From a glory-hunting Real Madrid legend to a demon-exorcising Argentinean keeper, the 2023 Copa Libertadores Final is full of human drama

The Copa Libertadores Final will be LIVE this Saturday, November 4th, starting at 3:30 PM ET / 12:30 PM PT exclusively on beIN SPORTS. Don't miss it!

Edinson Cavani

Edinson Cavani's talent was so great as a young forward that the Uruguayan only spent two years playing for Danubio before leaving South America in 2007. After an illustrious European career spanning 15 years in Italy, France, England and Spain — winning 22 major titles along the way — Cavani is back where it all began. 

Title number 23 could be the biggest of all, with Cavani having finished runner-up in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League with PSG and Manchester United respectively. The now 36-year-old forward moved to Boca Juniors in the summer of 2023 with the club seeing the player as the key to winning the continent's biggest title. 

So far, Cavani has failed to lift off in the tournament with just one goal in five appearances. However, in what could be a game of few chances for a creatively-struggling Boca Juniors, the ultimate fox-in-the-box may be the difference-maker. A player from Uruguay could give a club from Argentina its greatest moment in nearly two decades. 

Sergio Romero

The Boca Juniors goalkeeper is making up for lost time. More specifically, the six years lost at Manchester United where he was deputy to David de Gea and largely watching the action from the sidelines. Romero is now front and center in the biggest club match of all in South America, having joined Boca Juniors in the summer of 2022 after 15 years in Europe. 

It is the 36-year-old's best, last chance of real glory, having lost the 2014 World Cup final (in the same stadium as Saturday's match), missed the 2018 World Cup due to injury and seen Emiliano Martinez take over his number one spot for the Albiceleste to win both the Copa America and World Cup.

Romero has been key in Boca's path to the final, with the goal-shy team needing penalty shoot-outs to pass through every stage of the knockout stages. If the 2023 Copa Libertadores final reaches the same conclusion, then Romero might well have his much-deserved moment in the limelight. 

Marcelo

Yes, we are talking about that Marcelo. 

We are talking about the same Marcelo who left his hometown team of Fluminense in 2007 as an unknown 18-year-old with a big reputation as being the next Roberto Carlos. 

We are talking about the same Marcelo who then stayed at Real Madrid for the next 15 years to win five UEFA Champions League titles, and six LaLiga titles. After leaving Madrid in 2022, Marcelo made a short stop with Olympiakos before deciding to make the dream of so many footballers become a reality by returning to the club he loved.

In just eight months since making his second 'debut' for Fluminense, Marcelo has won the Campeonato Carioca for the Rio club and now has the chance to make himself a legend by being part of Flu's first ever Copa Libertadores win. In doing so, Marcelo will also become the 14th player to win the top club title in both South America and Europe. 

German Cano

A late drop-in to South American soccer is justified in asking German who? 

After all, the 35-year-old Argentinean striker playing in the colors of a Brazilian team is very much a journeyman. Cano is now at his tenth club since 2007 in a career that has seen action in Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil. However, it is only in his 30's that Cano has really made waves as a striker, especially at Fluminense since joining in 2022.

At the end of the 2022 season in Brazil, Cano was the top scorer with 26 strikes and the Argentinean has continued this hot streak into 2023 with 12 goals in 11 Copa Libertadores games for Fluminense. One or two more in the Maracana would be enough to prove that it is never to late for a player to hit his peak.