Copa Libertadores 2018

Century's Best · May 23, 2018

@Sandinista, I liked what I saw yesterday. While I'm glad Cruzeiro won thanks to its initial blitz, Racing made it a pretty competitive contest. Your team has very good, crisp passing (mind you, while I'm a Brazilian, I also acknowledge that solid ballhandling is a hallmark of Argentine football) and Racing definitely kept it close. Too bad for your team that Lautaro Martinez will not return as he's off to Europe.

I looked at the brackets today, and with Racing as a 2nd place finisher, there's a very high chance your team will face a Brazilian side in the round of 16. Palmeiras and Cruzeiro won their groups, and Grêmio, Corinthians, and Santos may win theirs. Your team may also face River Plate - that'd be an interesting match up.

Cruzeiro underperformed early in this Libertadores, but Mano Menezes has made the team work, as they scored 13 goals in their final 3 group stage games. If Cruzeiro can return from the World Cup break in shape, they could make some serious noise.

Sandinista · May 23, 2018

Yeah, both teams played their all and the final standing of the group is good evidence of it...

It could've been a blowout the way the match started but then we evened it out, specially on the 2nd half.

Anyway, I was looking to the other 1st and 2nd in each group and I don't think there's a single easy team at this stage. I don't know if I prefer playing an argentinian, or brazilian, or colombian (which also adds the travel) or whatever...

Lautaro will be a hard loss for us, but we have about 2 months (I think, right?) and will have the money to build around the base of this team. So, we have no excuses.

Suyuntuy · May 24, 2018

The Brazil-Argentina domination this Copa has been almost total. If today Estudiantes beats Nacional by 2 goals or more, there will be five groups with Brazilian and Argentinian teams going through, in that order (except for River over Flamengo in D), and six of each in the R16.

Paraguay the #3 league in South America at this point, with Cerro and Libertad making it. Libertad the only team ending above a team from the Big Two.

If el Bolso makes it this afternoon, then Uruguay will have one team in the round of 16, with Colombia (At. Nacional should win today) and probably Bolivia, because I think Bolivar can beat Delfin.

locoxriver · May 24, 2018

Como la cagaste bolso!

Anyway, now it’s 6/6 Argentinean teams going through.. Paraguay is the only other country who had all their representatives advancing (2/2) from the group stage

Suyuntuy · May 25, 2018

Argentina got 6/6 in the end, and Brazil 6/7.

Total dominance, 12 of the 16 are from the Big Two.

Paraguay gets two, Colombia one, and Colo Colo squeaks by because Atletico Nacional didn't care.

locoxriver · May 25, 2018

If the old format of 1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, etc carried on, these would be the Round of 16 match-ups:

Palmeiras vs. Colo Colo
Gremio vs. Estudiantes
Libertad vs. Boca
River vs. Atletico Tucuman
Cruzeiro vs. Independiente
Corinthians vs. Flamengo
Atletico Nacional vs. Racing
Santos vs. Cerro Porteño

I personally disagree with the new format because it presents the inevitable possibility of arrangements/corruption. But it is what it is... The draw will take place in 11 days on Monday, June 4th..

There are plenty of possibilities for some quite interesting matches, including a superclasico (River-Boca), a re-match of the 2018 Recopa (Independiente-Gremio), and plenty of random --yet promising-- games (Atletico Nacional-Independiente, Corinthians-Boca, etc, etc.)

Quick question for you guys: after this initial draw, the rest of the tournament's structure will be outlined, correct? In other words, we'll know that the winner of Leg 1 will face the winner of Leg 2 and so forth, right? Or is it Champions League-style with an independent drawing for each round of the cup?

Suyuntuy · May 25, 2018

locoxriver said: ↑

Quick question for you guys: after this initial draw, the rest of the tournament's structure will be outlined, correct? In other words, we'll know that the winner of Leg 1 will face the winner of Leg 2 and so forth, right? Or is it Champions League-style with an independent drawing for each round of the cup?
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Yes, see page 29 here:

http://www.conmebol.com/sites/default/files/reglamento-conmebol-libertadores-2018-espanol.pdf

Only one draw after the group stage, team ranked from 1 to 16 based on group stage results.

Group winners in Pool A, seconds in Pool B. The eight winners to the QFs, in pools by rank 1-16 mentioned above: top four play second game as local.

Same idea for semis and the final. No overtime except for the final, goals away count as heavier in case of a tie in goals except for the final.

Century's Best · May 25, 2018

locoxriver said: ↑

If the old format of 1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, etc carried on, these would be the Round of 16 match-ups:

Palmeiras vs. Colo Colo
Gremio vs. Estudiantes
Libertad vs. Boca
River vs. Atletico Tucuman
Cruzeiro vs. Independiente
Corinthians vs. Flamengo
Atletico Nacional vs. Racing
Santos vs. Cerro Porteño

I personally disagree with the new format because it presents the inevitable possibility of arrangements/corruption. But it is what it is... The draw will take place in 11 days on Monday, June 4th.
Click to expand...

Would have been great matches. CONMEBOL just had to go and imitate UEFA.

And from the traditional format, the following could have been quarterfinal confrontations:

Palmeiras vs. Santos
River Plate vs. Cruzeiro or Independiente
Gremio v. Racing or Atl. Nacional
Estudiantes vs. Racing
Boca Juniors vs. Corinthians

The new format will still give us good matchups - but there's the chance that clashes which would have historically been more common in the quarterfinals now happen right away in the round of 16.

And, with 12 of 16 teams being from our two countries, although there's only 1 Brazilian in Pot 2 (Flamengo) and 1 Argentine in Pot 1 (River Plate), it's very likely there will be an all-Brazil and an all-Argentina round of 16 confrontation, and that there will be a few Brazil vs. Argentina matchups.

argentine soccer fan · May 26, 2018

Century's Best said: ↑

Would have been great matches. CONMEBOL just had to go and imitate UEFA.

And from the traditional format, the following could have been quarterfinal confrontations:

Palmeiras vs. Santos
River Plate vs. Cruzeiro or Independiente
Gremio v. Racing or Atl. Nacional
Estudiantes vs. Racing
Boca Juniors vs. Corinthians

The new format will still give us good matchups - but there's the chance that clashes which would have historically been more common in the quarterfinals now happen right away in the round of 16.

And, with 12 of 16 teams being from our two countries, although there's only 1 Brazilian in Pot 2 (Flamengo) and 1 Argentine in Pot 1 (River Plate), it's very likely there will be an all-Brazil and an all-Argentina round of 16 confrontation, and that there will be a few Brazil vs. Argentina matchups.
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I think CONMEBOL made the changes so teams don't play with the score of their last game in order to get the rival they want. This year it won't matter, we have so many strong teams that we will get great matchups no matter what system they use.

Who do you see as the Brazilian favorites? From what I saw, I think Gremio and Palmeiras are the most dangerous. Cruzeiro as well, if they solidify their defense.

It is unfortunate that teams are likely to change significantly during the break. With rich European clubs watching both Libertadores and the World Cup, it's hard to imagine our teams keeping their top players. Looking at the Argentine teams, Racing already lost Lautaro, Boca could lose Pavón, River could lose Armani, Independiente could lose Mesa. All key players.

I'm optimistic with Boca. Their first round was uneven, losing to Palmeiras at home and then needing their help to advance. But even if we were to lose Pavón, we'll get Gago and Benedetto back, and I expect we'll look to improve at goalkeeper and central defender.

Suyuntuy · May 26, 2018

River & Gremio must be faves, with Palmeiras & Libertad as dark horses.

Century's Best · May 29, 2018

Right now, Grêmio and Palmeiras are indeed Brazil's best bets. Grêmio did suffer in recent time with some players on the injured list, but it did win its two final group games to guarantee the group's top spot.

Marcelo Oliveira for example will only return after the World Cup. And Hernane Brocador, who has been in the past a goleador (especially for Flamengo), should get some playing time now that he's healed up. Ditto for Everton, who scored in Grêmio's win at Ceará in the Campeonato Brasileiro.

If Grêmio avoids injuries and its players do what they know how to do, Grêmio has a realistic shot at the title.

I can say the same for Palmeiras. They were the top-performing group stage group and not without reason. I think Palmeiras just has to be careful not to lose its concentration at key moments; if they do this, they'll be a force to be reckoned with.

I haven't followed your country's teams very closely but I did see that your team is the newly crowned league champion. But River Plate does look pretty good. Wonder what the matchups will be like. I know that intra-country elimination matchups in the Libertadores can be extremely difficult - São Paulo vs. Palmeiras, San Lorenzo vs. River Plate... a River-Boca or Racing-Independiente round of 16 matchup would be fun to watch.

argentine soccer fan said: ↑

I think CONMEBOL made the changes so teams don't play with the score of their last game in order to get the rival they want. This year it won't matter, we have so many strong teams that we will get great matchups no matter what system they use.

Who do you see as the Brazilian favorites? From what I saw, I think Gremio and Palmeiras are the most dangerous. Cruzeiro as well, if they solidify their defense.

It is unfortunate that teams are likely to change significantly during the break. With rich European clubs watching both Libertadores and the World Cup, it's hard to imagine our teams keeping their top players. Looking at the Argentine teams, Racing already lost Lautaro, Boca could lose Pavón, River could lose Armani, Independiente could lose Mesa. All key players.

I'm optimistic with Boca. Their first round was uneven, losing to Palmeiras at home and then needing their help to advance. But even if we were to lose Pavón, we'll get Gago and Benedetto back, and I expect we'll look to improve at goalkeeper and central defender.
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locoxriver · Jun 4, 2018

River vs. Racing

Independiente vs. Santos

Gremio vs. Estudiantes de La Plata

Atlético Nacional vs. Atlético Tucumán

Corinthians vs. Colo Colo

Palmeiras vs. Cerro Porteño

Cruzeiro vs. Flamengo

Libertad vs. Boca

locoxriver · Jun 4, 2018

Given the draws, the possibility of two clasicos in quarterfinals exists: the Paulista derby (Palmeiras-Corinthians) and the Avellanada clasico (Racing-Independiente) will occur if each of those teams advances from their respective R16 draw.

Sandinista · Jun 4, 2018

THAT'S A BIG "IF", HUH?

argentine soccer fan · Jun 5, 2018

Sandinista said: ↑

THAT'S A BIG "IF", HUH?
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Yeah, River will be very tough, as long as they have Armani on goal. I'll be supporting Racing, for this one time

All things considered, I am happy with Boca's draw. Libertad deserves lots of respect but as a second place team, we avoided the most dangerous opponents.

It's an interesting draw, with all the Argentine clubs on one side, and Boca - if we survive Libertad - having to most likely go through two top Brazilian clubs in order to reach the final.

Whatever happens, it's going to be a great follow-up to the World Cup.

Sandinista · Jul 6, 2018

Well, enough with this crappy WC already...

Bring back the real cup!

chaski · Aug 17, 2018

Histórica decisión: Final Única de la Libertadores 2019 en Santiago y Final Única de la Sudamericana 2019 en Lima
http://www.conmebol.com/es/historic...-en-santiago-y-final-unica-de-la-sudamericana

Century's Best · Aug 20, 2018

chaski said: ↑

Histórica decisión: Final Única de la Libertadores 2019 en Santiago y Final Única de la Sudamericana 2019 en Lima
http://www.conmebol.com/es/historic...-en-santiago-y-final-unica-de-la-sudamericana
Click to expand...

Not a fan of "Europeizar" everything in CONMEBOL. Granted, there are things that UEFA offers which CONMEBOL would be better off adapting, and the professionalism that UEFA has long had is something that has made CONMEBOL better vs. past decades.

That said, this decision takes away from fans of both finalists the experience of witnessing a Libertadores final being played on their ground, and especially from the fans of the team hosting the return match, the experience of winning it at home.

An international cup win doesn't gain more value nor does it lose any depending on where it's won. But for a team to win it in front of its fans in its own stadium is a triumph to be cherished. I'd much rather have São Paulo win its fourth Libertadores (when it does occur in the future) at Morumbi than at a "neutral" venue. Even if it were won in the opponent's stadium, it's still better than at the stadium of a team which was uninvolved w/ the final.

Sandinista · Aug 20, 2018

Its dumb as ********.

AcesHigh · Aug 29, 2018

Good, now we will have an european style final, with dogs invading the field, cops protecting players with riot shields, some big fight at the end of the match, and better of all, completely EMPTY STANDS.

So European!

pepinointer · Aug 29, 2018

AcesHigh said: ↑

Good, now we will have an european style final, with dogs invading the field, cops protecting players with riot shields, some big fight at the end of the match, and better of all, completely EMPTY STANDS.

So European!
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we are more civilized that europeans....we are able to win in the desk without fighting in a field.

praxis.en · Aug 29, 2018

cuando no les de dinero se van para EEUU. ese es el plan. jugar finales en miami y NYC etc.. bleeee

celito · Aug 29, 2018

AcesHigh said: ↑

Good, now we will have an european style final, with dogs invading the field, cops protecting players with riot shields, some big fight at the end of the match, and better of all, completely EMPTY STANDS.

So European!
Click to expand...

I am curious to see what the attendance will be. I don't think it will be bad. Brazilian fans have no problems going to Japan in decent numbers to see their team in the CWC so going to another country in SA won't be an issue. They easily send 20k+.

The difference will be neutral fans. The CL final can fill the stadiums with plenty of neutrals if needed. Although most tickets go to both teams and sponsors/hospitality I think. I don't think neutral fans will want to go watch a final just because it's in their country.

The BS about CONMEBOL is that they want to be "professional" like UEFA, but can't even keep up a site up to date with status of suspended players.

celito · Aug 29, 2018

Corinthians x Colo-Colo was a pretty good game. Some typical shenanigans throughout the game but good overall.

River may only play Argentinean teams all the way to the final. ... although I think Gremio will meet them in the SF if they make it.

AcesHigh · Aug 30, 2018

why was the River player red carded yesterday? Because he made a hand gesture "that is over" to Racing bench?

Come on... Racing players started punching and kicking him for a small gesture. He never fought back.

A yellow was well deserved for the River payer. And a red for Centurion and maybe even another Racing player.