etween them, Brazil
and Argentina provide
almost half the field
in the group phase
of this year’s Copa
Libertadores once
again. Since the competition was
extended to cover the calendar year
in 2017 it has been very hard for the
rest of South America to get a lookCopa
Libertadores
group stage
begins
Brazil’s big three are the teams
to beat in this year’s competitionB
in. And since that controversial River
Plate-BocaJuniors final in 2018, it has
been a tale of Brazilian domination.
Brazil’s big three – Palmeiras, the
winners of the last two Libertadores
titles, 2019 champions Flamengo and
domestic double winners Atletico Mineiro- are clearly the teams to beat. Last year
the three of them played a total of 38
Libertadores matches, and only lost two.
South America
TIM VICKERYOne was a meaningless group game
when Palmeiras fielded a weakened
side, and the other was the final when
Palmeiras edged past Flamengo.
Can they be stopped this year? Still
under Abel Ferreira, Palmeiras would
seem to have been drawn into one of
the easier groups, and the same applies
to Flamengo – good news for their
new coach Paulo Sousa as he triesBrazilian
champions...
Atletico Mineiro