Rafael Santos Borré was already considered a striker of special goals in Argentina, on Wednesday in Seville he became a Garibaldi of football, a hero of two worlds. For like the 19th-century Italian freedom fighter who fought his campaigns in South America, the Colombian triumphed on both sides of the Atlantic.
At CA River Plate, Argentina’s Buenos Aires-based club, he became the only player to score in all Copa Libertadores knockout stages. And now he not only scored goals in the quarterfinals and semifinals, but also on Wednesday in the final of the Europa League, which he won with Eintracht Frankfurt. Not least because he was also successful from the point to 5: 4 in the penalty shootout – after he had forced extra time with his goal to equalize 1: 1.
The goal to make it 1-1 was no coincidence. On the contrary. “We showed the players the situation at half-time. We often got through Ansgar Knauff and Filip Kostic (on the wings), but we didn’t have the determination in the penalty area, we didn’t have the intensity to run into the spaces,” said Eintracht Coach Oliver Glasner. “We said we have to attack the first post specifically and that’s what Rafa did. He was fighting for that goal.”
Rafael Santos Borré comes from the Caribbean – the Colombian is now enjoying great success in Frankfurt
Santos Borré was born in Barranquilla, a town on Colombia’s Caribbean coast that is as famous for its carnival as it is for Gabriel García Márquez, the master of magic realism. Santos Borré joined Eintracht last summer. Free transfer, but heaped with laurels – and with the recommendation of being the top scorer of the title-limited era by River coach Marcelo Gallardo. He scored eight goals in 31 games in the Bundesliga and four goals in 13 games in the Europa League. It’s not a coincidence, he loves the big stages.
His violent shot from 25 meters under the crossbar during Eintracht’s legendary Barcelona visit to the Camp Nou was burned into the memory of Frankfurt fans as an act of brutal beauty. “It’s these special games that allow us to live and enjoy unique moments!” said the 26-year-old in the catacombs of the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in Seville. “I always say to my teammates: These are the games where you have to call up your full potential and show your character.” He did, and it was anything but trivial to him.
“My dream has always been to win the Libertadores, so to win my first European title in Spain has a special flavor,” he explained. He moved to Atlético Madrid when he was young, was never used and was loaned to Villarreal FC; there only played there sporadically and, as he later revealed, thought it might be better to throw it all away. “A lot of people thought I wasn’t prepared for these moments, so to come back here with a German team and win a trophy is something very special.”
In Germany, he said in Seville, he had to change his game: “In South America, possession is more important. Everything is more direct here, you let go of the ball more quickly. And I also had to relearn certain movements.” These were mainly movements in the game without and against the ball.
“He is incredibly important for us, not only because of his offensive actions and his goals, but also on defense because he goes a long way for us,” praised coach Oliver Glasner. Santos Borré also wore himself out on Wednesday. Playing against Calvin Bassey, a hulking man the size of Glasgow’s dockside cranes, must have felt like trying to climb a descending escalator with a fridge on your back.
The prize: the trophy, the associated Champions League qualification – and the final of the European Supercup, on August 10 in Helsinki against the winner of the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool. He hopes for the “Reds”, because there a compatriot of his plays, Luis Díaz, he also comes from the Colombian Caribbean coast and is now the darling of Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp. “I love him very much. It would be very nice to compete against him,” said Borré.