The 2023 UEFA–CONMEBOL Club Challenge (), named Antonio Puerta XII in honour of the former Sevilla player who died in 2007, was the inaugural edition of the UEFA–CONMEBOL Club Challenge, a football match organised by UEFA and CONMEBOL between the reigning champions of the UEFA Europa League and Copa Sudamericana. UEFA was in charge of the main organization of the first edition.
The UEFA–CONMEBOL Club Challenge was officially launched on 7 July 2023 as part of the UEFA–CONMEBOL memorandum of understanding.
The single match was played on 19 July 2023 at Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium in Seville, Spain, between Spanish club Sevilla, the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League winners and Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle, the 2022 Copa Sudamericana winners.
Background The match was announced by UEFA and CONMEBOL as a pilot edition. This was the first meeting between a Spanish and an Ecuadorian club representing UEFA and CONMEBOL, respectively. The match was, at the same time, the twelfth edition of the Antonio Puerta Trophy, an annual football match hosted by Sevilla dedicated to its former player Antonio Puerta, who died in 2007 at the age of 22 following a cardiac arrest, during the inaugural match of the 2007–08 La Liga season between Sevilla and Getafe. The official nature of the match was initially not entirely clear; UEFA considered it as a friendly due to the unlimited substitutions agreed by both clubs. However, on 10 June 2024, UEFA considered the tournament as official.
Sevilla won the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League on 31 May 2023, defeating Italian side Roma 4–1 penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time in the final, making it a record of seven UEFA Cup/Europa League titles for the Sevillians. For its part, Independiente del Valle won their second Copa Sudamericana title by beating Brazilian side São Paulo 2–0 in the final of the 2022 Copa Sudamericana held on 1 October 2022.
In the run-up to the match, Sevilla were in pre-season preparations ahead of their 2023–24 campaign, while Independiente del Valle were in the middle of their 2023 season, having won the first stage of the 2023 Ecuadorian Serie A and looking ahead to their round of 16 tie against Colombia's Deportivo Pereira in the 2023 Copa Libertadores.
Teams TeamQualification Sevilla2022–23 UEFA Europa League winners Independiente del Valle2022 CONMEBOL Sudamericana winners
Pre-match
Officials The refereeing team for this edition was appointed by UEFA.
Squads Sevilla named a 30-man squad for a training camp to be held from 9 to 19 July 2023, including the UEFA–CONMEBOL Club Challenge match.
Independiente del Valle traveled with 23 players to its mid-season tour in Spain, which, in addition to the UEFA–CONMEBOL Club Challenge match, included meetings with Orlando Pirates and Getafe. Players Kendry Páez, Patrick Mercado and Yaimar Medina were expected to join the team after their participation in the U-20 Copa Libertadores, but ultimately did not do so by decision of their team.
Match
Details
GK 1 Marko DmitrovićRB 35 JuanluCB 14 Tanguy NianzouCB 37 Kike SalasLB 3 Adrià Pedrosa CM 8 Joan Jordán (c)CM 38 Manu Bueno RW 7 Suso AM 24 Alejandro GómezLW 21 Óliver TorresCF 41 Isaac Romero Substitutes:GK 31 Alberto FloresGK 33 Matías ÁrbolDF 2 Gonzalo Montiel DF 18 Federico Gattoni MF 32 Pedro Ortiz FW 36 Iván Romero FW 28 Oussama Idrissi Manager: José Luis Mendilibar GK 1 Moisés Ramírez CB 14 Mateo CarabajalCB 80 Joao OrtizCB 2 Agustín García BassoRWB13 Matías FernándezLWB9 Kevin Rodríguez CM 16 Cristian Pellerano (c) CM 8 Lorenzo Faravelli RW 7 Jordy Alcívar CF 19 Lautaro Díaz LW 10 Junior Sornoza Substitutes:GK 12 Alexis VillaDF 4 Anthony Landázuri DF 6 Carlos SánchezDF 15 Beder Caicedo DF 17 Gustavo Cortez DF 20 Christian GarcíaMF 31 Danny CabezasMF 23 Patrickson DelgadoMF 58 Bryan GarcíaFW 11 Michael Hoyos FW 18 Marcelo Moreno Manager: Martín Anselmi Assistant referees: Tomaž Klančnik (Slovenia) Aleksandar Kasapovič (Slovenia) Fourth official: Simone Sozza (Italy)Match rules 90 minutes Penalty shoot-out if scores level Twelve named substitutes Unlimited substitutions
Notes
References
External links