The Fla of not too long ago would have lost that game last night. Ceni gets a lot of heat, but the two goals by Velez were individual mistakes. We managed to miss some clear cut opportunities, but still come out with 3 points. I was still used to losing a game like that in the Libertadores. Inter started off poorly in the altitude with a loss. Santos was the biggest disappointment. I didn’t catch much of the SPFC game, but I saw they handled business. I’m really curious to see how good they are under Crespo.
Defense is too shaky to be 100% at this point. Need Rodrigo Caio back healthy ASAP and a new addition at CB would be nice. Arao has been decent at CB, but prefer him providing the backline protection instead.
Things slowed down a bit after the 25th min. Maybe the D&J helped things out. They were getting slaughtered out there.
Looks like 4 out of 6 Brazilian teams through now. Flu has a 2 x 0 lead too. 6 out of 8 in QF would be insane. We also getting revenge on the Argies for CA final.
The individualism of some players is really stressing to watch. Messing up easy plays. Good thing so far that Sao Paulo has been pretty poor. And as I write this Pablo skies and incredible chance to level the game up.
Your team is in the semifinals for the second straight year and it has a good chance to reach the final. Good luck. As always, with SPFC out of the way, I support Brazilian teams in the Libertadores (and it's easier if a certain team with a black and white kit from the city of São Paulo isn't participating...)
You guys had knocked us out on 3 other Libertadores occasions, I actually thought it was gonna happen again. I think the favorites to get to the final are Atletico and Flamengo (assuming Atletico get past River, Flamengo are a shoe in [ jinx ] ). Maybe they can get Wright to ref that game @Mengão86 I think we will have a tough time against Atletico.
Crespo's arrival was one of the best things to happen to São Paulo in quite some time. The São Paulo State Championship is not the biggest deal but a title is a title and my team needed one. Now that São Paulo is no longer in the Libertadores, I hope Crespo does a good job at the Copa do Brasil. It's the one tournament São Paulo has yet to win. It's going to be a challenge even if my team gets to the semifinals, because either Fluminense or... .Atlético Mineiro! will be waiting. Speaking of Atlético Mineiro, there was a lot of controversy with that team's elimination of Boca Juniors in the round of 16. The Argentines claimed there was a lot of refereeing errors which cost Boca a berth in the quarterfinals. Boca was so revoltado that some of their people literally sent a message to River Plate - their archrival - "cuidado com o Atlético Mineiro." Atlético Mineiro won the first leg in Buenos Aires (with a goal from a former River player who was then red-carded), but River has shown it can be dangerous on Brazilian soil. Another team from Belo Horizonte knows that all too well. Tonight, we'll see which team your team will be preparing for.
I give the edge to Palmeiras. Atléticos back line hasn’t really been tested and that’s their weakness. I think Palmeiras and Abel can put in a good game plan defensively to shut Atlético down and get a goal or two themselves.
O Atlético Mineiro deu uma surra no River Plate e olha que dava pra fazer ainda mais gols. Not sure if Fluminense has what it takes to eliminate Barcelona tonight. The Ecuadorian team built a decent result in Rio and Flu has to win or tie by 3 goals or more. Only a 2-2 draw takes it to PKs. Three Brazilians in the Libertadores final four is to my knowledge unprecedented. If Fluminense does it tonight, it's Copa do Brasil. It's going to be a hell of a semifinal series regardless of who the match-up is for Flamengo. Atlético Mineiro vs. Palmeiras is going to be one for the ages - the #1 and #2 ranked teams in the group stage.