Copa Libertadores 2011: The Story so far…

One month into the 2011 Copa Libertadores – South America’s premier club competition – and with most teams halfway through the group stages it is a perfect time to catch up on the story so far, writes Just Football debutant Ralph Hannah. We’ve seen 48 matches, 36 wins, 121 goals and some top (and not so top) team and individual performances. Here we look at the pick of the bunch, starting with who’s hot:

¡Caliente Caliente!

There is one team who have certainly caught fire, Cruzeiro are cruising (no apologies for the pun) through the group stages. The boys from Belo Horizonte started off with a tough game on paper against 2009 champions Estudiantes de la Plata and evergreen Juan Sebástian Verón. The Blues won 5-0. In their next game they took apart a hapless and Jonathan Fabbro-less Guaraní 4-0. Their first away game against Ronaldo-retirer’s Deportivo Tolima proved a small stumbling block as the home side missed a penalty to keep the final score 0-0. Halfway through the groups Cruzeiro remain unbeaten and unbreached.

The unfortunately-named (from an English language point of view) Wallyson has been their star racking up 4 goals already to place him 2nd in the scoring charts. From the other South American powerhouse, Argentina, it is only the third appearance for Buenos Aires club, Argentinos Juniors. But last time they took part in 1986 they got to the semi-finals, the year before they won the title on their debut! They remain unbeaten after 3 games a credible draw away in Brazil to Fluminense followed by a home victory against Club América of Mexico was rounded off with a great away win against Uruguay’s Nacional on Tuesday. Much credit goes to Paraguayan Santi Salcedo who has 3 goals so far and is going for the golden boot for the 2nd time having won it with the club he supported as a child, Cerro Porteño, in 2005.

Crossing back over to Brazil and there is a good look about Porto Alegre representative Grêmio. Like Cruzeiro they are two-times winners of the competition and are unbeaten after their opening two games. Captaining the side in midfield is a familiar face to European fans, former Barcelona and Middlesbrough midfielder Fábio Rochemback. They’ve been close in recent years, runners-up in 2007 and semi-finalists in 2009.

Ataque de Stat: 3 – Cruzeiro’s goals per game average in this year’s tournament, their historical average is 1.93.

Away from the big cities and to the provinces, we look at the 3 clubs competing in the Copa Libertadores group stages for the first time.

First-timers

If you’re looking for a neutral to support look no further than Peruvian first-timers Leon de Huánuco. They are a remarkable story, formed just years ago they have progressed up the Peruvian league ladder and were just a game away from winning the league last year. In that game their coach Franco Navarro took the moral high ground and ‘suspended’ his own playmaker and best player Gustavo Rodas after he escaped punishment by the Peruvian FA despite his actions in the previous game (I wonder if Fergie is reading this?).

The footballing gods repaid them with two home games to kick things off. They lost the first game which evoked memories of Atlético Torino, Deportivo Municipal, Atlético Chalaco and Coronel Bolognesi , all Peruvian teams that failed to win a game in the group stages in their only participation in the tournament. But last week against Bolivia’s Oriente Petrolero they won 1-0 in front of 20.000 fans to erase that fear. In Brazil they struggled against set pieces in a 2-0 reverse to Grêmio.

The other rookie is Godoy Cruz making their Copa Libertadores bow 90 years after their foundation. An incredible campaign in last year’s Clausura saw the men from Mendoza finish in 3rd place. Their campaign kicked-off in excellent fashion beating 2009 champions LDU Quito 2-1 in their opener at the Isla Malvinas stadium. But last Tuesday saw them crash to a 3-1 home defeat against the Copa’s most experienced team Peñarol competing in their 39th tournament.

Regardless of what happens Godoy Cruz will take heart as they are the first ever team outside of the AFA affiliated regions of Buenos Aires, Rosario and Santa Fe . The last of the three novices are Jaguares from the southern state of Chiapas in Mexico who like Godoy and Huánuco have won just one of their matches so far and like Huánuco got their win against a Bolivian outfit, a Bolivian outfit with tough times ahead.

Ataque de Stat: 188 – number of teams to have competed in the Copa Libertadores, the most diverse country is Brazil with 27 different teams. Paraguay are the least diverse with just 10.

The Whipping Boys

The Bolivian league is traditionally the weakest; 17 different teams have taken part in the tournament and they are yet to win a championship (Venezuela, Peru and Mexico are also without a winning club). They also tend to lose; Bolivian clubs have lost 354 games, only Ecuador’s teams (358) have lost more. Taking that into account Jorge Wilstermann have no chance – they are in Bolivia’s 2nd division and have the odd distinction of being the first team from the 2nd tier in domestic football to ever feature in the Copa Libertadores.

It happened thanks to the Apertura/Clausura system (used in 9 of the 10 CONMEBOL countries) which fits 2 seasons into 1. Wilstermann won the Apertura to qualify for this year’s championships but imploded in the subsequent Clausura and finished with such a low points average that they were relegated! Their performances so far are as have been expected, Played 3 Lost 3 – the only glimmer of hope they were unlucky to lose 1-0 to Emelec in their 2nd game having been denied a blatant penalty (maybe the referee was wary of a certain Emelec fan in the stands that night, Ecuador President Rafael Correa). Unfortunately complaining about tough refereeing calls is probably as good as it will get for the boys from Bolivia.

Ataque de Stat: 322 – the number of Copa Libertadores games played by Nacional of Uruguay, the most of any team. Argentina’s River Plate have the most wins though, 144.

It would be wrong to assume the trophy will remain in Brazil, it would be wrong too if you think it is going to find its way back to Argentina. The cup has been to five different countries this century and early on there are teams in the running from Colombia, Paraguay and Peru.

Caballos Oscuros – Dark Horses

In the northern tip of the continent lies Barranquilla and a club in mourning over an owl. Briefly managed by Carlos Valderrama Atlético Junior are currently under the charge of Oscar Hector Quintaban and their talisman so far has been Jhon Viáfara. He has scored two goals in two games and certainly knows how to celebrate them. Their 100% record so far is the best remedy to forget about that owl.

In the heart of the continent lies Asunción and a club owned by a Presidential candidate. Libertad achieved a rare feat becoming a Paraguayan team that recorded a win in Mexico, when they beat San Luis in their opener. A draw against Once Caldas in Colombia thanks to Victor Ayala’s late goal means they aren’t feeling the loss of playmaker Vladimir Marín (who moved to rivals Olimpia this January). With 3 of their last 4 games at home they are are looking good to qualify from Group 1 as are our next team.

Located in Lima are a club exorcising demons. Universidad San Martín struggled in their first two appearnces in the Copa (in 2008 and 2009) but two wins from two has changed things this year. No goals conceded so this year and led by former Paraguay national team manager Aníbal Ruiz, it is worth keeping an eye on San Martín. They meet Libertad in Asunción on Tuesday.

Ataque de Stat: 0 – number of goals scored by away teams in 5 matches so far in Group 7

Flops

Deco and Belletti have both won the UEFA Champions League so their presence in Fluminense should have seen them sailing through the group stages. But when not injured they’ve been disappointing, add to that an injured playmaker in Dario Conca and suddenly things are looking bleak. It’s been very hard for Brazilian champions Flu – no win in 3 games, 2 of which were at home, and they are all but out.

The only team that have disappointed me more are Copa stalwarts Independiente a.k.a Rey de las Copas who have a record 7 Copa Libertadores titles and are taking part for the 19th time. On the back of their Copa Sudamericana triumph in December, they should be semi-finalists at least. Capitulating 3-0 like they did last Thursday was not in the script. Admittedly they were away to an LDU Quito outfit that prides itself on its home record (1 defeat in last 11 games) but Independiente previously used their solidarity and team morale, cultivated by head coach ‘El Turco’ Mohamed to keep things tight, only losing by more than one goal in Copa Sudamericana in the final to Goiás. I would have hoped for more.

Ataque de Stat: 18.8% – percentage of away wins in the 2011 tournament. This compares to 18.9% in the 2010 edition.

Estrella – Star

Wallyson and Viafara have been mentioned and they come close, but the stand out player for me so far is Roberto Nanni of Cerro Porteño. The Argentinian is an old fashioned number 9, he bullies defenders with his physical presence (overstepping the mark against Santos when he threw a punch at Elano). Winning headers, holding the ball up when it comes into his feet and crucially scoring goals. He’s got 5 in 4 games (inc. qualifiers) scoring the only goal for his team on 3 occasions. It is his battling qualities and eye for goal that could launch Cerro out of the groups and maybe even into the final for the first time in 34 attempts.

Ataque de Stat: 0 – the number of permanent coaches in either dugout in Cerro Porteños first two games. Temporary coach Blas Cristaldo was in charge of the Paraguayans while both their opponents (Colo Colo and Santos) sacked their coaches days before meeting El Ciclón.

So that’s where we stand after the early round of matches, it is too early to plump for a potential winner but I’m going to do so anyway and fully expect to be ridiculed when they crash out of the group stages – I really like the look of Argentinos Juniors so far and with no domestic distractions (they are not in the running for the title and safe from relegation) this could be a year to remember at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium!

This week’s fixtures:

March 8 = Libertad 5-1 Universidad San Martín, Oriente Petrolero vs Junior, Jaguares vs Emelec

March 9 = Universidad Católica vs Caracas, Guaraní vs Estudiantes de LP, Peñarol vs LDU Quito

March 10 = Unión Española vs Vélez Sársfield, Cerro Porteño vs Dep. Táchira, Independiente vs Godoy Cruz

Ralph Hannah is a new contributor to Just Football focussing on South American football. Follow him on @paraguayralph . He also runs the blog footballtoptens.wordpress.com

Argentinos Juniors, Copa Libertadores, Cruzeiro, Fluminense, Football in Latin America, Godoy Cruz, Gremio, Independiente, Jaguares, Jorge Wilstermann, LDU Quito, Leon de Huanuco, Libertad, Universidad San Martin