Colombian leader Rionegro Aguilas was forced to play a match on Sunday with only seven players in his group, including a reserve goalkeeper in midfield, after COVID-19 and injuries had ravaged their team.
With 16 players testing positive for the virus in the build-up, seven on the way through injury and a reserve side that was not close to match condition, Aguilas appealed to Liga Dimayor officials to postpone the game but was told they would have to play regardless.
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#EquipoProfesional | We lost the party, but we won the battle at Covid-19. We are very proud of you, manyachos ?. # JuegoLimpio #MyGameIsFairPlay # VamosÁguilas? pic.twitter.com/h7jKnMft8A
– Águilas Doradas (@AguilasDoradas) April 11, 2021
“I know this is a difficult time, but if there are seven players available, you have to show up with the seven players,” league president Fernando Jaramillo told Win Sports recently. “It’s clear that whoever doesn’t show up loses the points. I understand what’s going on, but you have to show up with all seven players.”
That’s exactly what Aguilas did when Boyaca Chico came to town.
After announcing on Twitter that they were only playing to avoid more sanctions, the relegation-threatened side lined up in a revolutionary 3-2-1 formation with defender Juan Valencia leading into the midfield. He even tried to line up in a goalkeeper shirt, only to be sent back to the locker room to change.
#Institutional | Thank you to all who support us today from their homes, are you the reason why we always love the Almighty ?.
Are we with the arena preview to the party of today, with the ever demonstrator that we are a family ?. # VamosÁguilas? #JuegoLimpio pic.twitter.com/VWqotcLwyE
– Águilas Doradas (@AguilasDoradas) April 12, 2021
And somehow, they actually did okay.
Their opponents were so frustrated early on that they made two attacking substitutions in just 13 minutes, but even that was not enough to break Aguila’s decision and the hosts managed to keep things goalless until the 57th minute.
Chico managed to score three goals between then and the 79th minute, when the disaster hit Aguilas. Midfielder Giovanny Martinez was forced off with an injury, at which point the referee had to abandon the game as Aguilas was under the minimum number of players required.
The game ended with Aguilas registering only two shots, 12% of the possession and a lot of passively aggressive tweets, which made it all a real spectacle to watch.
#EquipoProfesional | Figure! ? #MyGameIsFairPlay #JuegoLimpio # VamosÁguilas? # ÁguilasDoradas pic.twitter.com/m0j0CK7OeS
– Águilas Doradas (@AguilasDoradas) April 11, 2021
To end the evening, Aguilas wrote on Twitter: “We lost the match, but we will win the battle against COVID-19. We are so proud of you.”
Healthy.
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