The dream of advancing further in the Copa Libertadores came to an end for Fortaleza. The Brazilian club, led by Portuguese coach Renato Paiva, was knocked out in the Round of 16. They fell 2-0 to Argentine side Vélez Sarsfield in the second leg match.
The decisive game took place in Buenos Aires. The first leg in Brazil had ended in a goalless draw, leaving everything to play for. But Vélez Sarsfield didn’t waste time. They quickly secured their spot in the quarterfinals. Maher Carrizo scored for the Argentines just seven minutes into the game. Tomás Galván added another goal in the 28th minute, putting Vélez firmly in control before halftime.
Renato Paiva was clearly upset after the match. He didn’t hold back when talking about his team’s performance. The coach admitted his players showed fight. However, he made it clear that almost nothing they planned for the game actually happened on the field.
“Playing football isn’t just about running or jumping,” Paiva explained. “You can run and still not play good football. I will always stand by my players. But I must say, we practically failed to execute what we prepared for this match.” He emphasized the need to learn from this tough loss. “We need to take these lessons and now focus on Série A,” he added, referring to the Brazilian league. “We did things here we shouldn’t have done. Competing like this will be very tough.”
Vélez Sarsfield, now moving forward, will face another Argentine club in the quarterfinals. They are set to play Racing. Racing earned their spot by beating Peñarol with a combined score of 3-2 across both legs.
Meanwhile, another Portuguese coach is still shining in the competition. Abel Ferreira’s Palmeiras is looking strong. They are preparing to host Universitario de Deportes. This comes after Palmeiras secured a dominant 4-0 victory in Peru during their first leg.
