Envigado FC had well and truly established themselves as the best team in Colombia by sealing four consecutive league stage titles. But competing with the very best in South America looked a step too far for Robinho Lazaró’s side.
The 2034 mid-season break saw a stalwart of the save depart as midfielder Randi Redín who, after 10 years and 294 league appearances at the club, joined Cruzeiro for a healthy £1.5m. Also leaving was backup striker Luis Mendoza, who joined Monterrey for £850k.
Swift Redín Reunion In Copa Sudamericana
Days after selling Redín to Cruzeiro, Envigado were reunited with him as they took on the Brazilian side in the second round of Copa Sudamericana. And it was his replacement who offered a timely reminder of why Redín had been sold. 17-year-old Gianfranco Bahoque scored and got an assist, as did his midfield partner Ronaldo Bermudez, as Envigado strolled to a 4-0 victory. That gave Lazaró freedom to rotate a little for the away leg and a 2-0 defeat sent them through.
Next up was an Argentine opponent as they took on Talleres. The home leg was up first again and striker Edisón Borrero took it upon himself to send his side through with a stunning four-goal haul inside 48 minutes to lead a thumping 6-0 victory. That allowed Lazaró to rotate and, despite a pretty terrible performance away from home, they progressed 6-4 on aggregate.
That teed up a semi-final between two of South America’s richest clubs as Envigado faced Operário Ferroviário. Another strong home performance was inspired by centre-back Rodolfo Vega, who scored from a corner, created a second for Jaiber Prince and two more clear chances, and helped his team to a clean sheet and a 2-0 victory. A Mateo Acevedo goal and another solid defensive effort were enough for a draw in the away leg, which sealed a 3-1 aggregate victory. That meant Envigado were off to their second Copa Sudamericana Final!
Seeking Five Successive Titles
Envigado began the latest Finalización league stage in fine style at Bogotá as a Borrero brace inspired a 3-0 victory before a draw at Deportivo Cali. But their first home game was a thriller as a Borrero hat-trick led a 7-3 hammering of Santander. Then Bahoque, Vega, Borrero and Bermudez goals inspired a 4-1 win at Petrolera. And even a fully rotated team beat Orsomarso 2-0 led by a goal and assist from exciting striker Jhon Medina.
Borrero was back for a trip to Jaguares de Córdoba and scored his 41st goal of the season in a 3-0 win, putting him just 10 goals behind teammate Acevedo’s season record of 51. Clearly, Acevedo was none too happy with that, as he scored five in the next three games to move to 20 for the season while Borrero suffered a mini-drought. But the 18-year-old returned to the scoresheet with the only goal at home to Cortuluá to send Envigado top of the table.
Another youngster stepped up as Lazaró again rotated fully for the continental semi. 16-year-old midfielder Cristian Ortiz started just his second league game and scored his first senior goal and created another in a 3-1 win over Petrolera. But their two main men sealed a huge win over 2nd-place Junior as Borrero and an Acevedo brace moved Envigado eight points clear.
A draw at Millonarios, Prince’s goal at Magdalena and a fully rotated side locked down 1st-place as David Acosta, Cristian Gutiérrez and Medina scored inside 25 minutes and 16-year-old Oscar González kept a debut clean sheet to defeat Llaneros 3-0. Borrero continued to add to his goal tally, scoring two more in the final game against América to move to 48 goals this season.
Finalización Post-Season
After a 68-game season, Lazaró’s side now faced six games in a 12-day post-season period in a group alongside Nacional, América and Cúcuta. Game 69 was at home to Nacional and Borrero and centre-back Eder Franco earned a 2-1 win. Borrero reached 50 goals for the campaign with the opener in a 3-2 win at home to América, inspired by a goal and assist by Ortiz.
Their final four games took place over seven days and a fully rotated team lost 1-0 at Nacional. Borrero matched the club record with the opener in a 3-1 win at home to Cúcuta, in which Acevedo also scored. And he broke the record two days later with the third goal in a 3-1 victory at Cúcuta then extended it with a 4-1 victory at Cúcuta. But, despite a 15-point tally, that wasn’t enough to qualify for an 11th successive final.
Borrero’s final day goal saw him smash the all-time Liga BetPlay record of 42 goals in a season, surpassing the 85-year record held by Millonarios’ Pedro Cabillon. He also topped the average rating table with 7.64 closely followed by Acevedo’s 7.63, while Bermudez was second in the assists chart with 15.
Copa Sudamericana Final
Envigado’s second Copa Sudamericana final took place in the same location as their first at Hernando Siles in La Paz, Bolivia. It pitted them against Brazilian opponents in Cuiabá and Envigado were favourites at 6/4 with Cuiabá at 8/5. However, they were slightly short on numbers due to an under 20s fixture clash, injuries and suspensions. But Lazaró lined up:
Mosquera; Rojas, Betancurt, Vega, Mina; Lugo; Bahoque, Bermudez; Acevedo, Prince; Borrero
Cuiabá started the better but Envigado made the first move as a great run down the left saw Prince tee up Bermudez for the opener. Acevedo went close before a delicious pass from Diego Mena put Borrero through and he doubled the lead in style. Seven minutes after the break, the game looked done as Bermudez picked out centre-back Johann Betancurt for his first goal of the season. And it got even better as Acevedo set Borrero through to double his tally and seal a crushing 4-0 victory.
Envigado won their second Copa Sudamericana!!
Celebrating More Broken Records
This was another superb season for Envigado, as they won another league title, topped the overall Liga BetPlay table and won their second continental trophy. They also equalled the all-time record league goals tally of 130 set by Deportivo Cali in 1997.
The star of the season was the exciting Borrero, who scored a ridiculous 53 in 51 games with a 7.60 average rating. He broke the club and league records for most goals in a season in the process, and he’s only just turned 19! As a result, he deservedly won the league’s Player and Young Player of the Year awards with Acevedo second in the former and Franco second in the latter. Even better, he was named in the South American Team of the Year!
He was followed by Acevedo, who still managed 28 goals and 18 assists from the right, extending his club record to 121 league goals in 182 games. Prince managed 14 goals and 13 assists, while the impressive Bahoque scored 13 in 48 and Vega scored nine from centre-back with a 7.40 average rating. Bermudez topped the assists chart with 19 and left-back Andrés Mira chipped in 13.
Could Lazaró’s team carry their Sudamericana success into Copa Libertadores? And could they defend their Apertura title? Join us on Friday to find out!
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