s there a new age of continuity in
the Libertadores Cup? No one has
retained the title since the start of
the century, but Brazil’s Gremio
and River Plate of Argentina have
reached the semi-finals for the
third consecutive year, while River will now replay
last year’s Final against arch-rivals Boca Juniors –
this time with a place in the Final at stake.
The only newcomers to the last four are 1981
champions Flamengo of Brazil, a giant club that has
been punching below its weight for years but is now
sufficiently organised to
compete for the title.
Even so, in the first
knockout round they
needed a penalty shoot-
out to get past Emelec
of Ecuador – a dramatic
illustration of the fiercely
competitive nature of
the Libertadores.
Even so, there is
no denying the trend.
Since the tournament
was lengthened in 2017- from six months to
a year – Brazilian and
Argentinian teams have
been given more slots
and are exerting near
total domination. For the
second straight year the big two provide all four
of the semi-finalists.
Of the 16 teams that went into the knockout stage,
Brazil had six and Argentina had four. Three other
countries were involved – Paraguay with three teams,
Ecuador with two and Uruguay with one.
Nacional, the Uruguayan representatives, fell to
Internacional of Brazil, whose Porto Alegre rivals
Gremio easily saw off Libertad of Paraguay. Olimpia
of Paraguay lost to Ecuador’s LDU Quito, whose
compatriots Emelec pushed Flamengo all the way
before losing that shoot-out.
The round contained a single success for the lesser
nations against the big two. Backed by fanatical
support and striving to win the competition at their
40th attempt, Paraguay’s Cerro Porteno came from
behind to eliminate Argentina’s San Lorenzo.
Argentina, meanwhile, had the better of the three
clashes against Brazilian opposition. True, Palmeiras
beat Godoy Cruz 6-2, but they were pushed harder
than they might have expected. Boca Juniors had
been thrashed by Athletico Paranaense in the
group phase, but when they met again Boca won
comfortably, having picked up momentum throughout
the knockout phase. And reigning champions River
Plate overcame Cruzeiro – though it took a tense
shoot-out after two goalless draws.
And so the quarter-finals threw up one all-Braziliancoach. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores
twice as LA Galaxy draw 3-3 with
Los Angeles FC.
Monday August 26
AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Saudi
Arabia’s Al Nassr come from behind
to beat Al Sadd of Qatar 2-1 in
their home leg of the quarter-finals.
FRANCE: Jim Ratcliffe, Britain’s
third richest man, buys Ligue 1
club Nice.
ITALY: Romelu Lukaku scores on
his Serie A debut as Internazionale
beat 10-man Lecce 4-0.
NEW ZEALAND: Having coached
Eastern Suburbs to their maiden
league title, Danny Hay is put in
charge of the national side.
Tuesday August 27
AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: The
first-ever all-Saudi quarter-final
in the tournament’s history ends
goalless as Al Ittihad and Al Hilal
play out a 0-0 draw. Hulk scores
two penalties as Shanghai SIPG
are held to a 2-2 draw by Urawa
Red Diamonds.
ENGLAND: Founded in 1885 and
twice FA Cup winners, League One
side Bury are expelled from the
Football League.
MEXICO: Veracruz set an unwanted
world record as they lose 5-0 to
Queretaro in the Apertura to extend
their winless run to 33 games.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Red
Star, Olympiakos and Dinamo
Zagreb qualify for the group stage.
USA: Atlanta United win the Open
Cup, beating Minnesota United 2-1.
Wednesday August 28
AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:
Two-time winners Guangzhou
Evergrande are held to a 0-0 draw
at home by reigning champions
Kashima Antlers.
FRANCE: The derby between Nice
and Marseille, which OM eventually
win 2-1, is suspended for 10
minutes following homophobic
chants from a section of the crowd.
MOROCCO: Seven spectators
watching an amateur game in Tizert
are killed when a flash flood sweeps
across the pitch in the southern
Moroccan village.
PARAGUAY: Former CONMEBOL
president Nicolas Leoz, who had
been under house arrest fighting
extradition to the USA over alleged
bribery and money laundering, dies
at the age of 90.
Thursday August 29
ITALY: Manchester United striker
Alexis Sanchez joins Internazionale
on loan for the season.
Familiar
feel to the
final four
River and Boca prepare
to meet again
Success...Boca celebrate
Emanuel Reynoso’s goal
against LDU QuitoI
Libertadores Cup
TIM VICKERY