An early goal from Miguel Angel Borja took Atletico Nacional to their second Copa Libertadores triumph as the Colombian side beat Ecuador’s Independiente del Valle 1-0 on Wednesday to give them a 2-1 aggregate victory.
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The win ends a 27-year wait for Nacional to claim Libertadores glory, the Colombian side having won the 1989 edition of the tournament against Olimpia.
It was Borja fifth goal in four matches as he showed the form that has earned him a call up to Colombia squad for next month Rio Olympics. The result meant there was no fairytale ending for Independiente, the tiny club that had captured the hearts of South American football lovers over the course of their unlikely march to this year’s final. “Many people thought that I was a small club player but now I’ve won the Copa Libertadores”.
Fifteen minutes still remained after Azcona kept his team’s hopes alive with a remarkable save of a shot by Borja in the 75th minute, but Nacional controlled the game down the stretch and avoided any last-minute scares as the fans celebrated their team’s second title in South America’s premier club soccer tournament.
Atletico’s coach Reinaldo Rueda, ironically directed the Ecuadorian National Team and led them to the 2014 Brazil World Cup.
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The first match last week in Ecuador ended locked 1-1. So far, they have given over US$341,000 to the United Nations Development Programme.
