022: lack of direct flights, difficulty in locomotion and uncertainty regarding the presence of fans, since the greater probability is that a team from the country will not be in the decision.
Libertadores finals in single game
2019 – Monumental stadium, Lima – Peru
2020 – Maracanã stadium, Rio de Janeiro – Brazil
2021 – Centenario stadium, Montevideo – Uruguay
2022 – Monumental stadium, Guayaquil – Ecuador
2023 – Maracanã stadium, Rio de Janeiro – Brazil
Buenos Aires was viable, but there was a fear of political instability. It is presidential election year in Argentina. The first vote is scheduled for October 22 and there is the possibility of holding the second round in November.
The last time a Libertadores final was scheduled for Monumental, everything went wrong. River Plate and Boca Juniors were supposed to face each other in 2018, but rain of stones on the Boca bus upon arrival at the stadium prevented the confrontation from taking place, which was taken to Madrid, Spain.
It was the last clash in the round trip system for the final. As of 2019, Conmebol instituted the single game. The pitch to convince the skeptics was to make life easier for fans, increase revenue and let the Confederation take care of all aspects of the event, including security. The final of the 2017 Copa Sudamericana, in the same Maracanã, between Flamengo and Independiente (ARG), was marked by episodes of violence and invasion of the stadium.
Since then, both Libertadores and Sudamericana decisions have suffered from off-field problems. In 2019, Lima was not considered with enough structure to host the last game of the continent’s main competition, but, when Santiago was impeded due to the social upheaval that took over Chile, Conmebol took the match to the Peruvian capital.
Due to failures in the organization, Lima had even lost the right to hold the final of the Sudamericana, transferred to Asunción. Last year, due to the presidential elections in Brazil, Brasília was moved to Córdoba, Argentina.
There were also problems with transport logistics. There were no commercial flights from Brazil direct to Guayaquil, where Flamengo and Athletico decided last year’s Libertadores title. In 2021, when the red-black carioca and Palmeiras faced each other, the Montevideo hotel chain made the party. Tourist-class hotels charged daily rates of R$ 33,000.
When presenting Rio de Janeiro as a candidate for 2023, the CBF placed Maracanã as the solution to all these problems. And, if they thought that the city was chosen very recently and could not be repeated, he suggested the possibility of Brasilia.
The proposal was well received because Conmebol needs to silence dissenting voices regarding the single final. One of the great bets of the Alejandro Domínguez administration, the change continues to find resistance, even more in the face of problems each year.
Not even the stadiums have been filled to capacity. With the exception of 2019, no Libertadores final had a maximum capacity. Worse was the Copa Sudamericana. Athletico x Red Bull Bragantino (2021) had an audience of 6,500 people at the Centenario stadium, with a capacity for 60,000.
The South American Confederation also cannot go back to the round-trip system because it has already assumed publicity commitments and sold the television rights with the current format.
The expectation is that Rio will also have more fans due to the presence of Brazilian teams in the final, which has been happening since 2019.
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