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Libertadores Cup – domain of the Golden Oldies?
What more could Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos have in common with Juan Sebastian Veron later this year apart from being among the greatest players in South American football?
As Rex Gowar and Pedro Fonseca write, it is not new for South Americans to return home after brilliant careers in Europe and gain a new lease of life well into their 30s. Veron, though, touched new heights when he led Estudiantes to victory in the Libertadores Cup — South America’s Champions League — in 2009.
Corinthians, with Ronaldo and now Roberto Carlos on board, are celebrating their centenary this year and they have set themselves the target of winning South American football’s top club prize for the first time.
The other big clubs in the Sao Paulo region, Pele’s Santos in the 1960s, Sao Paulo and Palmeiras in the last two decades, have all won it. So have Cruzeiro from Belo Horizonte, Flamengo and Vasco da Gama from Rio de Janeiro and Gremio and Internacional from the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.
It rankles with Corinthians that the Libertadores Cup has not embellished their trophy cabinet. They have not even reached the final, something a few lesser Brazilian sides like Sao Caetano and Atletico Paranaense have achieved. Ronaldo, 33, has already had a year at Corinthians, having turned his back on Flamengo to join them after recovering from the knee injury that ended his European career at AC Milan.
He spearheaded them to victory in last year’s Paulista state championship and the Copa Brasil, the title that secured their place in this year’s Libertadores.
Corinthians, looking to the pair to emulate their great Real Madrid days together, signed Roberto Carlos from Turkey’s Fenerbahce this month to boost their chances.
Is South America better off without Mexican clubs?
Mexican clubs have stormed out of the South American Libertadores Cup after a row over the H1N1 flu outbreak and the national side will no longer take part at the Copa America.
“The game is over for us,” said Justino Compean, president of the Mexican Football Federation (FMF).
Mexican authorities threw their toys out of the pram after Brazilian champions Sao Paulo and Uruguay’s Nacional declined to travel to the country to face Guadalajara and San Luis respectively in the Libertadores Cup second round.
Yet, the weekend’s league matches in both Guadalajara and San Luis were played behind closed doors under the orders of the FMF itself because both are considered to be in regions where there is thought to be a higher risk of the virus.
Given the circumstances, it seemed premature, to say the least, to claim that either city would make an appropriate venue for an international sporting fixture.
Some commentators, notably David Faitelson writing for the Mexican edition of ESPN’s Web site, have questioned whether any football at all should be played in Mexico in the present circumstances. (more…)
Trust me the argentinian and brasilian leagues are the most competives besides if you knew about football, then you\’d realise mexico isnt even supposed to go in the Libertadores cup. there just invited since the other teams are way to damn pathetic to even pass the first round. also Libertadores isn\’t the most boring tournament in football, way better than the MLS and is equaled only by the Champions league in Europe. The only reason its not well known is that they\’re from south america and whatever is from there or any other country in the world except USA and Europe is considered mediocre.
Why the Champions League is a cushy number
South Americans often claim that the Libertadores Cup is a tougher tournament than its European equivalent, the Champions League, and Argentine champions Boca Juniors are unlikely to disagree after their marathon journey to the Venezuelan Andes for a game this week.
In terms of quality of play, the Champions League obviously wins hands down. But bring in factors such as hostile conditions, heat, altitude and travelling and the Libertadores is a much tougher proposition.
None of the teams involved in last week’s Champions League second round ties face flights of more than a couple of hours to get to their games, with the exception of Panathinaikos who had a slightly loger trip to visit Villarreal in Spain. But even that was a short hop compared to Boca’s epic trip.
After playing Huracan in the Argentine championship on Sunday evening, Boca were up at the crack of dawn to catch a morning flight to Lima, with flying time of around four hours. That was followed by a three-hour flight to Bogota, immigration and a 90-minute domestic connection to the border town of Cucuta where the team will stay for two nights.
On the day of the match, Boca will travel for two hours over mountain roads to San Cristobal to face Venezuelan champions Deportivo Tachira, arriving shortly before kick off.
Then they do it all in reverse before facing Independiente in a derby on Sunday evening.
Mexican teams regularly face 10-hour flights to play in Brazil or Argentina — longer if their destination is anywhere other than Sao Paulo or Buenos Aires or if they start from anywhere other than Mexico City — and Asuncion in Paraguay is notoriously awkward to get to.
from Left field:
Sports picture of the day
We're back with another picture of the day, and this time Sports Pictures Editor Greg Bos has chosen a frame from the Copa Libertadores, South American soccer's version of the Champions League. Greg writes:
I like this picture because of its colour and shape - a simple, but eye-catching, illustration of football fans in Argentina sandwiched between two giant colourful flags.
ORIGINAL CAPTION: Fans of San Lorenzo de Almagro display giant flags as they cheer their team during their Copa Libertadores soccer match against San Luis in Buenos Aires, February 11, 2009. Marcos Brindicci/REUTERS/(ARGENTINA)
Click here for the previous day's picture or for a blast of nostalgia check out a few of the pix of the day from the Beijing Olympics.
http://blogs.reuters.com/china/2008/08/15/beijing-games-picture-of-the-day-11/
http://blogs.reuters.com/china/2008/08/10/beijing-games-picture-of-the-day-6/
lionreport and Ricardo — many apologies. It was an editing error on my part. Marcos Brindicci took the pic and I’ve amended the caption to give him due credit.
Consider my wrists slapped.
