Horacio Melgarejo, the head coach of Peruvian club Cienciano, said he would beat Boca Juniors if his team reached the final of the Copa Sudamericana, in an interview with Argentine broadcaster ESPN.
Melgarejo, 53, is in his first season in charge of Cienciano, the Cusco based club that has reached the quarterfinals of South America's second tier continental club competition. Under the tournament's bracket, the only way Cienciano could face Boca Juniors is in the final itself.
What Melgarejo said about a final against Boca Juniors
Asked whether Cienciano could meet Boca Juniors in the final, Melgarejo said yes, they would get there, and that he would beat them. He said he hoped an Argentine team, in this case Boca, reached the final, but added that Cienciano first had to focus on its upcoming match in the Peruvian domestic league.
He said that before thinking about a final, Cienciano's priority was to perform well against Montevideo City Torque. He said that if Cienciano advanced past City Torque, it would face either Atlético Mineiro or Santos, and joked that he had already spoken to a security company about hiring around 100 police officers to bring with him, laughing as he said it.
Melgarejo also said Cienciano has the lowest budget of the eight quarterfinalists, but pointed out that matches are played 11 against 11 on the pitch, not with wallets or credit cards, and said his side would fight to the death against whichever opponent it faces.
Cienciano's quarterfinal against Montevideo City Torque
Cienciano will play the first leg of its quarterfinal against Montevideo City Torque, a Uruguayan club, on Thursday, September 10, at the Estadio Inca Garcilaso de la Vega in Cusco. The return leg is scheduled for Thursday, September 17, at Uruguay's Estadio Centenario in Montevideo.
Other Copa Sudamericana quarterfinal matches
The first legs of the Copa Sudamericana quarterfinals are being played between Tuesday, September 8, and Thursday, September 10. Alongside Cienciano's tie against Montevideo City Torque, the round also features Boca Juniors against Sao Paulo, Independiente Santa Fe against Vasco da Gama, and Atlético Mineiro against Santos.
Background on the two clubs
The Copa Sudamericana, organized by the South American Football Confederation, CONMEBOL, ranks as the continent's second club competition behind the Copa Libertadores. Cienciano is one of the few Peruvian clubs to have won an international title, having lifted the Copa Sudamericana itself in 2003 and again in 2004.
Boca Juniors, based in Buenos Aires and known for playing at La Bombonera, is one of Argentine football's most decorated clubs, with multiple Copa Libertadores titles to its name, though it has never won the Copa Sudamericana.
