Paolo Guerrero and a South American joy from Cienciano 20 years ago | CHRONICLE

With a double from the national team, the Ecuadorian team beat Defensa y Justicia 3-0 in the first leg semifinal of the Sudamericana and has a foot and a half in the definition for the title.

The thing is that, at 39 years old, Paolo still has that ability to jump over his marker and score with a header, or to place his body weight forward to score a great goal with his right foot to put LDU ahead in the first time.

The second half was for Defensa y Justicia, but the Ecuadorians defended their advantage and, in a great counterattack, captain Piovi sealed the result with a shot from outside the area.

A rout that puts LDU within reach of the final, but they still have to defend the advantage next Wednesday in Buenos Aires. The falcons must win by three goals difference to equalize the series and force penalties or score more goals to turn the series around.

The last Conmebol tournament that LDU won was the 2010 Recopa. The previous year it won the Copa Sudamericana and, in 2008, the Libertadores, its years of glory that it seeks to repeat with Guerrero.

national joy

Paolo Guerrero celebrates it and the continent talks about him. The Peruvian scored a double in the Copa Sudamericana in what seems like a tribute to what Cienciano did 20 years ago.

Just a few hours ago, Cienciano announced a friendly match to remember the Copa Sudamericana title and honor the champions, and Paolo Guerrero started the celebrations with his double, as he has equaled records of the Cusco feat.

The last time we saw Peruvians in the semifinals of the Copa Sudamericana was just last year with Melgar, but the Arequipa team was eliminated by Independiente del Valle with a double 3-0 defeat in both Ecuador and Arequipa, without even being able to score.

The last victory of a Peruvian in the semifinals of the Copa Sudamericana was that of Miguel Trauco with Flamengo in the 2017 edition. The Brazilian team defeated Junior de Barranquilla in both matches (2-0 and 2-1) and in both matches the Peruvian side provided an assist.

But we have not enjoyed Peruvian goals in the semifinals of Conmebol tournaments since German Carty (x2) and Paolo Maldonado were present in the victories over Atlético Nacional in the round-trip duels. That time the Cusco team won 2-1 in Colombia (Maldonado and Carty) and 1-0 in Cusco (Carty) to reach the final.

Meanwhile, yesterday the statistician Mr. Chip recalled another piece of information that takes us back to Cienciano’s feat. Paolo Guerrero became the second Peruvian to score two goals in a semifinal or final match of the South American tournament since Giuliano Portilla scored two goals against River Plate in Buenos Aires in the 2003 Sudamericana final.

Paolo Guerrero had not scored for 53 days. In fact, his first goal with LDU was precisely in the Copa Sudamericana, in his debut against Ñublense. Then ten games passed, five in the Conmebol tournament and another five in the Ecuadorian tournament without being able to score. Last night he broke that bad streak in the best way.

—