DERBY DAYS:SOCCER COPA LIBERTADORES FINAL (second leg, first leg 0-0)
IN THIS year’s Uefa Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United, those who saw action on the pitch included seven players from Spain, four from England, two from France, Brazil and Argentina respectively, plus one each from Mali, South Korea, Portugal, Bulgaria, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Ireland, Holland, Serbia and Wales.
It was, truly, an international event.
Not so tonight.
This is an Argentina versus Brazil final. Nothing extra is needed to stir the soul.
And just as importantly, if Estudiantes de La Plata of Buenos Aires manage to upset the home side, it will complete one of the greatest father-son sporting combinations since War Admiral followed Man o’ War.
The format of the Copa Libertadores is similar to its European equivalent, the main difference being the final of the Uefa Champions League is played at a pre-determined, once-off location, while the two best clubs in South America meet in a two-legged, home and away final.
However, with last week’s first leg finishing scoreless in the search for the top club in South America – and the away-goals rule not in force – tonight’s clash in southeast Brazil is also a winner- takes-all encounter, albeit in the home of the Brazilian giants.
And in contrast to the European final, all those who played in Cruzeiro jerseys in the first leg were Brazilians – including man-of-the-match goalkeeper Fábio, who stopped several shots to hand tonight’s home side a huge advantage.
But, as ever, South American clubs continue to struggle to hold on to their finest, with the lure of increased money and profile pulling the best across the Atlantic from even a club such as Cruzeiro Esporte Clube. Tonight will be Ramires’ last game for the club, as the talented midfielder is set to pull on a Benfica jersey from tomorrow after a €7.5 million deal.
And the only non-Argentine player to walk on to the pitch for Estudiantes during the first leg was Juan Salgueiro, the Uruguayan striker coming off the bench for the final 10 minutes of the game.
Captain of the Argentine club is one Juan Sebastián Verón, the former Manchester United and Chelsea midfielder.
His father, Juan Ramón Verón, was one of Estudiantes’ greatest, and is remember especially for his two goals against Palmeiras of Brazil in the 1968 Libertadores Cup final. That same year Verón Snr scored a famous headed goal at Old Trafford in Estudiantes’ Intercontinental Cup victory against Manchester United (www.youtube.com/watch?v=
yjBs6glgrDk includes an interview with George Best in which he explains how he had enough of being kicked throughout the game and ended up being sent off).
That famous club side went on to compete in the following three finals of the Copa Libertadores, winning the first two. But since they lost to Nacional of Uruguay in 1971 they have never returned to the climax of the South American club season – until this month.
Before that famous side of the late 1960s, Estudiantes – as many other clubs did – lived under the shadow of the Big Four in Argentina, with no national, never mind international, titles to their name.
They would, however, soon become a household name, even though they would be best remembered in Europe for the 1969 Intercontinental Cup, second-leg tie – one of the most violent games ever played, and one that resulted in several players being arrested (worth watching a few minutes of it at www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbtlOpa2ACQ).
Decades later, when Juan Sebastián Verón returned to La Plata, he would find a club side similarly struggling to compete at the highest level.
Known locally as La Brujita (Little Witch) in a nod to his father, La Bruja (The Witch), Verón is already halfway up the path to legendary status at the Argentine club.
In 1993, the 18-year-old began his professional career at Estudiantes, helping them return from relegation to the Argentine top-flight in 1995, before embarking on a career that involved several clubs in Italy and England.
In fact, Verón is the only current member of either Estudiantes or Cruzeiro to have met the other side before this season. In 1994, he scored the only goal in Estudiantes’ 1-0 victory in the Supercopa Sudamericana quarter-final at La Plata, though it was followed by a 3-0 defeat in Belo Horizonte.
He returned to Estudiantes de La Plata three years ago to captain the club to their first title in 23 years in the Apertura 2006 tournament.
And now, he is 90 minutes away from again emulating his father.
That’s not the only link to the past. The mind games and tough tackling remain features of the clashes between Argentine and Brazilian clubs.
In fact, days before the first leg, Cruzeiro – who last appeared in the South American club final in 1997, when they beat Peru’s Sporting Cristal for their second title – were still trying to have the match postponed, citing fears about the seriousness of the swine flu epidemic in Argentina.
The finalists have already met in the 2009 competition, with both occupying Group Five in the Copa Libertadores group leg. Both games were explosive goal-fests. In the first meeting, last February in Belo Horizonte, the home side scored three second-half goals – through a Fernandinho penalty and two from Kléber, who was then sent off, with seven others receiving yellow cards.
In the return leg, two months later, two goals in the first half through Verón and Gastón Fernández were followed by two more from Sánchez Prette after the break as Estudiantes gained revenge and blitzed the visitors, 4-0.
Six more yellow cards were issued, and seven more were issued in the first leg of the final, making 20 yellow cards and one red in their three meetings so far this year.
There is simply no holding back in a Brazil versus Argentina soccer game – especially one that decides the top club side in South America.
Cruzeiro
v
Estudiantes
Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto (Mineirão), Belo Horizonte
Tonight, kick-off – 1.50am (Irish)
Live on Setanta Sports 1
