Is that Felipão’s long lost brother from Estudiantes? Those balloons look lovely on him, by the way! At least El Loco over there came prepared to celebrate his team’s 1-0 victory over Nacional in the first leg of their Copa Libertadores semi-final tie last night. Unfortunately, the fans surrounding him weren’t.
Diego Galvan’s header in the 14 minute – courtesy of a cross from Juan Sebastian Veron – was enough to secure his side an early lead. And in case you didn’t know, the Argie Press are still in love with Veron.
“We started slowly but I think this is a good result for us,” said Estudiantes’ Uruguayan goalkeeper, Munoz. “Now we have to fight in the second leg.”
Cruzeiro’s 3-1 win over Gremio on Wednesday was marred by controversial circumstances surrounding Maxi Lopez’s alleged “choice words” at their midfielder Elicarlos.
“Their striker Maxi Lopez called me a macaco (monkey),” Elicarlos declared after the game, adding that the matter would be reported to the police. Lopez was then brought to the police station but authorities admitted that both versions of the story were ‘contradictory’ and that they could only consider Elicarlos’ statements as ‘accusations’.
Daniel Barcellos, who heads the Civil Police of the state of Minas Gerais, said: “(Maxi) argued that a discussion was normal in the stadium and that he did not use derogatory terms. He argued that he was not able to speak Portuguese in this way by ignoring the meaning of the term. “
Whatever the case, it seems to us Maxi Lopez said something to provoke a reaction. In the heat of the game, anything can happen… especially when you’re losing. But racism in futbol is not cool at all!
We hope these Gremio futbolitas aren’t despaired despite their team’s 3-1 loss to Cruzeiro in the Copa Libertadores semi-finals yesterday. There’s always tomorrow and next week… and in Gremio’s case, plenty to drink to!
Wellington, Wagner and Fabinho put Cruzeiro ahead yesterday, despite their opponents having the better chances in the first half.
“It could have been 8-4,” Cruzeiro coach Adilson Batista said. “We gave away a chance that Maxi spoilt, but we also missed some goals. Cruzeiro could have had a fourth goal. We must give credit to the players for their dedication, The Libertadores is not easy.”
Gremio will have to do a lot better to qualify when they play the return leg at the Estadio Olimpico in Porto Alegre next week.
It’s sad day for Boca fans as they were knocked out of the Copa Libertadores in a surprise 1-0 loss to Defensor Sporting from Uruguay on Thursday.
Unfortunately, despite Riquelme’s return to the squad, Defensor’s counterattacks worked extremely well against the home side. De Souza received Pablo Pintos’ cross well and scored with a goal that went in off the underside of the crossbar.
Defensor will face Estudiantes for a place in the semifinals.
Goals from Juan Roman Riquelme, Martin Palermo and Rodrigo Palacio ensured Boca Juniors a neat 3-1 victory over Guarani in the Copa Libertadores last night.
We were speaking to a Boca Futbolita last night who was really excited to see Riquelme put the Maradona/Albicelestes problems behind him. We hope he steers Boca to a nice championship this season – he deserves it!
While the rest of Europe were playing to the tunes of the Champions League last night, South America had the Copa Libertadores.
Brazil’s Cruzeiro (above) earned a 1-1 draw against Ecuadorean champions Deportivo Quito. Cruzeiro had two players sent off during the game.
To add to the controversy, Deportivo’s board of directors recently pulled a “Valencia” and stopped making out paychecks to the team. As a result, they went on strike last week but resumed training on Monday on the condition they would be paid by Friday.
Venezuela’s Caracas FC capped off a dramatic night with a shock 3-1 win over Argentina’s Lanus.
Sao Paulo’s Borges netted in a sensational bicycle kick (above) to earn his side a 1-1 draw against Independiente Medellin on Wednesday.
The Tricolor have been champions of the Libertadores Cup for the past three years but found it difficult to break the deadlock in this opening game, despite dominating the attack.
Medellin’s goalkeeper Aldo Bobadilla was also in inspired form and managed to foil their attempts at goal. Enjoy the bicycle kick below!
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