Football can provide fans with some truly remarkable moments at times, but there are not going to be too many that are as remarkable as what had happened in the Copa Libertadores recently.
The Copa Libertadores – South America’s version of the Champions League – sees a number of the best football clubs in the region compete against each other as they look to be crowned the best team in all of South America.
Sometimes, things do not go your way and River Plate must have been dreading what would happen to them before their contest with Santa Fe.
Prior to the meeting, the Argentine football club had 20 of their players be ruled out because of nasty COVID-19 outbreak, which left the team with just 11 fully fit players that were available to be selected.
What was worse was the fact that each of the four goalkeepers that the team have were also ruled out, therefore leaving them short when it came to having someone between the sticks. That news would not have left many users at allvideoslots feeling too confident.
Manager, Marcelo Gallardo, had tried to get another goalkeeper to help out, however the Copa Libertadores organisers – CONMEBOL – refused to allow it to happen, even though it was an academy player.
That meant River would have to turn to one of their midfielders, with Enzo Perez having had to step up and put on a pair of goalkeeper gloves for the game.
To make matters worse, the former Valencia and Benfica midfielder had already been carrying a hamstring injury, so was not feeling his best already, but he pulled out all the stops as he helped his side record a 2-1 win.
Perez, who played for Argentina in the 2014 FIFA World Cup final against Germany, was named Man of the Match after his heroic performance in which he had to make a number of crucial saves.
Thankfully, goals from Fabrizio Angileri and Julian Alvarez inside the first six minutes of the game were enough for the Argentines to be able to hold on to. They dominated much of the game and left Perez with being required to do just the basics.
Indeed, it is a game that will go down in River folklore, whilst it is a remarkable story for anyone who loves football and one that Enzo Perez will not forget in a hurry, although whether he will look to change positions and go in goal in the future remains to be seen.
