Gustavo Costas classifies Flamengo as a ‘selection’, but praises the ‘soul and heart’ of his club in the 1-0 defeat and guarantees the turnaround in the return game
Gustavo Costas left Maracanã exuding confidence in Racing’s comeback over the “selection” in the World Cup semi-finals. The coach was proud of his group in the minimal defeat in Rio, 1-0, and said that the Argentines will be in the decision, scheduled for Lima, Peru.
Full of problems in the lineup, Racing played in a reactive manner, just trying to maintain equality at Maracanã. He managed to hold the Cariocas until the end of the second half, when Carrascal scored after a rebound and deflection in the defense. At that moment, Racing was complaining about a goal disallowed by Sosa precisely due to a questionable foul on Carrascal.
“I’m not happy with the defeat, but I’m proud of this team. We came in with a lot of injuries, players who weren’t 100% fit, and today (Wednesday) they gave their all”, praised Gustavo Costas, who was bold when asked if Racing can dream of a place in the decision.
“We played against a team (Flamengo) which, we have to say, is a national team. Here we have a national team. You saw who was leaving and who was coming in. And how do you compete with them? With your soul and with your heart”, he stressed. “We thank the fans for coming here and facing Brazil. At home, we will play for the dream of going to Lima. These boys have glory ahead of them and, with that, we will compete with our hearts. We are more alive than ever. We can, no, we are going to Lima”, he said, optimistically.
The coach avoided talking about refereeing, but questioned the disallowed goal and why VAR had not been activated. “I’m not going to talk about the referee, but I don’t know why Sosa’s goal was disallowed. It must have been a very big event, because VAR didn’t score it either”, he said.
And he took the opportunity to reveal the recipe for the return, in Avellaneda, on Wednesday (29). “We have to be more united than ever to get to Lima. These boys deserve it, they play with their hearts. I’m very angry, as are the fans, but I’m not sad. We have to be proud of how they represented us against a very high-class opponent.”
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
Published by Nícolas Robert
