Favourites wobble in Copa
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - The Copa Libertadores group stage reached its halfway point last week and already some of the biggest names in the tournament are in danger of crashing out.
With all bar two of the tournament's 32 teams having played half their group games former champions Santos, Nacional and Boca Juniors, as well as holders Once Caldas, are all struggling to keep up with the pace. The top two in each of the eight groups go through to the knockout phase and all four former champions are currently out of the qualifying places.
Perhaps the most disappointing performance has come from Pele's former club Santos. Although they have what is arguably the most talented squad in Brazil and have won the Brazilian league twice in the last three years, the departure of manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo to Real Madrid in December threw the side into confusion.
Luxemburgo's successor at the Vila Belmiro was Oswaldo de Oliveira, the man who took Corinthians to the first world club championship in 2000. But Oliveira could not inspire his young side to the same highs as Luxemburgo and he was fired in March after just 16 games in charge.
One of the reasons for his early departure was his poor showing in the Libertadores. Under his stewardship Santos lost two of their three games, both away and both by a single goal (3-4 to Bolivar in La Paz, and 1-2 at Liga Deportiva Universitaria in Quito). Both games were played at altitude and Oliveira clearly struggled to prepare his side for the rarified atmosphere.
'It's very hard performing here,' he said after going down in Quito. '(LDU) have a good team and they have the altitude factor on their side. Last year we came here twice and lost both times.'
Santos also struggled against LDU at home last year, needing a late Robinho goal to give them a 1-0 win, and they will need another three points at the Vila Belmiro if they are to turn things around in this year's competition. Santos are currently in third place in Group 2, three points behind joint leaders LDU and Danubio of Uruguay.
Although the Quito side is one of the lesser known teams in the tournament, their strong showing is not so surprising when compared to that of the other five sides who reached the group stage by winning a home-and-away qualifier.
Five of the six qualifiers are in the top half of their groups and three (America de Cali in Group 1, Palmeiras in Group 4 and Chivas Guadalajara in Group 7) are out in front. Only one qualifier, Argentine side Quilmes, is struggling.
Quilmes are playing in the competition for only the second time and their struggle is no great surprise. Neither is it a shock to see their compatriots River Plate, the Argentine side with most appearances in the tournament (25 appearances in 35 years with two victories in 1986 and 1996), streaking ahead in Group 5 as one of only two side with a 100 percent record so far (America de Cali in Group 1 is the other). What is surprising is the fate of Boca Juniors.
| “ | The departure of manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo to Real Madrid in December Santos into confusion. ” | |
However, the celebrations off the field were not accompanied by the same joy on it as Boca went down to 2-0 to Velez Sarsfield, their third defeat in just seven league matches.
The situation at the club has gradually worsened since Carlos Bianchi resigned as manager last summer, with several top players following him out the door. Although the biggest blow was losing Carlos Tevez to Corinthians for a South American record fee of £12m, Boca's troubles have come at the back, where they have failed to find a settled and effective defensive unit. They have given away too many soft goals and with a third of the Argentine league season already gone, they lie in 11th spot and the Libertadores may be their only hope for silverware.
One of the teams making life difficult for Boca is provincial Mexican side Pachuca. Pachuca's 2-0 defeat of Boca in a bad-tempered match in Mexico helped take them to the top of Group 8 alongside Peru's Sporting Cristal and cement Mexico's growing reputation as one of Latin America's strongest footballing nations.
Mexicans teams were only included in the tournament for the first time in 1998 and even then they had to play a qualifier against Venezuelan clubs. However, the Mexicans have shown they are worth their place in what was until then solely a South American competition and have grown in stature over the years. A Mexican club has reached the semi-final stage in three of the last five tournaments, with Cruz Azul narrowly losing out to Boca on penalties in the 2001 final.
Like most of the sides leading the way, their future in the competition will be determined by their away form. Two-thirds of all group matches have ended in home wins and the current group leaders will need to perform away from home if they are to preserve their leads and make it into the knock-out phase.
Their opponents, teams like Santos, Nacional, Boca and Once Caldas, will need all their experience to stop them. If not, their past glories will remain just that.
