Boca edge Racing to win Copa Argentina
Reuters - Thursday 09 August 2012, 07:46
Boca Juniors have won the
relauched Copa Argentina with a 2-1 win over Racing Club in the
delayed final to remain the only champions of the competition in
its chequered 42-year history.
Uruguayan forward Santiago Silva gave Boca the lead with a
long-range shot against the run of play in the 21st minute and
Lucas Viatri scored the second just after the hour in the
neutral city of San Juan.
Valentin Viola pulled one back for Racing Club in the 68th
minute of Wednesday's match in front of a 35,000 crowd.
The match had been due scheduled for June 23 to round off
the 2011/12 season but, in a story typical of the confusion
which surrounds Argentine domestic football, was delayed because
of fixture congestion.
As a result, it was played one week after the start of the
2012/13 season.
Modelled on European domestic cup competitions such as
Spain's Copa del Rey and England's FA Cup, it featured 186 teams
from the top five tiers of Argentine football in a knockout
format.
Boca were also champions in 1969 on the only other occasion
the tournament was completed.
In 1970, the tournament was abandoned after the first leg of
the final had been played and was never held again until the
Argentine FA relaunched it last season.
Boca's win gave them a small consolation after they failed
to win the Argentine Clausura championship last season and were
beaten in the South American Libertadores Cup final by Brazil's
Corinthians.
They started the new league season on Saturday with a 3-0
defeat to Quilmes.