The title can be decided after 90 minutes have ended. The introduction of VAR has extended injury time, and when nerves are tense and limbs are tired, the possibility of drama will be high – the kind that over the weekend decided the fate of the Paraguay championship.
The final half of the match led to the clash of the two teams for the title. Traditional giants Cerro Porteno need just a draw. The match upstream Guarani is forced to win, and they have the home advantage. And early in the game, they also had the advantage of numbers. After consulting with VAR, Cerro full-back Alan Benitez was sent off. Cerro Porteno fell short, and right after half-time they were two goals ahead. When the second goal came, the TV commentator shouted “Guarani invincible!” How can Cerro Porteno turn the tide?
A comeback seemed even more unlikely, all but impossible, as the game moved into extra time. Two goals ahead, one man, all Guarani had to do was head and run down the clock.
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But then the fun and the game begins. Cerro Porteno tries to put pressure on late. They won a corner. Being so close to a famous victory proved too much for some in Guarani’s ranks. Full-back Rodri Ferreira was injured and fell behind the goal line. Goalkeeper Gaspar Servio tried to sharpen his practice, part of the so-called “smart game”, so blatantly that it could only be seen as stupidity. He pulled Ferreira back onto the pitch, hoping that the full-back would need more treatment and eating time. The referee didn’t have it – correctly. Goalkeepers have had to walk away from murder in South American football, pretending to be injured to waste time. This time, however, Servio was defenseless – and he was shown a yellow card. He was sent off the field. Guarani used all the substitutes, and defender Marcos Cacares had to go into the net to pick up the ball.
From there, things took a turn for the worse for the home team.
In the moments of competition for the ball and tense shoving in injury time, the referee drew a yellow card to warn defender Guarani Roberto Fernandez. It was his second time, and he went. Guarani now has a central defender in goal and the other off the field. Currently playing 10v9, Cerro Porteno pushed forward. Caceres in goal did not inspire confidence and the patchwork defense was a tense team. In two crazy minutes, Alberto Espinola Forcing the home team to take a one-goal lead, Guarani launched a dangerous attack, Cerro regained the ball and moved forward and Espinola stretched for Jair Patino to have a header from close range. Patino, already wearing the yellow jersey, over-celebrated and saw red, and the score was nine to nine in the final few seconds before the referee blew his whistle and Cerro Porteno won the title.
The Guarani players surrounded the referee, who appeared to have dealt a blow to the head from the assistant coach, but he bluffed. Guarani let it slip because they couldn’t cope with a near victory. They want to win too much.
This certainly won’t apply to the monstrous matches in stoppage time in the Colombian second division, which seems to end with promotion to Union Magdalena’s top flight.
The game between Llaneros and Union Magdalena seems unrelated. If Fortaleza wins the match against Bogota then Union cannot be promoted. At the end of 90 minutes, Llaneros was leading 1-0. But then the news from Fortaleza was gone. Union Magdalena’s two stoppage-time goals would now change everything. And they come, against a defense that dissolves in questionable fashion. The Llaneros keeper seems to have given his best, but the level of defensive commitment in front of him is a huge question mark.
Colombian players from around the world – including Juan Cuadrado and Hugo Rodallega – were quick to condemn developments in the final few minutes of the game. The incident happened on a scale other than football. Colombia’s President, Ivan Duque, described the match as “a national disgrace,” and Guillermo Herrera, his Sports Minister, called it “an act of corruption.”
Obviously there will be an investigation – some kind of VAR of the sports justice system. The decision on who will be promoted to the Colombian first division will pass through injury time.
