This Saturday, Racing and Estudiantes de La Plata will define the new champion of Argentine football in Santiago. In a transcendent match scheduled for 21:00, the new Argentine football champion will be determined. The game will take place at the Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero and will be broadcast live on ESPN Premium and TNT Sports. The appointed referee is Nicolás Ramírez, while Héctor Paletta will be in charge of VAR. Racing, coached by Gustavo Costas, reached the final after a very tough road in the playoffs, as in the round of 16 they beat River 3-2 at home in a truly thrilling match. It should be clarified that although 'Pincha' won the 2024 Copa de la Liga with the same format as this Clausura Tournament (regular phase and playoffs), the AFA counts that title as a Cup. The only previous final between Racing and Estudiantes dates back to the 1967 Metropolitano Tournament, where the La Plata team won 3-0. However, in the direct elimination matches, Racing showed a completely different image to beat Rosario Central, Central Córdoba de Santiago del Estero, and Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata 1-0 each. In case of winning the title, this would be Racing's 19th league title, after those won in 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1921, 1925, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1958, 1961, 1966, 2001, 2014, and 2019. Estudiantes, for its part, would be league champion for the seventh time in its history, after the conquests of 1913, 1967, 1982, 1983, 2006, and 2010. In the quarterfinals against Tigre, their goalkeeper Facundo Cambeses became a hero in the penalty shootout, while in the semis they beat Boca 1-0 at 'La Bombonera'. Previously, in the regular phase, they had finished third in Zone A with 25 points, only behind Unión de Santa Fe and Boca. Estudiantes, in turn, has Eduardo Domínguez as its coach and had a very poor regular phase, finishing eighth in Zone A with 21 points. Formations: Racing: Facundo Cambeses; Facundo Mura, Nazareno Colombo, Agustín García Basso, Gabriel Rojas; Juan Nardoni, Santiago Sosa, Agustín Almendra; Santiago Solari, Adrián 'Maravilla' Martínez and Duván Vergara. Coach: Gustavo Costas. Estudiantes (LP): Fernando Muslera; Román Gómez, Leandro González Pírez, Santiago Núñez, Santiago Arzamendia; Santiago Ascacíbar, Ezequiel Piovi; Tiago Palacios, Cristian Medina, Edwuin Cetré; Guido Carrillo. Coach: Eduardo Domínguez.
