» Copa Libertadores

Copa Libertadores Schedule 2010

ana — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:43:47 +0000

There are some people asking me about Copa Libertadores’ schedule so I thought I would share the goods (goods which, in fact, many people already know about). Since this is Corinthians’ year to win (after all, it is the club’s 100th year and Timão has never won a Libertadores), it is good that everyone knows where to watch games and the entire schedule ~~so that everyone can see Corinthians win it all~~.

The lovely folks at LiveSoccerTv.com never fail. Just so you know, this is NOT a sponsored post, I just really like what these people do.

Here is the direct LINK to all Copa Libertadores things (fixtures and tv schedules). Neat part is you can also set your time zone so there are no confusions about what time the match you want to watch will be played.

Cheers!

2010 Copa Libertadores Has Its Groups

Bruno Romani — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:12:50 +0000

There’s a lot to be decided in terms of which teams will play the continental competition, but the groups are already known. They are:

Playoffs
Game 1: Deportivo Táchira-VEN x Paraguai 3
Game 2: Peru 3 x Mexico 3
Game 3: Argentina 5 x Chile 3
Game 4: Brazil 5 (4th in the Brasileiro) x Bolivia 3
Game 5: Argentina 6 x Ecuador 3
Game 6: Colombia 3 x Racing-URU

Group 1
Corinthians-BRA
Cerro Porteño-PAR
Colombia 2
Winner Game 6

Group 2
Brazil 4 (3° colocado no Brasileiro)
Paraguay 2
Once Caldas-COL
Mexico 2

Group 3
Estudiantes-ARG
Bolívar-BOL
Peru 2
Winner Game 2

Group 4
Argentina 4
Blooming-BOL
Peru 1
Winner Game 1

Group 5
Brazil 3 (2nd in the Brasileiro)
Cerro-URU
Ecuador 1
Winner Game 5

Grup 6
Argentina 3
Nacional-URU
Ecuador 2
Morelia-MEX

Group 7
Vélez Sarsfield-ARG
Chile 2
Deportivo Italia-VEN
Winner Game 4

Group 8
Brazil 2 (Brasileiro Champion)
Universidad de Chile-CHI
Caracas-VEN
Winner Match 3

The big surprise so far is how Corinthians became the head of the group. This year, Sport, which qualified to the tournament as Copa do Brasil champion just like Corinthians, wasn’t the head of its groups. It must be the Ronaldo effect.

Photo: Estudiantes and Atletico-MG United

Bruno Romani — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:56:52 +0000

Estudiantes arrived in Argentina after title of Copa Libertadores. The detail is that the players had with them a flag of Atletico-MG, the main rival of Cruzeiro.

The Face of Defeat

Bruno Romani — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:54:07 +0000

Thiago Ribeiro from Cruzeiro in the defeat against Estudiantes.

“Mineirazzo”: Estudiantes Lifts Libertadores in Brazil

Bruno Romani — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:34:27 +0000

The 50th edition of Copa Libertadores had its final match tonight at the Mineirao, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. After the nil draw in Argentina, it seemed Cruzeiro, the home team, was ready to lift the third title in the competition, the first since 1997.

However, a “Mineirazzo” took place and one more time Brazilian clubs failed at home. Estudiantes de La Plata won its first title since the 68/69/70 titles.

The match started nervous. Estudiantes liked to keep ball possession, exchanging many passes. Cruzeiro tried to explore the left side of its attacking field through Wagner and Gerson Magrao. In the counter attacks, Estudiantes looked dangerous. But, in the collective imaginary of Cruzeiro fans, the victory was a matter of time. In the group stage, these two clubs played at this same stadium and Cruzeiro crushed the visitors 3-0.

As time passed by, however, reality landed on the stadium. Cruzeiro did not create the chances. And the match looked extremely good for Estudiantes. They wasted time in every possible way and kept the attack of Cruzeiro innocuous. The 3 pillars from the blue team – Wagner, Ramires and Kleberg – had no space.

When the second-half started, destiny seemed to make a turn. Cruzeiro started more aggressive and with 6 minutes midfielder Henrique scored after trying a long range that deflected on Desabato. After the goal, the second goal seemed close. Too early for anything.

Instead of keeping the pace, Cruzeiro relaxed and laid back. Estudiantes relaxed too. It kept playing its game and five minutes later Fernandes tied the game after finishing a play started by Veron. Cruzeiro collapsed. Estudiantes really relaxed. And kept fighting.

Ramires, on his last match before joining Benfica, played his worst match for Cruzeiro. His passes were poorly executed. And he did not attempt any of those runs with the ball in the right side.

Wagner, also very shy in the second half, was replaced by Athirson, who expected to play with Gerson Magrao in the left.

On the 27th mark, the 3 thousand Argentineans at Mineirao got even louder. Boselli, the top scorer of Copa Libertadores, scored his 8th using his head after Veron took the corner. Cruzeiro’s world collapsed – too many historical marks were against the home team. “The Mineirazzo” was taking place.

The last time a Brazilian club lifted Copa Libertadores beating a foreign rival was in 1999. Since then, Brazilian clubs reached the final 8 times – two of them had 2 Brazilian clubs. The other 6, Brazil lost (Palmeiras 00, Sao Caetano 02, Santos 03, Gremio 07, Fluminense 08). All defeats were in Brazil.

Also, in 07 and 08, Gremio and Fluminense eliminated Sao Paulo of the tournament. This year Cruzeiro did the same. What a spell.

Thiago Ribeiro replaced Wellington Paulista. Cruzeiro passively lost at home. The fans started to demand more passion from the team. And Cruzeiro seemed to respond. In the final 5 minutes, Cruzeiro missed 3 chances. The one that probably won’t be forgotten is when Thiago Ribeiro hit the cross bar with powerful long range.

Conducted by Veron, Estudiantes controlled the time. The clock seemed faster as they did not Cruzeiro be faster. And Veron was making history himself by lifting the title of Libertadores for the same club as his father did in the late 60’s. A beautiful family story.

When the match ended, Cruzeiro did not even look sad. They were frustrated. The club did not play well the most important match of the year. But Estudiantes was ready for this title. A club that reaches the finals of Copa Sulamericana and Copa Libertadores in a matter of 6 months is ready for the title.

And, indeed, Brazilian clubs cannot face the ones from Argentina in the final. Argentina, now, reaches 22 titles of Copa Libertadores against 13 of Brazil. The last time a Brazilian club beat an Argentinean one in the final of the continental tournament was in 1992, when Sao Paulo beat Newell’s Old Boys.

Photo: Swine Flu in the Final of Copa Libertadores

Bruno Romani — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:05:43 +0000

Not even the mascot of Estudiantes escaped…

Libertadores: Cruzeiro Silences Argentina

Bruno Romani — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:13:28 +0000

Estudiantes let Cruzeiro enter the pitch alone in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores final. The locals knew that its fans were going to suffocate the Brazilians with a red and white smoke. The chants suffocated any attempts of communication between the players. And Estudiantes started the match suffocating.

But as time passed by, one man took away the breath of the crowd. Goalie Fabio took over the match. A save after the other slowly silenced the stadium. The zero in the first half was a bucket of water on Estudiantes.

When the second-half started, Fabio did another 2 saves. And Estudiantes started to literally lose breath. It was clear that the locals got tired. The match started to look good for Cruzeiro. And Kleber missed an incredible goal. At that point, Estudiantes and its fans were breathless out of desperation as it felt time taking away the chances of pocketing any advantages before the match in Brazil.

When the ref blew the final whistle, Cruzeiro was breathless. The reason? They know the third title of Copa Libertadores is very close.

Libertadores: Cruzeiro in the Final

Bruno Romani — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:40:29 +0000

Cruzeiro reached the final of Copa Libertadores after a 2 goals draw against Gremio. Gremio played at home, but in 4 minutes (between the 34th and the 38th minutes) the visitors scored twice and buried the dreams of the home team.

The final will be against Estudiantes from Argentina on the 8th and the 15th. The final game will be in Brazil.

After the final of Copa do Brasil and semi of the Libertadores, the joke that goes around in Brazil is this:
What do Inter Gremio and Michael Jackson have in common? They all promised a great performance, sold out all tickets and died at home. =P

The negative thing about this game was how Gremio fans reacted to Elicarlos, the player who accused Gremio’s Maxi Lopes of racism. Every time Elicarlos touched the ball, the fans emulated the sounds and gestures of monkeys. Shameful.

Player Detained for Racism in the Copa Libertadores Again

Bruno Romani — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:42:39 +0000

After Cruzeiro’s 3-1 victory over Gremio, Maxi Lopes from Gremio was detained by two police officers. The accusation: racism. Cruzeiro’s Elicarlos accused the Argentinean forward of calling him “macaco” (monkey). The term is usually used in Argentina when trying to offend a Brazilian.

During the match, the two players had an argument. After the match, Elicarlos brought that to the attention of the local police. Two officers went to Gremio’s locker room to get him. However, he was already on the bus with the other players, ready to go back to the hotel.

After a lot of arguing between security and police, Maxi Lopes was taken from the bus and ended up at the nearest police station. There, him and his teammates were put face to face with Elicarlos, who kept the accusation. 20 minutes later, Gremio was allowed to go back to the hotel.

The case is similar to the 2005 arrest of Argentinean Desabato, who spent 36 hours in a Brazilian cell after supposedly saying racist words to Grafite in a Copa Libertadores match. At the time, the Wolfsburg forward played for Sao Paulo. He dropped the case months later.

The moment Maxi Lopes supposedly offended Elicarlos:

The Desabato Case:

Libertadores: Cruzeiro Close to the Final

Bruno Romani — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:09:39 +0000

In the Brazilian clash for the semifinal of Copa Libertadores, Cruzeiro and Gremio had more in common than the blue of both clubs. Both have 2 titles of Copa Libertadores. Both are specialists in competitions with knock-out stages. Both coaches are connected to a title of Copa Libertadores from the other side. And the first-half of this first leg made it clear that this was no small event.

At the same time Cruzeiro threw itself into the attack full of appetite, Gremio started to get the best chances. With 15 minutes, Gremio had missed 3 chances, 2 as part of the poor performance of Alex Mineiro. Cruzeiro had just only one chance, which goalie Marcelo denied Jonathan.

And at the same time Marquinhos Parana was a great option in the left for Cruzeiro,he left too many spaces in the defense. But football has that old saying: that who does not score ends up conceiving. With 37 minutes, Kleber, a player made to play Copa Libertadores, crossed the ball and Wellington Paulista opened the score board. Mineirao exploded in a mix of happiness, relief and excitement. Minutes later, Souza tried to tie through a long range, but Fabio denied the number 8 with a beautiful save.

When the second-half started, Cruzeiro was lucky. Wagner went for a long range, the ball deflected on Souza and visited the net. The 2-0 was hit Gremio harshly. Alex Mineiro and Tcheco were like ghosts. Cruzeiro took total control of the match. The third goal was a matter of time. The way it happened, however, was what annoyed Gremio fans the most. Another ball crossed. Another header. Fabinho, free of any defenders, scored.

With the 3-0, the fans went crazy. The ticket for the final was granted. Gremio seemed dead.

Cruzeiro, however, stopped playing. Instead of scoring more goals and get even more comfortable. Cruzeiro relaxed way too son. With 34 minutes, Gremio had a free-kick. Souza took it and beautifully scored a goal that can make the difference in Porto Alegre. Even though ia hard task, a 2-0 victory for Gremio is not impossible. Specially if the club turns all the chances it creates into goals.

Next week, Cruzeiro plays for a draw or even for a 1-0 loss. If history follows the usual course, Cruzeiro will eliminate Gremio, like it did in the 93 Copa do Brasil and 97 Libertadores. But a lot it is still to happen.