Vélez Sarsfield finishes the first semester of the year with a mixed balance, highlighting its firmness in the Copa Argentina and its lack of impact in the Torneo Apertura. The team of the Mellizo has gone through a rollercoaster of performance and emotions, with a renewed squad that mixed the hierarchy of established figures and the freshness of young players. Throughout the regular phase of the Torneo Apertura, the Liniers team was able to consolidate itself as one of the main animators and serious candidates for the title. However, football does not know about merits but about effectiveness. The great frustration of the semester came in the quarterfinals of the tournament. In a packed Amalfitani, Vélez was eliminated after losing 1-0 to Gimnasia and Esgrima de La Plata. The other side of the coin was seen in the federal plan. In the Copa Argentina, the team of the Mellizo did not leave room for surprises and demonstrated why its squad has a superior hierarchy. The great step of the semester in this competition came in the Estadio Ciudad de Caseros, where Vélez stepped up and defeated Gimnasia and Tiro de Salta 2-0 to secure its classification to the quarterfinals. Adjusting the details for what comes next will be the main challenge for Guillermo Barros Schelotto in the second half of the year.