Argentine football giant Racing Club won the 2025 Recopa Sudamericana after beating Brazil’s Botafogo 4-0 on aggregate. After winning 2-0 at home on February 20, the Academia did it again in Rio de Janeiro and sealed the title.

The Recopa Sudamericana is an annual international competition organized by CONMEBOL, pitting the previous year’s Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana champions against each other. In this case, those were Botafogo and Racing, respectively. 

Despite having the advantage after the first leg, Racing pushed early in the game, nullifying Botafogo’s passing game. The Argentine team, coached by former player and club-legend Gustavo Costas, generated plenty of chances, but was unable to convert any of them.

The goals arrived in the second half. With Racing still very much dominating the match, striker Adrian “Maravilla” Martínez saved a lost ball that ended up at the feet of defender Gastón Martirena. His shot was deflected and fell to midfielder Matías Zaracho, who sent it to the top right corner of the goal to make it 1-0 after 50 minutes.

Just 20 minutes later, a mistake by Botafogo defender Alex Telles allowed Martirena to put in a cross. Midfielder Bruno Zuculini burst into the box, controlled the ball, and shot for the 2-0 lead and a 4-0 series lead.

This is  Racing’s second international title in three after winning the 2025 Copa Sudamericana in November, cutting a 36-year dry spell. The Academia overcame Estudiantes de La Plata as the fourth Argentine team with most international titles, with seven. Boca Juniors leads the table with 22, followed by Independiente’s 20 and River Plate’s 18.

It’s a specially meaningful title for Racing, as three out of the four goalscorers in the series came through the club’s Tita Mattiussi youth academy: Zaracho, Zuculini, and striker Luciano Vietto, who scored the opener in Buenos Aires.

“This is an incredible group of players,” said Zuculini after the match. “There’s no egos, there’s solidarity, we work hard and we get along incredibly. These guys dive with their heads for the club, I appreciate what they do and love them.”

The midfielder added that the team will keep working to “put the club where it belongs” and thanked the fans who made the trip to Rio.

“We won’t settle for this, we can win a lot more,” he said.

Head coach Costas said Racing doesn’t deserve the criticism that comes their way in Argentina.

“We’re lauded more often [in other countries] than we are at home,” he said. “We played two great matches. This team is very humble and knows what it wants. They don’t deserve so much criticism.”

The coach, who extended his streak of making an appearance in every major international title the club has won, turned 62 on the day of the second match.

“It’s the best birthday of my life,” he said. “Too bad my father isn’t here to see this.”