Yeah, my point about not wanting Boca to go to La Paz is that it's a difficult place to play and it takes a lot out of the team in terms of wear and tear, due to the high altitude. Ideally I'd like Boca to play Lanus or Velez. Not because they are easy teams, but because the less travel there is the better shape they'll be in for the latter stages.
I'd say that if La Paz weren't that high up, visiting clubs and NTs would win far more often than they do. I wonder if any of the Brazilian teams will face each other in the round of 16. I would hope that happened from the quarterfinals onwards. Vasco and Fluminense wouldn't have to travel far to face each other, and neither would Santos vs. Corinthians. Even visiting Argentina takes a lot less time than visiting Colombia or Bolivia.
Ante la eliminacion del Junior ahora en Copa estoy con Bolivar. Juega bien donde sea, no solo a 3600 metros sobre el nivel del mar como todo equipo boliviano.
I gotta say. Bolivar also plays better away from la Paz. The advantage is there but it also affects us.Union knew how to play in La Paz and came out with the win.
Playing a bit with numbers, let's say: Santos wins 2-0 over Strongest Inter wins 0-2 over Aurich Group 1: Santos 13/+7, Inter 11/+7 Group 2: Lanus 10/+5, Emelec 9/-1 Group 3: Union 10/+3, Bolivar 10/+2 Boca 2-0 Zamora Arsenal 1-1 Flu Group 4: Boca 13/+6, Flu 12/+2 Group 5: Libertad 13/+4, Vasco 13/+4 Corinthians 2-0 Tachira Cruz Azul 2-0 Nacional (P) Group 6: Corinthians 14/+7, Cruz Azul 11/+6 Group 7: Velez 12/+4, Quito 10/+7 La U 2-1 Atletico Group 8: La U 13/+5, Atletico 11/+8 1. Corinthians vs. Emelec 2. Santos vs. Bolivar 3. Boca vs. Quito 4. La U vs. Cruz Azul 5. Libertad vs. Inter 6. Velez vs. Atletico 7. Lanus vs. Flu 8. Union vs. Vasco
Punching in my predictions from my predictions from El Mas Sabio onto a simulator, added to yesterday's results, the round of 16 would be: 1. Fluminense vs. 16. Emelec 2. Corinthians vs. 15. Bolivar 3. Santos vs. 14. Esportivo Quito 4. U. de Chile vs. 13. Cruz Azul 5. Liberdade vs. 12. Internacional 6. Velez vs. 11. Nacional Medellin 7. Lanus vs. 10. Vasco 8. Uniao Espanhola vs. 9. Boca Jrs
Even if we lose, I am happy to know Bolivar is the only team to have broken the bad streak of getting to the next round.
6a fecha, 2a fase (anoche): Deportivo Quito(ECU)-Guadalajara "mixto"(MÉJ) 5:0 Matías Alustiza, Matías Alustiza, Fidel Martínez, Matías Alustiza y Matías Alustiza. Vélez Sarsfield "mixto"(ARG)-Defensor Sporting(URU) 1:3 Nicolás Olivera(DS), Diego Rodríguez(DS), Matías Britos(DS) y Federico Insúa(VS,penal). Tabla final grupo 7: 1. Vélez Sarsfield(ARG) 12 (CLASIFICADO) 2. Dep.Quito(ECU) 10 (CLASIFICADO) ___________ 3. Defensor Sporting(URU) 9 (ELIMINADO) 4. Guadalajara(MÉJ) 4 (ELIMINADO) Bolívar(BOL)-Universidad Católica(CHI) 3:0 Pablo Frontini, Walter Flores y Damián Lizio. Junior "mixto"(COL)-Unión Española "mixta"(CHI) 2:1 Emanuel Vecchio(UE,t.libre), Sherman Cárdenas(J,penal) y Luis Páez(J,penal). Tabla final grupo 3: 1. U.Española(CHI) 10 +3 (CLASIFICADA) 2. Bolívar(BOL) 10 +2 (CLASIFICADO) ____________ 3. Junior(COL) 7 (ELIMINADO) 4. Univ.Católica(CHI) 6 (ELIMINADA) Ya hay 14 clubes clasificados: Vasco da Gama, Fluminense y Corinthians(BRA) Vélez Sarsfield, Lanús y Boca Juniors(ARG) Universidad de Chile y Unión Española(CHI) Deportivo Quito y Emelec(ECU) Libertad(PAR) Atlético Nacional(COL) Bolívar(BOL) Cruz Azul(MÉJ) 8vos de final (hasta ahora): Libertad 13 vs Cruz Azul 8 +4 Vélez Sarsfield 12 +4 vs Internacional 8 +5 Fluminense 12 +2 vs Emelec 9 Atlético Nacional 11 +9 vs Bolívar 10 +2 Corinthians 11 +5 vs Boca Juniors 10 +4 7g Lanús 10 +5 11g vs Universidad de Chile 10 +4 9g Santos 10 +5 10g vs Dep.Quito 10 +7 Unión Española 10 +3 vs Vasco da Gama 13
Esta semana va a ser más difícil acertar en "El más sabio", debido a que algunos DTs (como los de Guadalajara, Vélez Sarsfield, Junior y Unión Española anoche) están poniendo a muchos suplentes en sus equipos, considerando que ya están clasificados o ya están eliminados.
thanks! streak is finally over! apart from getting acclimated by either arriving a week in advance or just a few hours before the match, not much more. having a good tactical plan and how to conserve energy is key. Santos played well in La Paz
Boca 2 Zamora 0 Arsenal 1 Fluminense 2 Boca was holding on to first place as Arsenal was holding Flu to a tie, and even stopped a penalty near the end of regulation. But a goal in extra time put Flu in first place.
With one day to go, so far the pairings for R16, assuming both Brazilian teams win tomorrow and U de Chile beats Atletico at home: ^1. Flu 15/+3 2. Corinthians 14/+11 *3. Santos 13/+6 (or more) *4. U de Chile 13/+5 (or more) 5. Libertad 13/+4 6. Velez 12/+4 7. Lanus 10/+5 8. Union Espanola 10/+3 --- ^9. Boca 13/+6 ^10. Vasco 13/+4 *11. Atletico 11/+8 (o menos) *12. Cruz Azul 11/+7 *13. Inter 11/+6 (o mas) 14. Deportivo 10/+7 15. Bolivar 10/+2 ^16. Emelec 9/-1 * = very speculative. ^ = known for sure. So the most likely octavos so far: Union vs. Boca Lanus vs. Vasco Flu vs. Emelec Flu & Boca are in the same QF bracket, for sure. Teams "Representing" (sacando la cara): ---------------------------------------- Atletico for Colombia Libertad for Paraguay Cruz Azul for Mexico Bolivar for Bolivia Succesful Copa for: Ecuador, with 2 clubs in octavos. Big Fail for: Uruguay, all three teams dead in groups. Expected failure: Peru, their liga is in shambles. Surprising failure: Venezuela, they did good in Copa America with many locals. Expected success: Chile, with two, although most expected Catolica to be there instead of UE. The big guns: Argentina with 3 out of 5 didn't do so badly; Brazil with 5 out of 6 is doing well --although Strongest may attempt a miracle. Weird Groups: ---------------- Group 2: Most people expected Flamengo & Olimpia to make it. Lanus and Emelec made it instead. Group 3: Catolica and Junior were favorites to make it. Lanus and UE made it instead. Weakest League: Venezuela, with a combined 4/-11. Strongest League: Brazil, with (likely) the Top 3 teams after the group phase.
If it breaks like that, we could very easily have four Brazilian semifinalists. But I think Boca will beat Fluminense again. My pick for the semifinalists -given those brackets- would be Boca vs Inter and Santos vs Corinthians. Final Boca vs Corinthians. And Corinthians looks poised to win the title, but given their curse...