Last Updated on January 25, 2024 1:03 pm by Erwin Noguera
The Copa de la Liga Argentina Welcomes its new season with River Plate being the champion of champions after it triumphed over Rosario last December 22. That match gave an official close to the 2023 season, where the ‘Millonarios’ imposed on the first half and lost in the semifinal of the Second Phase to eventual champions Rosario Central.
Now, the sheet is blank again, and the teams prepare for a new episode. Especially clubs like Boca, Racing, San Lorenzo, and more, who have had an underwhelming year, will be looking to displace River Plate from the top. However, that’s easier said than done, as the team from Buenos Aires has a spectacular squad.
Copa de la Liga Argentina First Phase – Format
As we already mentioned in the past year, the new format of the competition came after the dissolution of the short-lived Superliga Argentina. However, the number of teams, one of the most criticized aspects of the previous scheme, remains pretty much the same. The intention to reduce the number of participants has been present since the beginning (2021), but the AFA ends up deciding against it every year. At the moment, it’s stated that, by 2026, there will only be 22 teams left in the first division, but this could change at any given time.
Whatever the case, the league is divided into two phases. However, this time, the order got turned around, as the Copa de la Liga Argentina, which is the format that occupied the second semester of the previous year, will now be celebrated at the beginning of the new season. In this sense, we’ll have a round-robin phase divided into two groups, and the teams qualified for the postseason will play three direct elimination matches to define the champion.
Copa de la Liga Argentina First Phase – Schedule
Start:
Thursday, January 25th, 5:00 pm with the Tigre vs. Sarmiento match
End of the round-robin:
Second weekend of April
Where can I watch it?
Favorites:
River Plate
Unsurprisingly, River remains the favorite after an excellent year at the local level. Their recent incorporations contemplate the offensive midfield more than anything, with the acquisitions of Lanzini, Martínez, and Barco. However, they had sensible losses, like Rondon, Echeverri, and De la Cruz. Nevertheless, the team keeps most of its core, so it’s not weird if another championship comes.
Boca Juniors
Boca had an underwhelming year in 2023, finishing in midtable at both phases of the tournament. However, Almirón kept its place as DT thanks to its achievements in the Copa Libertadores, and the ‘Xeneize’ ended up losing against Fluminense in the final. That defeat was the final nail in the coffin, so the new appointment is Diego Martinez, signed towards the end of December after a good semester in Huracan. Same as with River, the team keeps its core, so we are yet to see if the new boss can take the best out of this group of players.
Outside picks for the Copa de la Liga Argentina
From here on, many of the picks are considered of ‘second line’ and are, pretty much, at the same level. Some of these teams include, as expected, the rest of the big five, except Independiente. Even if the ‘Rojo’ had a decent Copa de la Liga last semester under the direction of Tévez, the club is still in the middle of an unprecent institutional crisis, one that could have made almost any other team disappear in similar circumstances. In this context, what happened towards the end of last year seems like an oasis in the desert.
Considering that, other names to consider include Racing, San Lorenzo, Defensa y Justicia, and Talleres de Córdoba.
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