Copa Libertadores kicks off
Wednesday, 14 February 07, 02:26 PM · Comments(0)
Champions Internacional appear to be the favorite team in this beginning, although some of the traditional powers of the tournament such as Boca, River Plate, São Paulo, Santos and Grêmio are ready to fight back for continent hegemony.
Internacional lost some of the key players from last year’s title, like Rafael Sobis, Inga, Jorge Wagner and Bolivar. They also lost Fabiano Eller, the best player in Internacional defense during the Fifa Club WC. The player joined Atletico Madri during the winter transfers in Europe. But Internacional has a strong group wth players like Fernandão, Yarley, Adriano, Luis Adriano, Christian and bets that 2007 will be actually the first for Alexandre Pato, who still has played only three professional matches but is already considered the most fantastic young player in the country.
Boca Juniors repatriated Juan Roman Riquelme and has a really strong offensive line with Riquelme, Palermo and Palacio. River Plate is trying to regain its good results in the Continent but two consecutive victories against Boca in the summer could bring confident back to the clube.
Among the other Brazilian clubs, São Paulo is the strongest. Although they lost Mineiro for Bundesliga, they brought Jorge Wagner. Santos, coached by Wanderley Luxemburgo, had a great start this year and the team, that tops the Paulista League, is by far in best shape than the others right know. The same to Gremio, two times Libertadores Champions, that played and won it all their seven games this year and nobody could score against them yet.
Flamengo, the most popular team in the country, is back to Libertadores. They signed Juninho Paulista to try to repeat the campaign of the 80s, when they won the title. At last, Parana Clube plays the competition for the first time in its short history. Founded in the 90s, the club tries to get into second round of the competition.
Besides Velez Sarsfiled, Banfield and Ginminasia de La Plata, other teams to watch are America, Necaxa and Toluca, from Mexico, Colo Colo from Chile, Cerro Porteno from Paraguay and Tolima from Colombia and maybe Nacional, from Uruguay. And, of course, upcoming surpises are always welcome.
Click here for Copa Libertadores draws and results
Internacional lost some of the key players from last year’s title, like Rafael Sobis, Inga, Jorge Wagner and Bolivar. They also lost Fabiano Eller, the best player in Internacional defense during the Fifa Club WC. The player joined Atletico Madri during the winter transfers in Europe. But Internacional has a strong group wth players like Fernandão, Yarley, Adriano, Luis Adriano, Christian and bets that 2007 will be actually the first for Alexandre Pato, who still has played only three professional matches but is already considered the most fantastic young player in the country.
Boca Juniors repatriated Juan Roman Riquelme and has a really strong offensive line with Riquelme, Palermo and Palacio. River Plate is trying to regain its good results in the Continent but two consecutive victories against Boca in the summer could bring confident back to the clube.
Among the other Brazilian clubs, São Paulo is the strongest. Although they lost Mineiro for Bundesliga, they brought Jorge Wagner. Santos, coached by Wanderley Luxemburgo, had a great start this year and the team, that tops the Paulista League, is by far in best shape than the others right know. The same to Gremio, two times Libertadores Champions, that played and won it all their seven games this year and nobody could score against them yet.
Flamengo, the most popular team in the country, is back to Libertadores. They signed Juninho Paulista to try to repeat the campaign of the 80s, when they won the title. At last, Parana Clube plays the competition for the first time in its short history. Founded in the 90s, the club tries to get into second round of the competition.
Besides Velez Sarsfiled, Banfield and Ginminasia de La Plata, other teams to watch are America, Necaxa and Toluca, from Mexico, Colo Colo from Chile, Cerro Porteno from Paraguay and Tolima from Colombia and maybe Nacional, from Uruguay. And, of course, upcoming surpises are always welcome.
Click here for Copa Libertadores draws and results
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mautex
São Paulo, BR
Mauricio Teixeira, editor do OleOle no Brasil, fala sobre os bastidores do futebol brasileiro e mundial. Vídeos, games, opinião, links bacanas e mais
