- A key figure in Flamengo’s 2025 triumph, the Argentinian goalkeeper will face Estudiantes again after saving two penalties to help eliminate them in last year’s edition.
- His ability to deliver in decisive moments is one of Mengão’s greatest strengths as they pursue another CONMEBOL Libertadores title.
Agustín Rossi had accepted his share of responsibility for Estudiantes’ goal in the second leg of the 2025 CONMEBOL Libertadores quarter-finals, but he knew he still had a chance to change the outcome. In September 2025, after a 1-0 defeat in La Plata left a place in the semi-finals hinging on a penalty shootout, the Flamengo goalkeeper made a promise to his team-mates.
“I’m very happy to be able to help the team. I know I was partly responsible for the goal during the match. Even so, a goalkeeper has to stay mentally strong. I told my team-mates I would help them in the shootout. I told them to take their penalties with confidence, because I would save at least one. I was fortunate enough to save two and settle the tie. I’m very happy about that,” he said afterwards. That night, he saved two, denying Gastón Benedetti and Santiago Ascacíbar to keep Flamengo on the path that would ultimately lead to South American glory.
One year on, the CONMEBOL Libertadores brings them face to face again. This time, they will meet in the semi-finals, with the Brazilian side defending their crown and Estudiantes seeking another appearance in the final. For Rossi, the reunion brings back memories of one of the most important nights of his career and takes him back to a club he represented before establishing himself at the highest level. For Flamengo, it is another knockout tie in which their goalkeeper’s experience could tip the balance in their favour.
That 2025 shootout offered a glimpse of his character. After an incident he felt he could have handled better, he retained the belief to take centre stage. Filipe Luís, the team’s coach at the time, revealed that Rossi had approached him before the penalties to say he would secure their passage to the next round. The coach believed him, and the Argentinian delivered with two saves that sealed their progress.
Rossi himself explained that approach to his role in comments to TNT Sports during Flamengo’s 2025 continental triumph: “If I stay calm, I help the team stay calm too.” Even when thoughts and worries build up inside, Rossi gives his team-mates a reassuring sense of composure. From his position in goal, his every gesture can also instil confidence in those playing in front of him.
His connection with Estudiantes began long before that. A product of Chacarita’s youth system, he arrived in La Plata at the age of 19 and made three competitive first-team appearances between 2015 and 2016. He then continued his career at Defensa y Justicia and Boca Juniors. Before the 2025 quarter-final tie, he recalled that spell as he warned of the challenge their opponents would pose: “I played there. I know what the CONMEBOL Libertadores means to Estudiantes.”
His contribution to Mengão’s fourth continental crown also extended beyond the shootout. In the 2025 edition, he reached the final with eight clean sheets in twelve appearances and added another in the 1-0 victory over Palmeiras in Lima. The penalty heroics against Estudiantes were the standout moment of a campaign in which keeping opponents at bay was essential to complementing the team’s attacking talent.
Since arriving in 2023, Rossi has steadily carved out his place at Flamengo. He set the club record for consecutive minutes without conceding and surpassed a hundred appearances. When he was honoured for reaching that milestone, he expressed an ambition that went beyond establishing himself as first choice: “I came to Flamengo with the aim of making history.” Winning the CONMEBOL Libertadores would fulfil a significant part of that ambition.
Like any goalkeeper’s career, his journey has also included moments of intense scrutiny. In August 2026, he explained how he handles those demands: “We know there will always be criticism. It’s part of the game.” Rossi said he avoids following reactions on social media and that his years at Boca and Flamengo had taught him to understand the pressure that comes with the position. For coach Leonardo Jardim, he is a pivotal figure: “Rossi is an important player and has already shown that, particularly over the last few years,” he said.
In the quarter-finals of this year’s edition, Rossi found an unusual way to make the difference. With Flamengo trailing Independiente del Valle and down to ten men, he launched the ball from his own half for Giorgian De Arrascaeta to head home the equaliser in a 1-1 draw. According to Opta, it was the first assist by a goalkeeper in the competition’s knockout stages since its records began in 2013. The pass helped seal a tie the Brazilian side had taken control of with a 2-0 first-leg victory in Quito.
Estudiantes now await, with the first leg scheduled for 15 October in La Plata and the return on 22 October at the Maracanã. Flamengo are chasing their fifth CONMEBOL Libertadores title, and Rossi knows how much a single intervention can matter along the way. After saving two penalties against Fluminense in the Campeonato Carioca final in March, he summed up his ambition: “We have something very important to do: make Flamengo even greater.”
