Copa Libertadores 2009 – Groups D & E Are Complete, So Who Made It Through?

The 2009 Copa Libertadores group phase is now grinding to a close, with teams across South America battling to make it into the top two and qualify for the last sixteen of the continent’s premier club competition. As we mentioned in our review of Matchday 2, the scheduling of fixtures during this stage is far from symmetrical. Consequently, some teams have already finished their six games and discovered their fate, while others have key games remaining.

And so it is that, while six of the eight groups are still one game from completion, Groups D and E are already done and dusted. So before we move onto previewing matchday 6 of the Copa Libertadores, first let’s take a quick look at how Groups D and E panned out.

In Group D, Sao Paulo and Just-Football favourites Defensor Sporting both made it into the last sixteen, at the expense of two Colombian teams – Independiente Medellin and America de Cali.

Sao Paulo are strongly fancied to go all the way this year and, in the end, made light work of Group D. In fact, over six games only Independiente Medellin managed to take any points off them. Sao Paulo lost in Medellin and needed a stoppage time equaliser to snatch a draw at home. Having progressed now to the last 16, Muricy Ramalho’s team are going to take some stopping.

Players of the calibre of Hernanes, Dagoberto and Borges will pose a threat to any team in the knockout rounds, and I expect them to go far, perhaps even all the way. The Paulistas are three time winners of the Copa Libertadores and have also won the Brazilian national championships three years running. That experience of knowing how to win at key moments will hold them in good stead and they are rightly one of the favourites.

Defensor Sporting also sneaked through at the expense of Independiente Medellin, after eliminating the Colombians 4-3 in a thrilling final, decisive group game on matchday 6. Prior to that Defensor had only scored 2 goals in all of their five Libertadores matches, but the Uruguayans found their shooting boots at the vital time and went through as group runners-up with 8 points. Defensor, 2007/2008 domestic champions, currently hold a narrow lead at the top of the Uruguayan Clausura championship, but have been unspectacular in the Libertadores so far this year. More will need to come from the Violets if they are to really make an impact on this tournament.

Meanwhile, in Group E it was Cruzeiro and Estudiantes that made it through, and really there can be no complaints about who qualified. The quality of football played by both sides has been thrilling to watch at times, and both will go into the last sixteen brimming with confidence.

Cruzeiro topped the group with 13 points and A Raposa looked formidable at times, like when they thrashed Estudiantes 3-0 at home. So far the Belo Horizonte outfit have played with a freshness and energy that you cannot help but admire, and if they carry that form into the knockout stages they will be a tough prospect for anyone. Their one blip came on matchday 5 at the hands of Estudiantes, when the Argentines exacted their revenge on Cruzeiro by beating them 4-0, but extenuating circumstances did lie behind that heavy defeat. The Brazilians arrived extremely late in La Plata because of heavy traffic, and the havoc created by the delays not only jaded the players but forced them to rush their warm-up in a bid to get the game going. They failed to recover from this, and Juan Sebastien Veron and co ran riot.

Speaking of Veron and co, Estudiantes left it until the final group game to qualify, because Deportivo Quito were waiting in the wings hoping to take advantage of any slip-ups from the Argentines in their clash against Bolivia’s Universitario de Sucre on matchday 6. However, Deportivo Quito (not to be confused with holders LDU) could not fulfil their part of the bargain and get the points necessary against Cruzeiro to qualify, so Estudiantes duly held onto second spot.

After two defeats from their opening three games it looked as if the La Plata outfit might struggle to qualify from Group E. But consecutive 4-0 home wins against Deportivo Quito and Cruzeiro on matchdays 4 and 5 put them right back on track and, ultimately, they did what quite a few Argentine teams (River Plate included
) have failed to do in this year’s Copa Libertadores – make it out of the group stage alive.

In the next few days we will take a look at Matchday 6 and analyse who is out, who is through and who needs to do what to qualify from each of the remaining six groups of the 2009 Copa Libertadores. In the meantime, here is our featured video for the week – one of the games of the tournament so far, and the one that clinched qualification for our fond favourites Defensor Sporting, the 4-3 win against Independiente Medellin at the Centenario. You might notice the commentary is..er..slightly different from what you get from Martin Tyler and the likes. Vamos Defensor!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cmXaGRqH5A]

Copa Libertadores, Cruzeiro, Defensor Sporting, Estudiantes, Football in Latin America, Sao Paulo