Tremendo, independent: he thrashed National Potosí 7-0 and got into the eighths of the South American: Olé

This independent deserved to say goodbye to the semester in this way. This team did not deserve that the last image was the elimination against Hurricane. It is true that it still hurts, it is true that it is a wound that will take to heal. The red palms of so much applauding the fans once the classification to the round of 16 of the South American Cup was a reflection of what the players generated.

The 7-0 to Nacional Potosí to confirm group A and wait for a winner of the playoff key of international competition was nothing more than an excuse to say goodbye to the first part of the year with an optimistic sensation for what is coming. Because what was done by this red, as Julio Vaccari said, was the starting point of what is intended to be something much bigger in the near future.

The seed of the illusion was planted a while ago. While everyone wanted to germinate in the Opening Tournament of the Professional League, the bad aim in the last meters – one of the karmas that dragged – made the situation postponed. But lTo attitude that the team showed yesterday in the Libertadores de América-Ricardo Enrique Bochini was that of one who wants to leave behind the ugly memory to get up quickly and start in the best way the second half of 2025.

After the beating received at the local level, the coach emphasized the mental aspect. Because he knew that the main rival that Independiente had to overcome was Independiente himself. Before a Bolivian team full of limitations, the players gave a sample of character and clung to the libretto that led them to dream of breaking the drought of almost 23 years without local titles.

With a rival who threw himself well to appeal to some saving to put him in the next instance of the Cup, Red had patience and did not desperate in the need to modify the countenance and seal a necessary victory to avoid the crossing of playoffs with an adversary that comes down from the Libertadores. He touched, searched and crashed several times with the defense until they went down in the area to Diego Tarzia and Santiago Montiel (author of a double) opened the scoring after capturing the prison that Said Mustafa stopped him.

Then? It was an independent concert. The defense, with Kevin Lomónaco and Sebastián Valdéz, was firm; The kid Jonathan de Irastorza, in his international debut, surprised and even had the luxury of giving two assists; Pipe Loyola showed its importance again reaching the goal; Luciano Cabral put football and several key passes to break lines; Tarzia confirmed his great moment by converting again; and Lautaro Millán and Pablo Galdames entered to make the win more bulky and close the seven, the magic number.