DIM Needs One Point Against Estudiantes - Medellín in La Plata
Independiente Medellín visits Estudiantes de La Plata on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. needing a draw to reach the Copa Libertadores round of 16. The match at the Uno stadium gives DIM a direct path out of Grupo A, with one point already separating it from Estudiantes before kickoff. That is the simplest route to a breakthrough the club has not made since 2005.
Chaux on DIM’s objective
Éder Chaux said the group knows exactly what is at stake. “Será un lindo compromiso. Será un partido importante para nosotros. Sabemos lo que nos estamos jugando. No podemos dar ventaja. Tenemos un rival excelente por delante. Debemos demostrar en la cancha que podemos avanzar, demostrarle al hincha que el equipo está para cosas importantes. Esperamos conseguir la clasificación,” the goalkeeper said before the match.
Chaux’s words match the table. DIM has seven points in Group A, one more than Estudiantes, while Flamengo leads the section with 13 points and already has its place in the round of 16. A draw is enough for Medellín to keep control of its own fate in La Plata.
2005 still sets the mark
The last time DIM got past the Libertadores group stage was 2005, when it finished first in Grupo A with 10 points. That run included a 0-4 win over Atlético Paranaense in Curitiba on May 10, 2005, the club’s clearest reference point when this competition has opened up for it.
There is also recent history between these teams. DIM and Estudiantes drew 1-1 at the Atanasio Girardot in April, leaving Tuesday’s return meeting with everything attached to it and nothing guaranteed for the visitors.
Botero and La Plata pressure
Sebastián Botero has been managing DIM on an interim basis since mid-April, so the team arrives in Argentina with a short runway under its current coach and a direct shot at the knockout stage. If it wins, Medellín would also record its first victory in Argentine territory in CONMEBOL tournaments.
That leaves the task simple and severe: avoid defeat, and the 21-year wait ends. Lose in La Plata, and the path out of Grupo A closes on the same night the club had a chance to write a different story.
