Copa Sudamericana 2013 [R]

and all argentino on the other side if Velez beat Ponte Preta. Im rooting for a River-Nacional final or River-Sao Paolo. tres grandes de verdad.

 

São Paulo.

I remember the 2008 Libertadores, when my team and yours met. It was 1-1 in Colombia and a 1-0 in Brazil. What stands out from the Colombia match was one Atl. Nacional player who got fouled by a SPFC player, the SPFC player apologized, and the local player displayed a lot of grace and sportsmanship.

I hope for two clean, competitive matches.

 

We must win at home and draw you there. Not good for us not to have home field advantage, but as defending champions, we were automatically given the 16th berth.

 

There may also be an all-Brazilian semifinal if both SPFC and Ponte Preta advance.

A São Paulo vs. River Plate would indeed be big. 10 years ago, River Plate eliminated São Paulo on PKs after a generalized fight. In 2005, São Paulo defeated River Plate both in Brazil and in Argentina (River Plate had home field) en route to the Libertadores title. And, the stadiums are actually similar - São Paulo players of the past have stated that Monumental de Núñez feels like Morumbi.

But, we'll have to wait and see.

 

Ive always noticed the similarities and assumed it wasnt a coincidence. Im mostly concerned with Lanus though because if River wins they're in the Libertadores, the rest Ill worry about after. But it would be intense, that 2005 Sao Paulo team was an all timer, and River was very good that year, better in 04 though.

 

Morumbi is a rich neighborhood in the city of São Paulo, just like the area where River's venue is located. And whenever Brazil plays in São Paulo, it tends to be at Morumbi, which is larger, just as Argentina plays at River's stadium. Now that Arena Corinthians (Itaquerão) is nearly complete for the World Cup, Brazil may now play more of its São Paulo matches there, but I'm not sure how that is supposed to play out.

I know nothing about this Lanús squad, but by virtue of team name and tradition, I'd say River should be favored to advance. I do want Ponte Preta to get past Vélez Sarsfield, but I'd definitely enjoy a River-Vélez semifinal. It'd be more of a slugfest than São Paulo-Ponte Preta, because there's really no rivalry between them (Ponte Preta is from the city of Campinas), and because Ponte is very close to relegation this year. São Paulo was in danger of going to the second division, but has since reached the 10th spot (and with a few more wins and favorable results from other fixtures, could fight for a Libertadores spot).

 

Theyre a pretty solid squad, they have alot of Boca castoffs and both Barros Schelottos (hdp) running the show. It will be intense because just a few weeks ago they played a very intense game with alot of tension and borderline fighting, that ended up decided I wouldnt say controversially but it certainly left Lanus very angry, again hdp. With both teams actually almost assured Libertadores spots, since Newells likely will repeat as champs they will be fighting to guarantee a spot. River is the better team and have actually been playing well, yet not getting results. Its been an odd tournament for us, with our transfers arriving late and alot of funky officiating that has led to River having between 5-10 points less in the standings depending on who you ask.

 

Interesting, thanks for the information.

With São Paulo playing well again, my hopes are for a victory against Internacional this Sunday in the Brazilian south. Internacional was eliminated from the Copa do Brasil 2 days ago, and they are a direct rival in the top half of the league rankings. A good performance, coupled w/ a victory, would boost morale even further as we then host Atlético Nacional next week.

 

Though I share your sentiments, that is a tall order.

 

Your team definitely showed heart. It's going to be even more difficult at your stadium than it was at Universidad Catolica last week. And I agree, Jadson's goal was a beauty.

 

I’m not familiar with either your team or Universidade Católica’s overall quality to make a comparison as to which is the better team. I respect both simply because in CONMEBOL Copa tournaments, there is no easy away game. Based on what I saw yesterday, at least the second half, I expect my team to have a tough match in your country.

Regarding the defensive errors, I was surprised as well. Muricy Ramalho is known for building defensively solid teams, and the mistakes we made (Rodrigo Caio and Antônio Carlos) were atypical. Ceni himself is partly responsible for your team’s first goal as his clearance was poor and Caio was taken by surprise.

In Medellin, your team will have to attack, and a victory is surely attainable. However, we have the advantage of the draw, and our team has shown it can be deadly on the counterattack. Given we scored 4 goals in Chile, and given we’ve won 5 straight matches (Campeonato Brasileiro and Copa Sul-Americana), it’s quite likely we will score next week. And to answer your lineup question, I’m pretty sure Ganso will be back – he has been on his best spell since he joined my team and has displayed what is without question his best form since his finest days with Santos, and despite our first half domination last night, the team felt Ganso’s absence.

In any case, I look forward to the return match. Atlético Nacional is a worthy opponent – if SPFC advances, it will have done so by eliminating a former Libertadores champion.

 

¿Qué le pasó a River?

Lanús gana comodamente 2-0 al medio tiempo, en el Monumental.

 

se llama ramon diaz, lo que le pasa a river

 

A tough match in Colombia. Atl. Nacional went down fighting, and they were definitely a tougher opponent than Universidad Católica. The locals never gave up.

SPFC with some defensive lapses, but we held our own. The team has buried any danger of relegation in Brazil and is now in the semifinals. Ganso will be back in the semifinals and that will definitely help us, but the fact we did not lose without him is encouraging.

If Ponte Preta wins tomorrow, it's an all-Brazilian semifinal. If Ponte is eliminated, we have an all-Argentine matchup (Lanús vs Vélez Sarsfield).

Speaking of Lanús, they defeated River Plate 1-3 at River's stadium.