The coach of River Plate, Marcelo Gallardo, regretted that the 2019 Copa Libertadores final will not be held in Santiago, Chile. He pointed out that the change of venue will cause profound sadness to the fans who will not be able to attend the match, which will now be played at the Monumental de Ate in Lima.
"I don't know if we are culturally prepared in our continent for this type of changes. The fan is the one who suffers the most because he is not used to it and the distances in South America are long. We already had a problem last year of not being able to enjoy the final with our people. There is a double disappointment for the fans for not being able to enjoy this final," said Gallardo, who recalled that the previous Copa final was played in Madrid.
However, the 'Muñeco' later recognized that CONMEBOL's decision is "reasonable", since it was not possible to play in Santiago due to the political and social crisis in Chile. Although he again touched on the situation that the fans who had planned to travel to the Chilean capital will experience.
"I really regret the fans who made a lot of effort in the last few weeks to have the possibility of being in Santiago, which were not going to be many on top, then with the change of venue it is a double effort," he emphasized.
River Plate will face Flamengo in the Copa final at the Monumental de Ate, in the clash on November 23 at 3:00 p.m. (Peruvian time).
