Buenos Aires, April 3 (NA) – Independiente and Racing will face this Saturday at the Libertadores de América stadium – Ricardo Enrique Bochini, in a new edition of the 'Clásico de Avellaneda'. There is a list of around 70 players who have worn both the 'Rojo' (Red) and 'Academia' (Academy) shirts. As reported by the Argentine News Agency, starting at 18:30 for the thirteenth round of the interzonal stage of the Apertura Tournament of the Professional Football League, the 226th edition of the 'Clásico de Avellaneda' in the professional era will be played. Independiente, coached by Gustavo Quinteros, dominate with 85 wins, compared to 72 draws and 68 wins for Racing, led by Gustavo Costas, both in domestic leagues and cups. Throughout the long and rich history of the classic, around 70 players have worn both shirts. The most significant transfer was José Omar Pastoriza to Independiente in 1966 for 12 million pesos plus the registration of Miguel Ángel Mori, who became an idol at Racing after winning the 1967 Copa Libertadores – the only footballer to win the continental competition with both sides – and the Intercontinental Cup of the same year against Scottish Celtic. Upon moving to the red side of Avellaneda, 'Pato' began a long journey where he became a hero in Independiente's history, winning, as a player, three local tournaments and the 1972 Copa Libertadores. As a coach, he won three domestic championships and three international titles: the 1973 Copa Interamericana, the 1984 Copa Libertadores, and the Intercontinental Cup of the same year against English Liverpool. In addition to Pastoriza and Mori, four more players are part of the Avellaneda football Olympus for having won a championship with both shirts: Norberto Raffo, Miguel Ángel Ludueña, Hugo 'Perico' Pérez, and Nery Domínguez, who won the 2017 Copa Sudamericana with 'Rojo' and the local championship with Racing in 2019. On the Independiente side, there is a long list of footballers who became champions only with the 'Rojo' and passed through the 'Academia' without much success. On the Racing side, only seven players have been champions exclusively with the 'Academy'. Furthermore, there are those who played for both Avellaneda teams but went unnoticed in both. The last players to move from one side to the other were Néstor Clausen from Racing to Independiente in 1995, José Serrizuela from Independiente to Racing in 1996, Martín Vitali from Independiente to Racing in 2001, Osvaldo Miranda from Racing to Independiente in 2006, Damián Ledesma from Independiente to Racing in 2009, and Nery Domínguez from Independiente to Racing in 2018.
