Copa Libertadores 2015

[Libertadores FC]

Its Libertadores night and there's no thread yet.

Alianza go to Huracan after being humiliated at home. Losing 4-0 at home. Hope Huracan beat them again, which they probably will.

Morelia go to Bolivia to take on the Strongest after their disappointing 1-1 result at home. The Strongest will take advantage of the altitude and win.

Corinthians go to Colombia to play Once Caldas after they won 4-0 in the first leg. Caldas will probably win this leg, but no way they'll score 4. Corinthians to go through.

Deportivo Tachira won at home to Cerro from Paraguay. They now travel to Paraguay where I'm expecting Cerro take care of the tie there. Hoping its Tachira though.

Palestino travel to Uruguay after winning 1-0 in Chile. Can't see anything but a Nacional win here.

Independiente Del Valle travel to Argentina to take on Estudiantes after winning 1-0 in the first leg. Hopefully they go through. They got unlucky to get knocked out last year in the groups.

Libertadores is my favourite cup in all of football, so I'll be in this thread plenty.

Here are the groups.

Group 1

Atletico Mineiro
Santa Fe
Colo Colo
Atlas

Group 2

San Lorenzo
Sao Paulo
Danubio
Corinthians/Once Caldas

Group 3

Cruzeiro
Mineros
Universitario Sucre
Alianza/Huracan

Group 4

Emelec
Internacional
Universidad de Chile
Morelia/The Strongest

Group 5

Zamora
Boca Juniors
Montevideo Wanderers
Palestino/Nacional

Group 6

Riverplate
Juan Aurich
San Jose
UANL Tigres

Group 7

Atletico Nacional
Barcelona
Libertad
Independiente Del Valle/Estudiantes

Group 8

Sporting Cristal
Racing
Guarani
Tachira/Cerro

Group 1 is the group of death. I don't know too much about Atlas, but Mineiro won the cup 2 years ago, Colo Colo has reinforced extremely well, and Santa Fe is never easy to play against because they are quite good and play in the altitude of Bogota.

If Corinthians go through, which I'm sure they will, we will see 2 clubs from Sao Paulo play a match in this version of Copa Libertadores which is awesome. San Lorenzo are the current champions. Don't know much about Danubio. Another tough group.

Group 3 will be a walk in the park for Cruzeiro. I can see Mineros going through also. The Venezuelans tend to be very, very competitive in these competitions.

Group 4 is an interesting one. If The Strongest goes through, then there will be altitude in this group (Morelia might be altitude not really sure) I don't know very much about any team in this group, based on Sudamericana performances I say Emelec tops the group. Can't really answer second.

Group 5 is a good one. Nacional pissed the opening stage of the season, so they'll go through and Boca should top the group. Zamora are no pushovers however. They'll fight for progression to the next round definitely.

Group 6 will be dominated by Riverplate. Riverplate is one of the best teams in the world and is easily better than any team in South America. Especially better than anyone here. Don't know if Juan Aurich will be able to progress here. I'll go with River first, Aurich second.

Group 7 is an interesting one. Atletico Nacional should top the group, however second will be a battle between the other 3. Whether Estudiantes or Del Valle go through, they'll be fighting for second I reckon. I think Libertad will do it as the Paraguayans have proven to be very, very good.

Group 8 should be a tight battle. Cristal have the best team in Peru, I don't think they'll top the group but I actually think they could give Racing a good battle. Guarani may not be a Paraguayan powerhouse, but neither was Nacional and they made the final last year. I can't say who goes through here until after the match between Tachira and Cerro tonight.

 

[Megaclyde]

Aurich won't do anything i don't think,
Perus best chance is with Cristal
I'd like to see the Colombian teams go far, give the Bra/Arg teams a run for their money

 

[Libertadores FC]

Aurich won't do anything i don't think,
Perus best chance is with Cristal
I'd like to see the Colombian teams go far, give the Bra/Arg teams a run for their money

I agree that their best chance is Cristal, but playing in Chiclayo is never easy and I don't rate San Jose and Tigres very much. I can see them scraping it personally.

 

[Libertadores FC]

Didn't watch any of the football tonight, but I'm delighted The Strongest knocked out Morelia. This is South America's cup. The fact the Mexican league treats this as their Europa League is baffling and I truly hope one of them gets battered this time.

Alianza from what I heard improved a little and I guess that was reflected by the away resul.

 

[Saddlerrad]

Another round of fixtures this evening, what you thinking Libertadores?

 

[Libertadores FC]

I'll probably only be able to watch the late fixture tonight. Atlas - Santa Fe. I know fuck all about the Mexican sides other than they are overrated as shit. Santa Fe to win comfortably for me.

As for the other matches, I can see passionate Tachira beating Racing. Predicting a shock. Emelec was good in Sudamericana last year, so I can see them drawing against U. De Chile in Chile tonight. Zamora to beat Wanderers, and due to the altitude, The Strongest will beat Internacional Porto Alegre.

Looking forward to this. Sudamericana was fun, but it doesn't have the magic that Libertadores has!

 

[Megaclyde]

Sporting Cristal play today or tomorrow, or yesterday, i saw it advertised somewhere lol
Also aren't U de Chile pretty decent?

 

[Libertadores FC]

Tomorrow I'm pretty sure.

Yeah they're decent but I rate Emelec a little more.

 

[Libertadores FC]

Atlas lost to Santa Fe 1-0 last night in Mexico. A bit shocking for me, not because I rate Atlas, but because I watched the first half and Atlas was in complete control. Glad Santa Fe won.

Zamora was 2-1 up until Wanderers turned the game around and won 3-2.

Completely wrong with my prediction and Racing won against Tachira 5-0 in Venezuela. Wouldn't be shocking if it wasn't for the thrashing. Certainly didn't expect that.

Knew Emelec would get something out of the U. De Chile match. Not the draw I was expecting, but they're a good team as they proved yesterday, and I can see them getting out of their group.

Lastly, as I said The Strongest won in the altitude against Internacional 3-1. No surprise there.

Tonight, Cristal goes to Paraguay to take on Guarani. Unpredictable match. 1-0 for Guarani, the Paraguayans are stronger than the Peruvians with home advantage.

Palestino I can see losing to Boca tonight. 2-0 to Boca.

Corinthians vs Sao Paulo, the Sao Paulo derby. I honestly don't know very much about Brazilian football. I'll go for a 2-0 Corinthians win.

Colo-Colo vs Atletico Mineiro is an interesting one. Its at the same time as Corinthians vs Sao Paulo so I'll have to pick my battles here. I haven't decided which to watch. Colo-Colo have reinforced themselves well, but results haven't been entirely convincing. Mineiro have lost Tardelli, so I will say a narrow 1-0 win for Colo-Colo due to home advantage.

 

[Saddlerrad]

Not sure how Emelec escaped from Chile with all 3 last night. Chile were in control and always the most likely side to score, I can't remember who it was but a Chile midfielder missed literally an open goal in stoppage time after a pull back from the winger. Tachira didn't play badly by the looks of things. Colo Colo vs Mineiro could be a good game, fully expect goals there.

 

[Megaclyde]

Just saw Alianza against Union Comercial in some Peruvian cup whilst getting my bike fixed.
Absolutely aweful, conference standard at best.

 

[Libertadores FC]

Just finished watching the Sao Paulo derby. Sao Paulo absolutely awful. They played a possession game with absolutely no effort in the final third. They can't play like this the whole group otherwise they'll place bottom.

Corinthians are impressive on the other hand and are definite contenders.

If anyone wants to see a great team goal, watch Corinthians' first goal against Sao Paulo. Absolute class. Best goals I've seen in months.

 

[Saddlerrad]

Just saw Alianza against Union Comercial in some Peruvian cup whilst getting my bike fixed.
Absolutely aweful, conference standard at best.

Yep, the smaller south american countries tend to be fairly awful. Bolivian football is hilarious. It's just a game of ping pong, but the finishing tends to be so poor that both sides miss about 3-4 sitters a game. The top tiers in some of the bigger countries are much better. Mexican football is very fluid, all on the floor but has more pace to it than La Liga for example. Chile is very open football, very attacking, but they lack quality in the final third or else you would end up with some basketball scores. I always find Argentinian football to be very slow, very tactical, very negative - lots of 1-0's. Brazilian football is a tough one as there's so much of it. There are a few good sides in Brazil, but lots of over-rated teams with nancy players and woeful defences. If you ever see a Brazilian team you fancy a bet on or are really short odds and you want to whack them in your accumulator - DONT.

There are a few teams you can guarantee will win most weeks in a lot of countries.

Colo Colo (Chile)
Sao Paolo (Brazil)
Corinthians (Brazil)
Cruziero (Brazil)
River Plate (Argentina)
Alajuelense (Costa Rica)
Deportivo Saprissa (Costa Rica)
Cerro Porteno (Paraguay)
Guarani Asuncion (Paraguay)
Emelec (Ecuador)
Univesidad De Chile (Chile)
Independiente Medellin (Colombia)
Atletico Nacional (Colombia)
Atletico Bucaramanga (Venezuela)
Sporting Cristal (Peru)
The Strongest (Bolivia)
Bolivar (Bolivia)

You won't go far wrong if you keep an eye on these sides games each week.

 

[Saddlerrad]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=883950811750452

 

[Saddlerrad]

Check out Zamora's second goal at Montevideo from Tuesday too!

 

[Libertadores FC]

Yep, no disagreeing with Clyde here. The bigger teams in Peru tend to show level, but for the most part its a laughable standard. Saddlerlad isn't lying at all when he says there are about 3-4 sitters per game, because there literally are. Finishing in Peru is woeful. Cristal have got that cleared up for sure with their new signing Picante Pereyra. Universitario will continue to have problems. German Alemanno is the worst striker I've ever seen.

 

[Megaclyde]

Something I notice in Peruvian football, including the national team, is an expectancy to be awarded freekicks all the time.
They go down assuming its a foul and when nothings given they waste their time bitching whilst the other team gets on with the game.
This might be the same elsewhere but I don't see the other SA leagues much.

 

[Libertadores FC]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=883950811750452

My computer just picked this up. That's the goal I was referring. I was yelling GOAL when I saw that because it was a great goal. One of the best I've seen in a while and it proves that team goals are amazing also. Usually just the long range goals or volleys that get attention these days.

 

[lordofthepies]

Yep, the smaller south american countries tend to be fairly awful. Bolivian football is hilarious. It's just a game of ping pong, but the finishing tends to be so poor that both sides miss about 3-4 sitters a game.

I went to a Bolivian game a few months ago (Universitario de Sucre v Oriente Petrolero) and it was one of the best games I've ever seen. The pitch was awful and the quality was not great but it was better than I'd expected. The home side won 4-3 with a last minute winner and there was 3 penalties, a red card and a punch up. The away team were 3-1 down and equalised in the 88th minute before Universitario went up the other end and won it with the last kick. The only disappointment was that there were only about 3-4,000 people in a 32,000 capacity stadium.

With the possible exception of Huracan, I think the Argentinean teams look really strong this year; Boca should keep getting better all the time, River are very good and it sounds like Racing were superb last week. San Lorenzo are clearly good, but have such a difficult group.

 

[lordofthepies]

Pretty abysmal result for Atletico Mineiro; they lost at home to Atlas. Haven't seen that much of Racing's Gustavo Bou, but the kid is on ridiculous form - 2 hat-tricks in 2 Libertadores matches.

 

[Libertadores FC]

Pretty abysmal result for Atletico Mineiro; they lost at home to Atlas. Haven't seen that much of Racing's Gustavo Boy, but the kid is on ridiculous form - 2 hat-tricks in 2 Libertadores matches.

Definitely going out in the group stages. I can't see them winning in Colombia and they've lost Tardelli. Jo hasn't played well since the Libertadores win in 2013, and they've gone to shit after selling Bernard.

 

[mistermagic]

For the first time of my life, I'm gonna take interest in South American football (well except for the Copa America but that's like the coolest continental cup competition in the world innit).
Boca are playing Wanderers tonight. Both teams won their first games so will be interesting to see if Boca can step it up.

 

[Saddlerrad]

Boca should win that with a couple of goals to spare to be honest. Santa Fe vs Colo Colo is trickier than odds suggest. Colo Colo are legitimately good and if Santa Fe underestimate them, they could be in trouble. Be surprised if there isnt goals in that game.

3-1 or 2-2 perhaps.

 

[Libertadores FC]

I agree, although Santa Fe have a slight advantage due to them playing in altitude. Its not as bad as Bolivia though, and one thing I've noticed the Chileans don't struggle too much in altitude. At least the national team doesn't. May be because of Sanchez and Vargas playing for Cobreloa at the beginning of their careers.

Boca are going to absolutely walk their group.

 

[Megaclyde]

I agree, although Santa Fe have a slight advantage due to them playing in altitude. Its not as bad as Bolivia though, and one thing I've noticed the Chileans don't struggle too much in altitude. At least the national team doesn't. May be because of Sanchez and Vargas playing for Cobreloa at the beginning of their careers.

Boca are going to absolutely walk their group.

Yeah, remember when they beat Peru in the altitude of Lima...
Sorry, i got nothing meaningful to say about the Libertadores

 

[Libertadores FC]

Yeah, remember when they beat Peru in the altitude of Lima...
Sorry, i got nothing meaningful to say about the Libertadores

Hahahaha

We actually beat them in Lima last time

 

[Libertadores FC]

Pretty good game going between Boca and Wanderers. I've noticed a lot of Boca's players are trying to shoot from far and just end up embarrassing themselves. Apart from that I've been quite impressed with Boca. Imagine if Osvaldo score that volley earlier on.

 

[Libertadores FC]

Colo-Colo vs Atlas should be a good one tonight. Haven't seen Colo-Colo at all this season but they have reinforced well with Beausejour and Suazo. Villar being Paraguay's goalkeeper, a great squad. They win today, I can't see them not going through. San Lorenzo vs Corinthians is the game of the night. I can see Corinthians winning it. They've not looked like losing for a second in this tournament (haven't seen the second leg vs Once Caldas). Shame the Porto Alegre - Emelec match is at the same time. That's also a good one. I can see a draw there.

 

[Libertadores FC]

Atmosphere at La Bombonera is magical as usual.

 

[Megaclyde]

Aurich V Riverplate on atm,
Commentators bitching about the artificial pitch