Argentine Soccer Fan BigSoccer Blog

PLAYER OF THE WEEK


Andrés Nicolás D'Alessandro

Once again the Argentine playmaker was a key performer for Inter, as the club from Porto Alegre surprised Chivas by coming out strong and attacking from the opening whistle.

Although Chivas attempted to keep him well marked, D’Alessandro still managed to lead his team with crisp passes that took advantage of the speed of his teammates and of the fast surface. With Andres pulling the strings, Inter...

Guadalajara defeated Universidad de Chile on the road to become the second Mexican team to play in a Copa Libertadores final. Their opponent will be Internacional of Porto Alegre, who managed to hang on to a favorable result while playing the last few minutes with ten men at Sao Paulo.


PLAYER OF THE WEEK


Adolfo “Bofo” Bautista (Guadalajara, Mexico)

The controversial and often erratic veteran was not having a good year. He was maligned and criticized by the Mexican media and fans after...

After taking a break for the World Cup, South America's premier club tournament is back. In semifinal matches, Universidad de Chile earned a very important point on the road against Mexico’s Guadalajara, while Internacional managed a 1-0 win at Porto Alegre against Sao Paulo.


PLAYER OF THE WEEK


Andres D’alessandro (Internacional, Brazil)

The former Argentine international playmaker was dominant in midfield, along with his partner Taison, who also had a strong...

The first leg of the quarterfinals produced some surprising results. Sao Paulo and Universidad de Chile got valuable road wins, while Guadalajara triumphed surprisingly easily at home and Internacional barely got past defending champion Estudiantes.



PLAYER OF THE WEEK


Omar Bravo (Guadalajara, Mexico)

It was deja vu all over again at Guadalajara as Omar Bravo repeated his two goal performance against Velez by also scoring twice against Libertad, to lead the Chivas to a surprisingly...

This week had everything we've come to expect from La Copa Libertadores. Drama, passion, excitement, amazing goals, brilliant saves, last minute resolutions, controversial decisions, fights, riot police, elation, despair. And now we are down to the last eight teams.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK


Roberto Gamarra (Libertad, Paraguay)

Under a pouring rain in Asuncion, Libertad was one minute away from being eliminated by Colombia’s Once Caldas, when Roberto Gamarra received the ball several meters...

Going into the second leg, there are five teams that look to have a clear edge. Estudiantes and Universidad de Chile got valuable road wins, while Guadalajara, Banfield and Cruzeiro were able to win at home by more than a goal.


PLAYER OF THE WEEK


Thiago Ribeiro (Cruzeiro, Brazil)

The former Sao Paulo striker scored three goals in the first half, as Cruzeiro jumped to a commanding 3-0 lead and won 3-1 at home...

The group stage is over, and now the real tournament begins. Scroll down to the bottom to see the round of sixteen matchups, and my picks.


PLAYER OF THE WEEK


Ruben Ramirez (Banfield, Argentina)

Striker Ruben Ramirez -signed this season to replace clutch goalscorer Santiago Silva- proved to be exactly what Banfield needed, as he scored two key goals that helped El Taladro advance to the next round.

Needing a win at home, the Argentine champions...

The group stage is winding down, and we already have nine teams in the second round -listed at the bottom-. In addition to some great football, this week gave us an all-out player brawl in Argentina, a gunfire battle between fans and police in Venezuela, and a stadium power outage in Uruguay. Anything can happen in Copa Libertadores!


PLAYER OF THE WEEK


Hernan Rodrigo Lopez (Velez Sarsfield, Argentina)

The veteran Uruguayan forward had...

PLAYER OF THE WEEK


Ezequiel Miralles (Colo Colo, Chile)

The Argentine striker had a very active game for Colo Colo, scoring two goals –one by executing a spectacular bicycle kick inside the penalty area- and also contributing an assist on a well placed cross that was converted by Cristian Bogado.

Miralles was constantly creating danger and pushing his team forward, helping “El Cacique” beat Deportivo Italia on the road 3-2. He also missed a penalty,...

PLAYER OF THE WEEK



Thiago Ribeiro (Cruzeiro, Brazil)

Thiago Ribeiro played a brilliant match against Velez Sarsfield at Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

He broke the match wide open by scoring an amazing first half goal, when he entered the penalty area from the left and eliminated three opponents before taking a low hard shot that beat the goalkeeper. In the second half he added two assists, with two brilliant passes to striker Kleber. He almost scored another...