SA Blog Number 20: Copa Libertadores - The Story So Far
April 28th 2009
With the group stage over, another 18 teams have been shorn from the Copa Libertadores while 14 sides move forward into the lottery of the knockout round. They join Mexican duo San Luis and CD Guadalajara, who were forced to withdraw from last year´s edition in the wake of the swine flu epidemic and consequently received a bye into the last 16 this year, in the second phase of the competition.
The knock-on effect of San Luis and Chivas being able to bypass the group stage entirely was that the worst two group runners-up would not qualify. While it was unorthodox, it promised a thrilling first phase of the tournament where every result and every goal mattered. For instance, Deportivo Quito could have eliminated Flamengo on the final day if they had garnered a point from their game with Internacional, while they could also have finished as low as third if Cerro had beaten Emelec, a result that would have put the Uruguayans through in second.
Differing Fortunes
There is no doubt about who the primary focus has been on so far though. Corinthians have targeted success in this year´s Copa Libertadores for some time, strengthening their squad with the likes of Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos in order to enable them to win the tournament for the first time. More important than the fact that it would be their maiden title is that it would occur in their centenary year. With this hope and desire has come pressure, but while Timao have certainly shown signs of succumbing to the burden of expectation, their performances have left a lot to be desired so far, though they still finished with more points than any of the other group winners. In fact, the only points Corinthians dropped came in a 1-1 draw at Independiente Medellin, and they finished with double the points tally of the group runners-up, Racing Club de Montevideo. Keep an eye on Dentinho in the coming matches; the prodigious striker scored twice in the group stage, including a stunning late equaliser against Independiente, and he could be as important to Timao’s chances of success as Ronaldo.
The Sao Paulo-based outfit will come up against Flamengo in the next round in what will be a hotly anticipated and keenly contested match between the two most popular teams in Brazil. Mengao can consider themselves a little fortunate to be in the last 16, however. Their position was not guaranteed until the final ball had been kicked on Matchday 6 of the group stage, as a victory for Racing Club, Deportivo Quito or Cerro would have eliminated them regardless of their final match against Caracas. Flamengo eventually overcame the Venezuelans after going 1-0 down after 14 minutes and being pegged back to 2-2 in the second half, and Andrade will certainly need to see improvement from his team. Adriano has been suffering from injury problems and only appeared in three of Mengao’s group matches, and the importance of the Emperor to his team was all too apparent during his absences when the inept Vagner Love completely failed to act as a driving force in attack.
Title Challengers
Though Corinthians and Flamengo can be considered two of the favourites for the tournament, at least on paper, there are several other sides from South America’s big two leagues that can also stake a claim. Reigning champions Estudiantes were shocked by Alianza Lima as they were beaten 4-1, but they recovered to finish above the Peruvians and secure a berth in the last 16. Equally impressive was the performance of Sao Paulo, strengthened by the recruitment of Cicinho and Cleber Santana in January and still in possession of star midfielder Hernanes. Although they slipped to an away defeat to Once Caldas on Matchday 2, they still topped their group following three excellent home performances. The Brazilian giants picked up nine points without conceding a goal on home territory, and a continuation of this form will see them go far.
Internacional excited few neutrals with their performances in the group stage and were close to elimination on the final day, but comprehensively beat Deportivo Quito to leapfrog the Ecuadorians into first place in Group 5. Banfield, Inter’s opponents in the last 16, were markedly more entertaining in Group 6, with the young James Rodriguez particularly impressing for the Argentines. The attacking midfielder is certainly one to watch in the knockout phase. Meanwhile in Group 7, Velez Sarsfield and Cruzeiro safely negotiated their way past Colo-Colo and Deportivo Italia without many problems.
Completing The Line-Up
Arguably the most unheralded team to qualify for the last 16 this year is Alianza Lima, who acquitted themselves admirably against Estudiantes in Group 3. The Peruvians demolished the Argentines 4-1 in Lima as they picked up nine points from their first three games, and it was then a formality to secure the requisite points to take them through in second place. They are joined in the knockout round by their Peruvian compatriots Universitario, who qualified from Group 4 in second place. Universidad de Chile also impressed in the group stage as they stayed unbeaten in a tough Group 8, finishing two points ahead of Flamengo and negotiating their way past Caracas and domestic rivals Universidad Catolica.
Uruguayan side Nacional topped their group as well, giving weight to the belief that they can reach the latter stages of this year’s competition. The much-fancied side from Montevideo have been solid at the back as they kept four clean sheets in the group stage, three of which came away from home. Libertad also put in some fine performances to progress in first place from their group, conceding only three goals in the process, while 2004 winners Once Caldas finished a respectable second behind Sao Paulo in Group 2.
The Fallen
The biggest side to miss out on a place in the next round was Argentine side Lanus, who have struggled on both the domestic and continental fronts after the departures of Jose Sand last summer and Eduardo Salvio in January. Although they thrashed Club Blooming 4-1, they managed a meagre two goals in their other five matches and one need look no further as to the reason why they failed to progress. Meanwhile, Group 5 saw a fascinating tussle for qualification that ended with Deportivo Quito succumbing to a 3-0 defeat on the final day to Internacional that saw them slip into second place and miss out on the next round on goal difference. Uruguayan minnows Cerro could have snatched second place in the group if they had beaten Emelec, but they were held 0-0 at home by the Ecuadorians. Racing Club de Montevideo were the other side that finished second but missed out on a place in the last 16 as they failed to pick up sufficient points on their travels.
Bolivar picked up a win on the final day against Juan Aurich, who put in a promising performance in their first appearance in the Copa Libertadores since 1969. Neither Morelia nor Deportivo Cuenca were able to pose much of a threat in Group 6 and finished some way behind the top two, while Independiente Medellin and Chilean duo Colo-Colo and Universidad Catolica couldn’t make enough of an impression against the top sides in their groups to challenge for a place in the first knockout round. Nacional of Paraguay looked as though they would not pick up a single point until they salvaged some pride with a victory against Monterrey, who were already out of contention for a place in the last 16. Elsewhere, five-time semi-finalists Cerro Porteno struggled to compete in Group 1 as they amassed just two points, while there were similarly awful campaigns from Emelec, Club Blooming, Caracas and Deportivo Italia.
The Road To The Final
With the matter of the group stages over, the last 16 now take the plunge into the knockout rounds. There is no draw for the second phase, with each team seeded depending on their performance in the group stage: the best group winners are seeded 1st, with the worst runners up seeded 16th. Chivas and San Luis would have been seeded 13th and 14th respectively last year, and are consequently given the same seeding this year.
There is no doubt that Corinthians-Flamengo is the tie of the round, but there are also interesting match-ups between 2006 champions Internacional and Banfield, Nacional and last year’s runners-up Cruzeiro, and holders Estudiantes and San Luis.
Round of 16 draw in full:
Corinthians vs Flamengo
Universidad de Chile vs Alianza Lima
Libertad vs Once Caldas
Velez Sarsfield vs Chivas
Estudiantes vs San Luis
Internacional vs Banfield
Nacional vs Cruzeiro
Sao Paulo vs Universitario
Anthony Wright, SouthAmericanFootball.co.uk
Keep up to date with the Copa Libertadores at www.southamericanfootball.co.uk
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TimaoTim<3
:::2010-04-28 19:18:07
Nice read!
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