BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Boca Juniors and River Plate have scaled new heights for Argentine football by reaching the Copa Libertadores final, Boca coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto said on Wednesday.
The final of the top football club competition in South America will provide a chance for local fans to celebrate after years of disappointing results for the national team, Barros Schelotto told reporters.
"Boca and River have put Argentinian football in a place where it's never been before," he sadi on a press conference. "In the past few years, the Argentina national team has been battered, [whether that is] individually or the national team itself because of the results," he said.
Two-time World Cup winners Argentina have not won a major international trophy since their Copa America triumph in 1993. They were runners up to Germany in the 2014 World Cup and lost consecutive Copa America finals to Chile in 2015 and 2016.
At this year's World Cup in Russia, the Albiceleste were eliminated in the last 16 by eventual champions France.
"And I think that now Boca and River have come to a place that it is important to highlight. Beyond what will happen in the final, the entire world is currently talking about this final. It is a very important achievement," Schelotto continued.
The first leg of the Copa Libertadores final will be played at Boca's Bombonera on Saturday with the return fixture slated for November 24 at River's Monumental.
Boca are aiming for their seventh title while River are hoping to be champions for a fourth time.
Schelotto believes that small details could make the difference over two legs.
"If you review other Libertadores finals, mainly the first legs were much closer. But finals are different, there is no method, opponents differ. What we have to do is to analyze the opposition, know that it is a final and give our best to put Boca in the best possible situation."
