Sudamericana: Only One Brazilian Remains

Copa Sudamericana reached the semifinals, two Brazilian clubs had the chance to be in the final 4. However, only Fluminense did so. Flu visited Universidad de Chile and one more time relied on Fred. The ex-Lyon seems to be playing for all the matches he did nothing since the beginning of the year. Fred scored his 7th goal in 8 matches, and took Flu to the semis. The goal:

The other Brazilian club trying to reach the semis was Flu’s rival, Botafogo. Bota received Cerro Porteno from Paraguay at home, and need a simple victory. But that did not happen. Cerro won again, after a match that Botafogo had everything to win. The problem is that the Brazilian sides has terrible forwards, and misses too many chances. The 3-1 does not reflect what Bota produced, especially in the first-half. Besides that, right-back Alessandro was ejected when the match was 1-1, killing the chances of his team. The highlights:

The question that remains is: given that both Flu and Bota fight relegation in the Brazilian league, staying in the Sudamericana is a good or bad deal? It is probably a good thing to focus only in the Brasileiro, but I’m sure the Fluminense fans won’t be sad if their club stays in first division and wins this tournament.

But the real conclusion is: Fluminense is the 19th out of 20 clubs in Brazil right now. And they are in the semis. How low must be the level of Sudamericana?

Related posts:

1. Sudamericana: Bad Start for Brazil in the Quarter-finals
2. Sudamericana: Fluminense One Step Away From the Final!
3. A Day of Fury in Brazilian Football
4. Sudamericana: Fluminense Falls One Goal Short from the Title
5. Copa Sudamericana Starts for Brazil. See Schedule