World Soccer - UK (2022-05)

River Plate boss...

Marcelo Gallardo

WORLD SERVICE

attack. This will be tested early. Boca are

in the same group as Brazilian giants

Corinthians, whose experienced squad

may regard the Libertadores as more

accessible than the marathon of the

domestic league.

There is one more Brazilian

representative, cup specialists and

reigning Sudamericana champions

Athletico Paranaense. Their group is made

intriguing by the presence of Bolivian

altitude specialists The Strongest. If the

Bolivians pick up maximum home points,

there could be only one slot available for

Athletico or Libertad of Paraguay.

With their consistent ability to punch

above their weight, the Paraguayans can

never be discounted – and there will be

great excitement in Asuncion at the two

group meetings of the old rivals Olimpia

and Cerro Porteno.

Penarol of Uruguay looked to have

groomed a highly promising side last year,

but player sales have predictably ravaged

their ranks – a process accelerated by

the rise of Major League Soccer,which

plucked awaythe jewelinthe crown,

playmaker Facundo Torres.

The country that best seems to have

dealt with this new reality is, surprisingly,

Ecuador, where domestic champions

Independiente del Valle have been in the

forefront of splendid youth development.

Their style might be too expansive for the

Libertadores – this was

certainly a problem last

year – but they are always

interesting to watch. And

Emelec of Guayaquil will

back their chances of

reaching the knockout rounds.

The biggest disappointment in recent

times has been Colombia. Atletico

Nacional won the title in 2016, the last

year the Libertadores was crammed into

the first half of the year. Subsequently

only one Colombian side has made it out

of the group phase – and with two teams

falling in the qualifying rounds, there are

Favourites...
Flamengo’s Willian
Arao and Palmeiras’
Deyverson clash
in the 2021 Copa
Libertadores final

Boca’s key man...

Sebastian Villa

to introduce a new style with a back three.

The task of Atletico Mineiro – with

new coach Antonio Mohamed finding his

feet – looks tougher. Their group leaves

much less margin for error – especially

because there is the drama of two local

derbies against America, who fought

their way through two penalty shootouts

in the qualifying rounds in their first-ever

Libertadores campaign.

There are two more Brazilian

debutants, reflecting the emergence

of new forces, and they are thrown

into the deep end of the battles with

Argentina that may well define this year’s

competition. Red Bull Bragantino are in

with three former champions, two of

them from Argentina. The young Velez

Sarsfield side have made an inconsistent

start to the year, but have talent, while

Estudiantes have shown themselves to

be rugged and resilient by fighting their

way through the qualifying rounds.

Fortaleza, meanwhile, have three

glamorous opponents for their first

Libertadores adventure – topped, of

course, by River Plate, who have invested

heavily to retain coach Marcelo Gallardo.

After that 2018 triumph, River have

fallen to heavyweight Brazilian opposition

at an earlier stage every year. Perhaps

the key question in this year’s competition

is how to defend against the array of

attacking talent that the big Brazilian

clubs can now unleash against them.

River’sanswerwillbetotrytotakethe

initiative, and impose their expansive

attacking game on their opponents.

BocaJuniors, buoyed by their league

win at rivals River in mid-March, have

a different method: aggressive defence,

combined with the thrust of Colombian

winger Sebastian Villa on the counter

GROUP A

Palmeiras

Emelec

Deportivo Tachira

Independiente Petrolero

GROUP B

Athletico Paranaense

Libertad

Caracas

The Strongest

GROUP C

Nacional

Velez Sarsfield

Red Bull Bragantino

Estudiantes

GROUP D

Atletico Mineiro

Independiente del Valle

Tolima

America Mineiro

GROUP E

BocaJuniors

Corinthians

Deportivo Cali

Always Ready

GROUP F

River Plate

Colo Colo

Alianza Lima

Fortaleza

GROUP G

Penarol

Cerro Porteno

Colon

Olimpia

GROUP H

Flamengo

Universidad Catolica

Sporting Cristal

Talleres

THE DRAW

only two representatives left. Tolima have

been the best Colombian team of late,

but both they and Deportivo Cali have

been drawn in tricky groups.

Maybe they will come good this

year. Or perhaps the likes of Nacional

of Uruguay, or Colon or Talleres of

Argentina can spring a shock. The

Libertadores can be unpredictable. No

doubt, though, that the big Brazilians are

the favourites, with River Plate and Boca

Juniors leading the chasing pack.

Last year Palmeiras, Flamengo and Atletico

Mineiro played a total of 38 Libertadores

matches, and only lost two