Copa Libertadores 2007 Thread ***Potential Spoilers***

[cartbran]

Now that the draw is complete, it is probably a good time to start a thread on this subject. The draw is below, with the elimination playoffs first followed by group stages. Should be an exciting tournament.

GRUPO 1
Libertad (PAR)
CA Banfield (ARG)
El Nacional (ECU)
America (MEX)

GRUPO 2
Audax Italiano (CHI)
São Paulo FC (BRA)
Alianza Lima (PER)
Necaxa (MEX)

GRUPO 3
Cerro Porteño (PAR)
Grêmio (BRA)
Cúcuta Deportivo
Deportes Tolima

GRUPO 4
Nacional (URU)
Internacional (BRA)
Emelec (ECU)
Vélez Sarsfield (ARG)

GRUPO 5
Real Potosí (BOL)
Flamengo (BRA)
UA Maracaibo (VEN)
Paraná Clube (BRA)

GRUPO 6
Colo Colo (CHI)
River Plate (ARG)
Caracas FC (VEN)
Liga (LDU) de Quito (ECU)

GRUPO 7
Bolívar (BOL)
Boca Juniors (ARG)
Cienciano
Toluca (MEX)

GRUPO 8
Defensor Sp. (URU)
Gimnasia LP (ARG)
Deportivo Pasto (COL)
Santos FC (BRA)

[Johng]

haha finally Flamengo is back in the Libertadores! pretty weak signings for reinforcement though...only notable one is Juninho Paulista

[cartbran]

Well, we are now 1/3 through the group stages and I am surprised that the Ecuadorians are doing so poorly. El Nacional and Emelec have only combined for 1 point and both are likely heading out of the tournament barring a miracle.

All the Mexican and Brazilian clubs seem to be doing quite well so far however. Except notably for Internacional, despite being in third in their group are still only a point off the pace.

Argentina are holding their own as well. But don't seem to be dominating as much as in past years.

We may see a winner from Mexico for the first time ever?

[PHiN]

Inter should be more careful now. They lost to Velez 3-0 in Argentina, and not only it was a terrible result, but they played pretty poorly too. The group goes
Velez - 3G - 7P
Nacional - 2G - 4P
Inter - 3G - 3P
Emelec - 2G - 0P

Nacional plays Emelec at home next round, and have a good chance of winning. Inter may find themselves 4 points behind, with 3 games to go. Sure, they'll now play Velez and Nacional at home, but still, no easy task.

[River]

We may see a winner from Mexico for the first time ever?

I don't think so..

America lost 4-1 at home to Libertad.. :eek: Not only that, but they haven't impressed me the times I watched them (only vs. Banfield: 4-0).

Then there's Toluca.. Yes, they beat Boca, but they played without three of their most important players (Riquelme, Palacio, Palermo). What makes me doubt their real chances the most is the 2-1 loss at home vs. Bolivar. Mexican fans are also saying they aren't a serious candidate: they barely won their first game (out of nine matches) in the Mexican league last week. :eek:

The last Mexican team is Necaxa. They seem to be the most solid of the three so far, but they are yet to face a big club. If I'm not mistakened, they will face Sao Paulo this week.. That is when we'll see if they are serious contenders or not. Just like Toluca, they are doing poorly in their league (2 wins in 10 matches played).

They might not be easy to get through, but I don't see any of these teams being as strong as certain Mexican clubs in previous editions. I highly doubt they'll take it all.

[River]

America lost 4-1 at home to Libertad.. :eek: Not only that, but they haven't impressed me the times I watched them (only vs. Banfield: 4-0)

Well now they lost to Banfield (in Argentina) by 3-1.. It should have been 3-0, since their goal was on offsides after a terrible mistake by Luchetti, but whatever. My point is, if they can't beat Banfield, then they definitely cannot lift the trophy.

The last Mexican team is Necaxa. They seem to be the most solid of the three so far, but they are yet to face a big club. If I'm not mistakened, they will face Sao Paulo this week.. That is when we'll see if they are serious contenders or not. Just like Toluca, they are doing poorly in their league (2 wins in 10 matches played).

Well there you have it: they had to face a big team, and they did.. They faced Sao Paulo last night.. and they won! :eek: This proves that they are the most solid Mexican team this year.. Not to mention that the second goal was fantastic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeJZrVIRFc8).. Good team, but good enough to win the tournament? We'll see.

[PHiN]

Sao Paulo had their first loss in nearly 30 games. Rogerio Ceni was devastated after missing that PK, but that happens.
I was cheering for Necaxa, anyway :D

Internacional got lucky, as Emelec beat Nacional, 1-0. I thought the game would be in Uruguay, but it was in Ecuador. So, they still have pretty good chances of advancing.

Santos keeps up playing great, they now beat Gimnasia on the road, 2-1. Sure, Gimnasia is far from a great team, but it's always tough to play in Argentina.
It's nice to see Zé Roberto doing so well, it's good to have brazilian players still at their prime, away from Europe. It's a shame his contract will end during the year and he'll most likely return to an euro club, but I hope he can stay.

[Mengão86]

haha finally Flamengo is back in the Libertadores! pretty weak signings for reinforcement though...only notable one is Juninho Paulista

Did you expect us to sign a bunch of craques? I think we made some solid, smart signings. We have first place in our group and hopefully we can get a good final position among all 1st placed teams.

[PHiN]

Current champions Internacional are officially eliminated from Libertadores. They beat Nacional 1-0 at home yesterday, but it wasn't enough. They needed either 3 goals, or hope that Velez wouldn't win their game. Their coach, Abel Braga, was booed during the game, and considering their poor performance on the state championship, wouldn't be surprised if he got sacked.

Brazilian teams Paraná, Flamengo and Santos guaranteed their presence in the next round. Santos won all their 6 games, the best performance on the group stage, so they secured home-field advantage throughout the whole competition.

[PHiN]

Ok now, the group stage is over, and the round of 16 matchups are decided:

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g206/phin01/kibertadores.jpg

(Sorry about the bold only on the brazilian clubs and Cúcuta (??), I leeched it off some sports website and only changed the headers :p )

Any predictions?
I think that if Santos manages to keep Zé Roberto on the lineup for the whole competition, they're gonna be a very difficult team to beat.
I'm glad to see Boca in. River is already out, and the Libertadores wouldn't be the same without both of them.

São Paulo is not looking as dominant as they were for the last 2 years, I think they're gonna find Grêmio to be a very tough opponent.

I say the next round is...
Santos, Colo-Colo, Toluca, Necaxa, Flamengo, Grêmio, Paraná, Boca.

[Terruble]

My picks Santos,America,Toluca,Necaxa,Flamengo,Sao Paolo,Libertad,Velez Arsefield.

[PHiN]

Wow, bad round for visitors yesterday. The only one that even scored was Santos.

Results:
Caracas 2 x 2 Santos
America 3 x 0 Colo Colo
São Paulo 1 x 0 Grêmio
Defensor 3 x 0 Flamengo
Boca 3 x 0 Velez

My predictions for Colo Colo and Flamengo are in danger now, I guess :p

edit-
Games tonight:

Paraná x Libertad
Nacional x Necaxa
Cucuta x Toluca


Second leg of the round-of-16 is already next week

[cartbran]

I can't believe no Ecuadorian teams made it through. :(

[jehuty]

I'm feeling it! Santos 3x0 Caracas tonight.

Santos FC, Campeão da Copa Toyota Libertadores da América 2007!

Take note!

[PHiN]

I wouldn't mind seeing Santos win it :P
I'm just glad São Paulo got knocked out yesterday. Go Grêmio! :D :D :D

Muricy is an arrogant jerk, he deserved it.

[jehuty]

WOW! That was too close! Santos won. 3x2. Caracas scored 2 goals and my heart just stoped! But Santos really started the match and make it.

Zé Roberto is doing an amazing season here. Just sad he will go back to Europe after the contract ends.

[Nelly]

Santos have a tough game against the Mexican's next.

I think Boca have a great chance again the way the draw has worked out.

[Terruble]

I think club america of mexico is taking it this year their playing good football both in the mexican championship and libertadores.

[deviant]

no one cares? Gremio vs Boca in the final

[cartbran]

no one cares? Gremio vs Boca in the final
Everyone cares. Should be an interesting midfield battle contrasting between the ageing Riquelme and the young Lucas. La Boca have not been in the final since getting pipped by Once Caldas in 2004. That was a great final, going to penalties. Gremio have never lost a final, winning it both in '83 and '95.

La Boca are clearly not as good as that 2004 team. But a team from Brazil has won it each of the past 2 years. It is a great match up.

[dimz]

Yeah this is a great matchup, a classic Argentina vs. Brazil head to head! Of course i'm fully backing Boca's master Riquelme to take them to glory (again). He scored a fabulous freekick last night to get things rolling. Que Gollasso!! Anyway, when is the final?

[chauchey]

Should be an interesting midfield battle contrasting between the ageing Riquelme and the young Lucas.

the ageing riquelme?! He's in his prime! :eek: lol. ;) 28 years old. :p Seriously, just watched the game, and i thought it was an incredible match(Boca that is), other than the fog which was bad enough at times to make watching the game a tad on the frusterating side. But the stuff you could see was 'pedal to the metal' footy, with some really great plays and some even better saves!