The second clasico bogotano of the playoffs saw Santa Fe eliminate Millonarios and book a finals spot against Independiente de Medellín. Falcao didn’t take it well.
In tense scenes on a cold Thursday night in Bogotá, the clásico bogotano ended up in a 2-1 victory for Santa Fe over bitter rivals Millonarios, sending the red half of the city into raptures as they prepare for the final while the blue half was left seething and cursing VAR.
Coming into the match, Millos were unbeaten in the last 15 matches and needed only a draw in order to guarantee their place in the final. Los Leones had lost twice though, including the first derby, meaning they needed a win to progress.
Pre-match, Santa Fe had put out a statement saying they had faith in the refereeing team led by Andrés Rojas, under consideration to take part in next year’s World Cup. That set tongues wagging before a ball had been kicked.
Then, a Millonarios official blocked the Santa Fe delegation from entering their boxes, claiming they needed tickets. The Millonarios president later apologised, but the scene had been set for controversy and did not disappoint.
Both sides boast a 39 year old ex-Colombia international up front, recently returned after spells in Europe. Millonarios, fittingly, have the world-famous superstar Falcao, formerly of Chelsea and Atlético de Madrid while Santa Fe have the less-heralded ex Wigan Athletic man Hugo Rodallega.
It was the latter who won out – a tribute to his impressive season. It took him just two minutes to notch his 15th of the season, putting Harold Mosquera’s cross away following Nicolás Arévalo’s lapse in concentration on the edge of his own box.
Before ten minutes were on the clock the lead had doubled, with Ewil Murillo playing a smart one-two with Rodallega and slotting away. Yet again it had come from a Millos error, with Stiven Vega losing the ball close to the halfway line.
That was also the beginning of controversy, with Millonarios furious about what they felt was a foul in the build-up. However, VAR ruled in favor of los cardenales, giving them a commanding lead to protect for over 80 minutes more.
Millonarios took their time in responding, failing to threaten a Santa Fe side that immediately parked the bus and played for time and the occasional counter. The rest of the half played out largely without event, save a yellow for Falcao for booting the ball away in protest at the ref, foreshadowing his outburst at the final whistle.
After the break, Millonarios played with more pep and verve, finally putting Santa Fe under pressure and had the ball in the net courtesy of Giordana, but it was ruled out for offside. However, it was all in vain as they couldn’t find a way past a dogged cardenal defence, Marmolejo saving from Falcao on a pair of occasions.
After a whopping 14 (fourteen) minutes of time added on, Falcao finally got through the door he’d been knocking on for so long, firing a last-gasp free kick that left Marmolejo with no chance and clawing an ultimately academic goal back.
Having shown his class on the pitch though, Falcao promptly did the opposite off the pitch, going on an extraordinary rant against the officials, claiming they had been robbed by VAR. His claims were about the disallowed goal as well as an alleged offside in Santa Fe’s first and foul in the second.
He kept going too, claiming the entire tournament had been rigged against Millonarios and using spicy language. Added to Santa Fe’s statement pre-match, he won plenty of support from embajadores fans online, but will be facing a big fine and a possible suspension from local football authorities DIMAYOR. He says he will never play in Colombia again, so they can give him a 50 match suspension.
The clash of namesakes Independiente de Santa Fe and Independiente de Medellín will kick off in El Campín on Tuesday (19:30) in Bogotá. The return leg in Medellín’s Atanasio Girardot is scheduled for 18:00 Sunday 29th, where the winners will be crowned.
