Another unbelievable match took place last night in Rio’s giant Maracaná Stadium. We were witness to an amazing spectacle that offered, again, a bit of everything. I don’t think I’m the first to say that the teams had a bit of a role reversal with respect to the final last week in Quito.

The Maracaná was packed, not another soul could fit in the stadium. Pelé and Brazil’s president Lula da Silva were expressly asked not to attend as they are rumored to be bad luck for Brazilian sides of late. There was a fantastic light show among the crowd with red, green and white flares and plenty of flags and noise to go along with it. Along with the flares comes a lot of smoke so the match was delayed because of visibility issues. But the delay was extended to about ten minutes or so because of a group of photographers refused to move back into their designated areas.

Once the match started, Fluminense established possession and ownership of the ball from the get go but their defense failed to settle in before Joffre Guerrón picked up where he had left off with his terrorizing of Junior Cesar in the first leg. He gained possession on the right and ran deep toward the touch line. He faked left and right and left and right, seemed to lose the ball and then regain it and before Flu could cover, Guerrón delivered a great pass between Luis Alberto and Thiago Silva for Luís Bolaños to drive home. 1-0 to LDU, 5-2 on aggregate and silence fell over the full Maracaná like someone was playing an awful joke on them.

Early on and with very little effort, LDU extended their lead and thoughts of another bloodletting danced in my head. But this was not the case. Fluminense leaned forward and took the game to an LDU side that seemed more opportunistic and more apt to lean on the fine lead they had carved out for themselves so far. But with LDU conceding the ball, space and pitch, Fluminense staged an all out assault on the LDU penalty area in search of a goal that could signal a comeback of epic proportions.

LDU’s lead only lasted six minutes despite playing a willful defensive posture. Thiago Neves received the ball way outside the area, squares his body to the goal and takes a long shot that goes into the side netting past a slow to respond José Cevallos. 1-1. Now we have a match. 3-5 on aggregate.

Flu was unrelenting in what remained of the first half. So much so, that they managed to turn the match around on the Ecuadorian side and on surprise play, Cícero received the ball on the backside of the defense and one time crossed it into the center of the penalty area to find Thiago Neves streaking past LDU midfielder Paul Ambrosi placing the ball into the back of the net. 2-1 to Fluminense at the end of the second half. 4-5 on aggregate. And the comeback was on.

With Ygor coming off for the second half, making way for Dodo off the bench, Cícero moved back to cover the left side of midfield. And with that, Flu continued their possession/ownership of the match, playing the ball wide looking for Cícero on the left and either Thiago Neves or Gabriel on the right. Also, taking advantage of their speed, the fullbacks, Thiago Silva and Junior Cesar, stormed forward to overlap with their midfielders. Thiago Neves seemed to play where he wanted and was just a nightmare for LDU. As a result of their labor, only seven minutes later, Dodo had a nice shot that beat Cevallos but went off the post.

In the 56th minute, Thiago Neves is taken down just outside the penalty area and wins a free kick for his team. Thiago Neves steps up to take it and shoots it past Cevallos who dives to cover the open net a step too late. 3-1 to Flu, the stadium erupts, tears stream down their fans’ faces and we’ve just witnessed a team come back from the dead. 5-5 on aggregate. In the words of Alex Ferguson, “It’s squeaky bum time.”

With this prospect in front of them, LDU coach Edgardo Bauza orders his squad to advance their lines forward and play a touch more offensively. And they did. For their efforts they were able to get the ball to Bieler who had his shot beat Fernando Henrique but go out off the post.

At this point the match became much more about Flu creating plays and chances and LDU destroying and trying to break up their opponents game. As a result, LDU is far more physical. In my opinion, Campos should have been sent off in the 73rd after taking down Dodo, he didn’t even get a yellow. LDU played a far more counterattacking role in the match with the ball only advancing to the final third of the pitch when it touched the feet of either Guerrón or Bolaños.

Here’s how good Thiago Neves is. He knew the marking was heavy on him and that receiving the ball in the midfield was becoming difficult so he moved slightly forward, just enough to allow Dario Conca to receive the ball on his own giving him the time to be able to turn and distribute the ball to either Washington or Dodo.

With extra time looming on the horizon and all their players coming forward at the stingy LDU squad, Junior Cesar explodes up the left and sends in a long cross that Thiago Neves gets a good head on but it crashes right into Washington and goes out of bounds. At this point, the players look exhausted and their feet are dragging as time goes on, it appears that the those that are still standing will win.

Damián Manso comes off the pitch due to an injury and this is the end for LDU in an offensive sense, in my opinion. This forced Bolaños to have to come and cover Manso’s position and William Araujo to cover for Bolaños on the left. Araujo, played a much more defensive posture and LDU was contained far easier as their only outlet of danger was Guerrón on the right. Despite this Guerrón was still able to streak past Junior with ease but failed to connect with anyone else on his team.

Extra time began where regulation ended. More Flu possession and LDU faking like they wanted to come forward but never did wholeheartedly. Still a few important things happened.

Bieler got the cup winning goal in the 26th minute of the second half of extra time but the goal was disallowed due to an wrongly called offside. The LDU bench exploded and the fourth ref probably got an earful.

Then, a few moments later, Luis Alberto was sent off for taking down Guerrón, keeping him from scoring what would have been the cup winning goal. If there was ever a time to be sent off for a foul like this, this was the time. Not a bad decision by Luis Alberto.

Now, I usually hate when matches go to penalties but in this case, neither team could beat the other and this seemed the only way to find a winner. The players were worn down and they had played a hell of a 1st and 2nd leg at a high level.

Both keepers performed fantastically on the penalty kicks. Obviously more so Cevallos who was able to keep out three penalties. Cevallos finally won the cup that eluded him so many years ago with Barcelona de Guayaquil. At 37 years old, he is South America’s best goal keeper based on this tournament.

The man of the match? For me, it’s a tie between José Cevallos, the undisputed hero on the night, and Thiago Neves who made the match as exciting and nail-biting as it was. He was fantastic and I sympathize with the defenses that have to face him, either in South America or in Europe. He was a monster last night.

I had this match going to LDU expecting that wonderful football they played in the first half of the first leg but it went another way.

With all this said, one fact remains.

Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito are the new Copa Libertadores Champions.

And again, a Brazilian team is unable to win the Libertadores in the Maracaná.

My parting thought is that, fortunately, it has been a great pleasure of mine to be able to provide for you a good platform and sometimes great resource for information (with a bit of my own spin).

Congrats Liga, congrats Ecuador on winning your very first major footballing title and please try to keep the rest of these boys together so that you can represent the South American continent in Japan at the end of the year with the great amount of dignity it deserves.

VIVA LA COPA LIBERTADORES DE AMÉRICA!!!!!

The CBF (Confederação Brasileira de Futebol) have decided to extend their dry stadium policy to tonight’s final match at the Maracaná stadium. What does this mean in plain English? No alcohol at the stadium.

Now seriously, I’m totally up for a few beers during a match, you know, maybe one or two at the stadium’s highly inflated prices, but to not have that option has to be a tough one. For me, that would make tailgating a bigger deal than it would have been otherwise but since people in the US are among the small minority in the world who drive to stadiums, tailgating will most likely not be an option.

Since May, Brazilian footy fans have not been able to enjoy a sip of stadium-sold-alcohol in front of their teams. And up until today, this “law” was only applicable to the local Brazilian league and CBF organized matches played in Brazil.

This measure was taken with the last Copa Libertadores match in mind, where Fluminense hosted Boca Juniors. It was reported that there were disturbances in the stands during that semifinal match and the police were forced to intervene to control a small group of fans of the Argentine side.

At least they are taking measures to try to curb alcohol induced violence. Of course, this does not take into account that jersey colors and flares are what start most of the trouble in stadiums but at least they’ve started somewhere.

I am also aware that there will be plenty of alcohol available before the match at people’s homes and at many liquor stores on the way to the match so I know that not all the fans will be sober. I could even see that the number of non-sober fans would greatly outnumber the sober fans.

Keep in mind that the 1,000 or so LDU fans are most likely Ecuadorian and let’s just say that in my experience, I’ve come to know that people from that region like a drink or two as well. Also, kudos to those who can sneak in their libations because they greased their cousin who works one of the gates.

Enjoy the match. Check my preview of it here and LONG LIVE THE COPA LIBERTADORES!!!!!!

Fluminense Football Club vs. Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito (Estadio Maracaná, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

LIVE @ 5:30pm on Fox Sports Español. Gamecast here. Online TV here.

The first leg was a tale of two halves. In the first half, we saw a wonderfully attacking exhibition of pure football by LDU Quito. In the second, a completely different match presented itself. An LDU team whose offensive production fell notably and a Fluminense team that was able to get their second goal, a goal that could cost LDU the title tonight. LDU Quito won the first half by many country miles outscoring Flu 4-1 and Fluminense was able to squeeze out a 1-0 win in the second half.

Still, coming home with a two goal gap against you is a tough thing, especially when the away goal rule is no longer in effect. Fluminense will have 80,000-90,000 souls behind them tonight and are looking to turn the tables on their Ecuadorian opponents.

With a 2-0 win or a two goal margin of victory, Flu can force extra time and possibly penalties should the 2-0 score line hold up. Flu can raise the cup with a 3-0 win or margin of victory of three goals at the end of regulation tonight .

Now, I know what you are saying… that’s just not possible against the LDU team from last week’s first half. But let’s not forget how woeful they were in the second half. I think Flu has a legitimate chance to see this one out.

After all, they did beat Sao Paulo at the Maracaná and covered the away goal that Adriano scored for them in the 70th minute. And granted it was a last gasp goal that came in the 91st minute to help them avoid penalties. Boca was also eliminated from competition at the Maracaná and lost on multiple goals as well.

And still, something tells me that Flu is not going to go quietly into that dark night. Not to sound like a broken record, but they eliminated not one, but BOTH of the top candidates to win this cup in Sao Paulo and Boca Juniors. I’m not ready to count them out yet.

Also, no one can argue that Flu are much better on defense than they’ve been on offense. I believe that they’ve had their debacle (last week in the first half in Quito) and they are going to capitalize and learn from the mistakes they made in the first leg.

While in Quito, Flu did not attack in numbers for fear the bloodletting would be worse, count on them to attack with many players, Washinton (or Dodo) and Cícero up front and Gabriel and Juniór Cesar on the wings. With Thiago Neves and Dario Conca sharing the play-making duties.

However, Roger has taken Conca’s place on the pitch in a few matches during this tournament and Washington is a game time decision as to whether or not he’ll play. Should he miss out, Dodo is ready to take his place. Way back when, in the group stage, Dodo was a nightmare for Arsenal’s defense. I’m hoping we’ll see that version of Dodo tonight.

Again, this is not going to be a pushover match for LDU. I don’t think I can express that enough. LDU does attack with a lot of their players and have proven to be tough to defend.

Count on seeing Damián Manso, Enrique Vera, Paul Ambrossi and Patricio Urrutia attempt to keep possession of the ball in the middle and try to kill the clock from early on. Their tactic should be to try to play a nice and easy match while frustrating Flu players and creating a panic among them. Count on seeing Luís Bolaños, who every day reminds me more and more of Faustino Asprilla, and Joffre Guerrón on the wings for LDU and Claudio Bieler on his own in the middle on counter attacks.

And while LDU do defend with only three at the back, they do it with quite a bit of authority and adeptness. Renán Calle was fantastic in the first leg and between Norberto Araujo and Jairo Campos they did a good job of keeping Washington, a big guy that can move very quickly for his size, under wraps.

Expect the exact same strategy as last week’s match which might mean that we’ll see that team form the first half of last week’s match at some point.

LDU look to be the first Ecuadorian team to ever win the Libertadores. EVER. And that’s a pretty huge motivation for winning it in itself. Barcelona, one of the Ecuadorian league’s more storied clubs, was the only other club from that country that ever made it to the final of the Copa Libertadores, but came away on two occasions as the continent’s second best.

Couple that with the lead they gained and the corresponding performance in the first half of the first leg and tonight’s match should end on a similar result. LDU Quito faithful have already printed up many flags and t-shirts emblazoned with “Copa Libertadores Champions” on them, dispelling the gravity of this match.

Big mistake. That could be their kiss of death.

Fluminense also stand to become winners of this cup for the first time in their club’s history. LDU and Ecuador’s story contrasts well with Flu’s. Fluminense is a Brazilian side (please tell me you already know this) and it’s well documented that Brazilian sides do very well in this tournament. In fact, a Brazilian side has reached the final of this tournament no fewer than 26 times and half of those appearances resulted in cup victories for them.

Bottom Line: Regardless of the result of last week’s match, I believe that Flu is capable of anything at this stadium tonight. LDU Quito lost in their last visit here, again regardless of the side they fielded, the Maracaná is nowhere to have a nice and easy match. The only club successful at winning on Brazilian soil in recent years is Boca Juniors. And I’m not sure that LDU have that kind of resolve.

My pick: Well, I have to call it one way or another and I’m honestly torn. Part of me wants Flu to come back and give us a hell of a match, but part of me wants to reard LDU Quito for playing such a wonderful half last week. So, I’m going with LDU Quito. They’ll play Fluminense off the park and earn the applause of the stadium after another display of great organized and tactically proficient football.

Hopefully we’ll have a good final and I’ll chat with you all tomorrow after I post my thoughts on the match and the new champion of the Copa Libertadores.

Be sure to check the CONMEBOL website for any and all information regarding the Copa Libertadores, like stats, results and upcoming matches. Check out the pull down menu where you can see stats from past editions of the Libertadores.

There was lots to make this match memorable, the constant pressure, the shower of goals (an unheard of number of goals for a final match), raucous fans who then went mysteriously silent and plenty of good football for the casual observer. If you are a Fluminense fan, my apologies, if you are an LDU fan, congrats, your boys played a hell of a first half that was enough to carry a nice lead back with you to Rio de Janeiro in seven days time.

From the get go this match was hot, hot, hotly contested. With little to no time to settle in, Flu found themselves on their back foot. Joffre Guerrón exposed the lax defending job by Junior César and placed a ball in Claudio Bieler’s path. Bieler did exactly what I said he would if he was given the ball on the ground in the area, he one-timed it past Fernando Henrique and buried in the back of the net in one fell swoop. 1-0 to LDU after only the second minute of play.

Washington had a face to face opportunity with José Cevallos a moment later but he shot it directly at the keeper. I can only wonder how the match would have progressed if Washington had put that one away.

For the next 20 minutes, LDU arrived again and again at the edge of Henrique’s penalty area with what seemed like very little effort and all kinds of time and possession. Don’t get me wrong, Flu had the ball a few times too but they failed to keep for very long and tried to move forward a little too desperately. On one of those desperate runs with the ball, Thiago Neves won a free kick for his side. Dario Conca lined up behind the ball and struck it perfectly, not onto teammate’s head but he bent it past Cevallos and into the net. The lead only lasted nine minutes for LDU and best of all, now we had a match. 1-1.

LDU was not finished however, they continually stomped forward with little regard for what Flu had planned. They completely dominated the match and possession and Flu’s attempts were a mere afterthought. In the 28th minute, Guerrón gave LDU the lead off a fantastic strike. Seriously a great goal, check the vid.

And I’d be remiss to not mention one of the best players on the park last night, Luís Bolaños. he was on fire up the left side of the pitch for his squad, finding open players to collaborate with in the midfield and plenty of players in the area to serve up some wonderful passes to (including Enrique Vera who was not a stranger to the Flu penalty area in this one). But it’s hard not to include Guerrón in my praises, he was a monster on the right as well. Maybe they could share my Man of the Match award.

Later, off corner kicks, Patricio Urrutia and Jairo Campos (off a pretty tight angle) added to the lead with a header a piece to give LDU a 4-1 lead at the half and the match seemed pretty much over.

The second half only had Thiago Neves’ goal in the 51st minute as a highlight and Urrutia almost scoring LDU’s 5th goal when he shot off the crossbar and the ball landed right next to Henrique who was able to keep it out. LDU seemed content to play out the remaining time and Flu was too desperate to score and move forward too fast to make a difference on the score sheet. Final score, LDU Quito 4, Fluminense 2.

Overall, LDU was the stronger team in the stadium that night. They were, like I said, back to front impressively organized, sharp and, oh, did I say organized? When they’d attack, they attacked with 5-6 players and when they defended, they defended with just as many if not more which was more than Flu was willing to risk at any time.

Flu opted for a man on man coverage early on which Joffre Guerrón exposed and made them pay for on the right and Luís Bolaños did the same on the left. LDU’s main strength, by the way, was attacking from the flanks. Again and again, playing the ball along the ground, finding each other with pinpoint precision, LDU played their best football in the first half and probably their best football in the Libertadores. Playing wide forced Flu’s back line to defend wide which opened up all kinds of spaces in the middle.

While only one team showed up tonight, I still don’t think it’s a done deal. Fluminense, who are unbeaten at home and have allowed only two goals in the entire competition at the Maracaná, have to win only 2-0 in order to force extra time and then penalties and need to win 3-0 to cover the aggregate and hoist the cup. It’s not impossible. They beat both Boca and Sao Paulo in the Maracaná, in spectacular fashion, to advance into the next round and if football has taught me anything over the course of this competition in particular, it’s that the Football Gods can break hearts. Just look at the Flamengo and River Plate fans.

There was a let down in the second half that was hard to ignore despite LDU’s dominant performance of the first half and it manifested itself in the local fans who did not continue to cheer their team on. LDU was not the team of the first half but they still got a hell of a result and a goal count which is not usual in Libertadores finals or any final for that matter.

I had this one going 1-1. How could I have expected this debacle from Flu? I figured they would manage a draw and then finish it off at the Maracaná. And who could have expected a performance like this from LDU Quito after drawing their last four matches? Ah well. Isn’t this why we watch? Because we don’t know what’s going to happen? LDU hadn’t won a match without the help of an away goal draw since April 30th.

Be sure to check the CONMEBOL website for any and all information regarding the Copa Libertadores, like stats, results and upcoming matches. Check out the pull down menu where you can see stats from past editions of the Libertadores.

LDU Quito vs. Fluminense Football Club (Estadio La Casa Blanca, Quito, Ecuador)

LIVE @ 5:30pm PST on Fox Sports Español. Gamecast here. Online TV here.

This entry is a bit long but hell, it’s a final match and there’s lots to consider. I do like to prep my readers with plenty of information and lots of variables to consider before choosing a side or at very least giving you some background before you watch the match so you know what you are looking at. So if you feel like I’m waxing poetic a little too much just skip down to the Bottom Line and My Pick sections below.

LDU Quito’s road to the final match has come through Estudiantes de La Plata (three-time Libertadores cup winners) in the round of 16 and San Lorenzo (contenders to this year’s title) in the quarter-finals and lastly, Club América in the semi-finals, who were on the downslide of their form but were still a legitimate threat at this stage of the tournament especially after they eliminated Flamengo in spectacular form in the round of 16 and Santos in the quarter-finals.

Fluminense, meanwhile, had to down Atlético Nacional in the round of 16, (not a tall order but the Colombian side didn’t make it easy) then beat two of the tournament favorites in consecutive rounds (São Paulo in the quarter-finals and Boca in the semi-finals). No small feat by any means, especially since I, along with many others following the tournament, expected to see Boca or São Paulo in the final and certainly not Fluminense.

These teams faced each other in the first round of competition in Group 8 with a draw in Quito and a win for Flu in Rio de Janeiro. The draw in Quito was the first match of the tournament for both squads so the jitters and nervousness of the debut match were a factor and neither squad did much damage. However, it is important to point out that Flu coach Renato Gaucho, did not field game breakers Dario Conca and Dodo until late in the match. They have turned out to be quite important to this team’s success in the tournament since then.

The second match in Rio was inconsequential as it was the last match of the first round with both teams already qualified for the next round so we expected to see two younger, inexperienced squads take the pitch so their starting players could rest. But, if I’m not mistaken, at the time, Flu had nothing else to play for and while they did rest a few of their players, they did not rest them all. Hence the 1-0 result for the home side with a goal by Cicero in the 30th minute.

Despite not seeing Boca or Sao Paulo in the final I think these are the two best, most regular teams in the competition. They are the most organized and looked the most solid throughout the entire tournament. From back to front, each player on the pitch knows their position and what duties they have to fulfill. Both teams play a an entertaining, attacking brand of football with plenty of ball movement across the front of the penalty area.

With the away goals rule (the away goal worth double) not in effect for the finals (not sure why), we’ll need to keep an eye on the aggregate to decide the winner and with this in mind I’d like to give you a snapshot of each team’s keeper.

LDU Quito’s keeper, José Cevallos, is not a new face to the Libertadores final. He was on the Barcelona squad that lost to Vasco Da Gama in the 1998 finals. Still, no Ecuadorian team has won a major club title or national team title ever, except for the gold medal won in the 2007 Pan-American Games staged in Rio de Janeiro.

Cevallos is easily one of the best players for LDU Quito since he registered memorable performances against Estudiantes de La Plata, San Lorenzo and América of Mexico. LDU lost only two matches in this year’s Libertadores and he was not on the pitch for either match.

But, Fernando Henrique, is no slouch himself. He was heroic against Boca in the semi-finals, keeping Martín Palermo from scoring and found all kinds of ways to stonewall Adriano in the first leg of the quarter-finals against Sao Paulo. But he can be a little clumsy and makes the easier saves a lot harder for himself. Just take a look at the goal Palermo did score on him and you’ll see what I’m saying has some merit. Despite that, he’s still a quality keeper in my book.

But, the edge might have to go to Cevallos who has a more calm collected style of goal-keeping rather than the flashy style that Henrique exhibits that leaves him susceptible to trying to do too much when a particular situation calls for less.

A few weaknesses? Yes, Patricio Urrutia, who likes to creep up to surprise opposing defenses, (And why shouldn’t he? He’s got a great touch and can play with midfielders and forwards like an offensive midfielder) does not do as great a job coming back on defense, leaving his side exposed at the back and all the defensive duties fall on Enrique Vera and Paul Ambrossi. Also, Joffre Guerrón, who likes to explode forward up the right, can leave his right flank uncovered should the Brazilians choose to surprise LDU by attacking with many players.

Also, Claudio Bieler is not the towering center forward you’d expect from a team that looks to surprise on the flanks with Guerrón and Luís Bolaños. So, with a taller player marking him, he might be easily taken out of the match. His advantage? His speed off the mark and with the ball at his feet. He’s small but not slight by any means. He’s a quick thinker and can be deadly should the ball make it to him on the ground.

Flu are not perfect either, with a defense that looked like Swiss cheese against both Sao Paulo and Boca, they are lucky that Fernando Henrique had some amazing matches there to keep his team in it.

Both team’s midfields are solid however. LDU Quito plays with a 3-5-2, with Enrique Vera and Urrutia in the holding midfielder roles slightly behind Manso, Bolaños, and Paul Ambrossi playing the attacking roles, and Guerrón playing a pseudo-striker role on the right but lined up as a midfielder.

Flu fields a traditional 4-4-2 and the midfield is comprised of Arouca playing in the middle as a holding midfielder with Dario Conca playing directly in front of him in a solely offensive role and Ygor and Cícero on either side of him. At times, Thiago Neves (possesses fantastic touch and vision) will drop back to help with play creation leaving Washington as the sole striker up front.

Flu have the slight edge in the striker department. Despite his prior cardiac problems (he had an irregular heartbeat and that left him off the pitch for almost two years), Washington has come on strong and steady this tournament. He’s scored 6 goals so far and is only two away from earning himself the goal scoring title of the tournament. He’s a tall center forward and a big target for Thiago Neves, Ygor, Cícero and Conca to find in the area.

Bottom Line: LDU Quito have not won a match outright since the end of April (2-0 win in the round of 16 against Estudiantes in Quito) and without the away goals rule to help them close out a series they’ll need to play for all the marbles from the get go. Fluminense, all comments and opinions aside, are the favorites in this series and have the obligation and expectation to win it. There’s two reasons for that; one, because there is most likely more stock in the Brazilian football than there is in Ecuadorian football and two, the series gets closed out on Flu’s ground, the Mararcaná.

My Pick: 1-1. LDU Quito are experts at holding teams to a draw at this point with four consecutive draws in their last four Libertadores matches. Flu will go up 1-0 and LDU Quito, to the delight and delirium of their fans, will draw before the end of the match. That’s all I’ve got. If it’s not enough we can keep chatting in the comments below.

Be sure to check the CONMEBOL website for any and all information regarding the Copa Libertadores, like stats, results and upcoming matches. Check out the pull down menu where you can see stats from past editions of the Libertadores.

Next week’s final Copa Libertadores match will most likely be the the last time that Joffre Guerrón will play a match in the LDU Quito white strip. LDU Quito coach Edgardo Bauza had asked that Guerrón stay on until after the Libertadores final and will officially sever ties with the Ecuadorian club on June 30.

After being courted by continental clubs Boca Juniors, with whom he had a stint as a youngster and Club America of Mexico and even Porto of Portugal and Udinese of Serie A threw their hat in the ring, Guerrón signed with Getafe CF of La Liga for the bargain price of 4 million euros.

He’s the fifth signing by the Madrid club since the end of the season. He’ll join Adrian Gonzalez from Real Madrid (son of ex-Real Madrid legend Michel played last season on loan with Gimnastic), Rafael Lopez “Rafa” from Villareal (played at SD Eibar in the Spanish Segunda last season), Ibrahim Kas Turkish player from Besiktas, and Polish player Eugen Polanski from Borussia Monchengladbach.

I expect him to adapt quickly to the style of football and since there will be no language barrier, he should settle in with very few problems.

Guerrón has a wide frame for his age, only 23, and has a great burst of speed. He’s got cheeky moves to beat defenders off the ball and has been strong for LDU Quito playing on the right side of midfield and moving forward into the area. Add to these things a rocket of a right foot and a nose for the goal makes him a very good buy for Getafe.

His good form is also going to win him a spot among the final 23 players to face Argentina in Buenos Aires tomorrow and 3 days later against Colombia for the South American World Cup 2010 qualifiers.

For more info on the Copa Libertadores results, stats and the upcoming final match visit the CONMEBOL website.

A Maracaná filled to the gills was witness to a historical moment last night. Fluminense fans were in tow and up to the challenge. When Boca’s players came out the fans that made the trip to the Brazil, cheered them on heartily but when Fluminense’s players came out it was unbelievable.

Smoke came from everywhere and filled the stadium. And I’m not talking about a small 30,000 seat arena, I’m talking about the fucking 100,000 seat Maracaná. So imagine how many flares and roman candles and fireworks that takes and then multiply it by two and you’re close to what it looked like.

With nerves clenched and heartbeats racing the first half started, predictably, with little possession, a few scoring chances, but nothing really to write home about.

As expected, it only took Boca 12 minutes to press Fluminense into their own half and wedge the defense into the penalty area for what was, effectively, the rest of the match. Fabián Vargas and Juan Román Riquelme had a great footballing dialog together on the right. Jesús Dátolo was almost always open on the left but had trouble getting his last touch just right. A few poor crosses and sloppy passes returned the ball right to the Fluminense defense.

While Boca dominated play, they did so with a very thoughtful, slow, methodical pace. Boca took their time and with Flu pinned to the penalty area, found holes in the their defense. Rodrigo Palacio was almost always the man receiving the ball on the right and on the left of the forward line. Sometimes Boca would attack with an occasional cross to Martín Palermo, who wasted chance after chance in the space where he is usually most lethal.

With Flu coach, Renato Gaucho losing his mind on the sidelines, his side continued to fail to respond. They’d get the ball, jam it upfield to the either Dario Conca or to Thiago Neves, whichever was open to begin the attack. But Boca’s defense was solid and avoided many mistakes early on, keeping Flu’s explosive pace under wraps.

Fluminense had the most success on the right where they were able to cross the ball into the area and give Washington a few chances on goal. But in the end, this type of play was all that Flu was allowed to do. They were pressed into their own half forced to try to create something on the counter using their speed up front. And when they did come forward they looked just as dangerous as Boca had on the other side of the pitch.

After the first 20 minutes or so, Washington was little more than a spectator giving Pablo Migliore little to no work. Especially since it seemed that Thiago Neves and Conca couldn’t shake the sticky defensive work by Boca in the midfield. Boca suffocated Flu with incessant chances on goal but due to poor finishing the first half ended 0-0.

The second half started, pretty much where the first left off. Boca again leaned into Flu, keeping them in their half, Flu playing the counter and running at the Boca defense the few times they got the ball. It seemed a matter of time really before the scoring opened up.

And then it happened. On the worst cross of the match, the worst and only goal-keeping mistake Fernando Henrique made, Palermo found the ball at the second post and, what can I say, he Palermo-ed it into the back of the net. It was a goal, an angle and a situation where only Palermo could have scored on. 1-0 to Boca and with this score, Boca are through to the final.

Flu then seemed to find a way to take the ball from Boca and had more presence and played with a bit more urgency in Boca’s half of the pitch. It was a few moments later that Flu earned a free kick which Washington exchanged for a goal off a fantastic strike. 1-1, with this result Flu are through to the final.

Boca surged but still lacked the goal scoring prowess that would have given them their second goal on the night. With Boca continually coming forward, Flu had few opportunities to get the ball and be able to surprise Boca when all their players were back on defense.

But on one play, Conca received the ball on the left and took a shot. That shot went off Hugo Ibarra and past Migliore who had dived the other way once the shot was taken. Own goal, and Boca were now down 2-1. This result clearly favors only Fluminense.

Boca press on yet again, because they are able to get to the penalty area so easily, they do just that and Fernando Henrique’s stature seems to build with each save and Boca missed opportunity. And the time ticked on and on and Boca’s players played with more and more urgency.

On one particular play, Palacio had gotten the ball near his own penalty area and in his rush to get the ball up the field, passed it directly in front of Dodo, who intercepted and buried it in the back of the net. 3-1 to Fluminense and that was all she wrote.

What beat Boca at the end of the day? Well, I would say bad luck but a few readers happen to think that luck and Boca don’t belong in the same sentence. Still, I think not having their stadium to play in, the poor finishing that had characterized Boca’s home leg matches, Mauricio Caranta’s injury and Pablo Migliore’s ham handed save on the Thiago Neves’ goal in the first leg all had something to do with Boca’s elimination. All it took was a team that was well organized in back, moved quickly in the middle and front to bring all these issues to light.

I particularly liked hearing Mariano Closs, Fernando Niembro and those other crazies calling the match, voting Martín Palermo the man of the match. I thought it was ridiculous when the guy keeping him from scoring was so much more spectacular, important and pivotal to his team and the spectacle of the match. Fernando Henrique was my man of the match. Without him Boca would have gone up two or three nil in the first half.

I had this one going to Boca 4-1. Boy, was I way off. But who was going to bet against Boca? I felt they did everything they could but it was just not their night.

Be sure to check the CONMEBOL website for any and all information regarding the Copa Libertadores, like stats, results and upcoming matches. It even has a pull down menu where you can check out past editions of the Libertadores.

Fluminense Football Club vs. Club Atlético Boca Juniors (Estadio Mararcaná, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

LIVE @ 5:30pm PST on Fox Sports Español. Gamecast here. Online TV here.

Despite being the strong favorite to advance to the finals, Boca Juniors still have quite the hurdle to jump with Fluminense in their path. With all this speculation about whether or not Juan Román Riquelme will play tonight and a few other changes to the squad, Boca are looking to try to come out to the Maracaná Stadium to score three goals and hope they can hold Fluminense to zero.

It’s no secret. Fluminense can qualify for the finals if they just hold Boca to a 0-0 or a 1-1 draw. A 2-2 draw will give us penalties, I’m sure none of us want to see another match decided by penalties, and a win of any kind for Flu, eliminates Boca.

There’s been lots of speculation about whether Riquelme is going to play. I can tell you right here, right now, there is no way in hell that Riquelme is going to sit this one out. He did practice yesterday before the team made the trip to Rio and he seemed to be responding quite normally so I would just forget about him either sitting this one out or playing only a small portion of the match.

Since the last match of the group stage, Boca has been in the position where they must win. They has to win in the group stage against Maracaibo by a large margin and they did. 3-0 that day. Then in the round of sixteen, second leg, they had to beat Cruzeiro in Belo Horizonte and they did, 2-1. And lastly, in the quarter-finals, second leg, they had to travel to Atlas and win on their ground by at least three goals (identical situation as the one they are in now) and they did, 3-0 that night as well.

Boca are still only four points from Argentine Primera league leaders River Plate and with a major debacle (stranger things have happened) they could catch them should they win their remaining matches and River lose their remaining matches. Estudiantes is also two points back, but again would need to drop some serious points.

For tonight’s match, Boca coach is starting Fabián Vargas instead of Cristian Chavéz and Hugo Ibarra in place of Jonathan Maidana. Remember that Vargas offers him a more defensive, holding midfielder and Ibarra offers more of an overlapping left back than Maidana.

Boca is lethal at this point in this competition. Since the year 2000, they’ve played 26 elimination ties and have won 23 of them. Against Brazilian opposition, they are perfect, eight of eight since the year 2000, and have not lost a series against Brazilian opposition since 1991. Numbers that must be unsettling for Fluminense fans, players and club directors

So Fluminense have plenty of respect for Boca but they need to be sure not to have too much respect. Flu has far more in their favor and have been a smart team, well organized tactically and they play a nice Brazilian style of football, something that I don’t see changing in this match. I see a more offensive minded Fluminense squad that will present a semi-final worthy of the stadium and their fans.

Flu have beaten one of the weaker teams in Atlético Nacional of Colombia in the round of sixteen and one of the stronger teams in Sao Paulo in the quarters, finishing each of the ties with wins at home.

Flu are in the bottom of the Brasileirao but that’s due to giving their starting team a break for the local league matches. Once the Libertadores is over, they’ll be able to play some catch up.

Flu will be making only one change to their line up with respect to the squad that took the field last week. Mauricio will be coming off and Ygor will be coming on. There’s also a question of whether Dodo will be taking Cicero’s place on the forward line.

Bottom Line: Flu are the home side and it still carries some weight even though many would argue against that. They are a tough side to beat as they proved against Sao Paulo. Should they win tonight, they will have eliminated the two top contenders for the title. Boca have had great success in Brazil in this competition in recent years and are a squad to respect, even in your very own stadium.

My pick: 4-1 to Boca. Boca will prove to be too much and too smart for Fluminense. Boca have been unstoppable in this year’s Copa Libertadores and I think that the teams that could have eliminated them have been eliminated already. In other words, none of the last four teams left in the competition can beat Boca over two legs, in my estimation.

Be sure to check the CONMEBOL website for any and all information regarding the Copa Libertadores, like stats, results and upcoming matches. It even has a pull down menu where you can check out past editions of the Libertadores.

It’s a long ride back to Mexico City from Quito, Ecuador. 1,950 miles, in fact. Plenty of time to figure out what went wrong and seeing as how this is the end of the season for América, possibly which players have played their last matches in a yellow jersey. On the other hand, jubilation and excitement for the the qualification to the finals. LDU Quito, for the first time in their club’s history, advanced to the finals of the Copa Libertadores. Not an average night for the 40,000+ that filled La Casa Blanca Stadium three hours before the match started.

Looking back though, the match wasn’t what I expected it to be. I expected LDU Quito to come out and look for the result right away but that didn’t happen. They played cautiously and with lots of respect for the firepower that América had to offer. Holding the ball for as long as they could and looking for ways to penetrate América’s staunch defense. But in the end the rough play cost us spectators more fluid football than we hoped for.

América’s defense held strong and anything that seemed to get past them was met with a stingy Guillermo Ochoa, hell bent on keeping LDU from scoring tonight.

With that said, América still had trouble building their own offensive opportunities. It seemed like the ball went from the defenders, in the form of a clearance, to the forwards or midfielders who rarely ventured forward to try to create something. At times, it appeared América had no other scoring options other than a tightly marked Salvador Cabañas. They seemed very predictable and one dimensional.

América coach Juan Antonio Luna, subbed on Federico Higuain in the 70th minute for Enrique Esqueda but he was unable to help to make the zero on the scoreboard turn into a one. Higuain ended up looking like he was playing midfield instead of striker on most América possessions.

When it seemed like América were getting a foothold in the match, Carlos Sanchez was sent off in the 58th minute for a hard foul. It was his second yellow and h was off for an early shower.

Near the end, Alejandro Arguello, who was fit to play (who knew?), was also sent off for making a deliberate foul near midfield which in actuality should have been a yellow. Unfortunately for América, it happened again, as it seemed, they had pushed forward and been able to keep possession of the ball on consecutive plays.

LDU Quito did not have an outstanding match but still, the usual suspects turned in some great performances. Joffre Guerrón, courted by Getafe and Valencia in La Liga, had a great match, seemingly open all evening on the right. América defender, Oscar Rojas, must still be seeing Guerrón run past him in his sleep right now.

Damián Manso ran rampant all night in front of the América defense. Franklin Salas replaced Luís Bolaños an LDU didn’t miss a beat on that end. In fact, the only player that didn’t register a good performance was Claudio Bieler who was subbed off in the 77th minute for Agustín Delgado. I believe it was due to América’s tight marking at the back.

Eder Vaca came on in the 74th minute, he was coming off a hat trick at the weekend and was dangerous again tonight. He was the foulee on the play that ended in the sending off of Arguello.

Enrique Vera and Patricio Urrutia were impeccable in their double holding midfielder roles allowing Manso, Guerrón and Salas the freedom they needed to push forward and they were able to break up América’s modest attempts on goal.

At the end of the match, América’s players were incensed with the ref and tried to approach him but were met with the Ecuadorian police. América’s complaints included the two sendings off as well as with LDU’s time wasting tactics.

At the end of the day, LDU has tied their last four matches in the Copa Libertadores and América did not lose either match in the semi-finals. Still LDU are in the finals and wait to see what happens tomorrow night at the Estadio Maracaná between Fluminense and Boca Juniors. And if I know the Ecuadorians as well a I think I do, there is a lot of celebrating, drinking and dancing going on in Quito right now. Yes, even this morning.

I had this match going to LDU Quito 2-1. No goals were scored. I suck.

Be sure to check the CONMEBOL website for any and all information regarding the Copa Libertadores, like stats, results and upcoming matches. Also, check out the pull down menu at the top where you can check out past editions of the Libertadores.

Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito vs. Club América (Estadio La Casa Blanca, Quito, Ecuador)

LIVE @ 6pm PST on Fox Sports Español. Gamecast here. Online TV here.

América want to continue to ride the emotional wave that brought them this far in the competition and LDU Quito are going to continue playing their style of football in order to meet the winner of the Fluminense - Boca semi-final in the final matches.

LDU play with a certain maturity, nice ball movement, very organized movement of their lines with precision in getting to the penalty area and a good goal scoring form.

América have been all over the map, but since Luna took over, América’s strong suit seems to be a much more solid defense than we saw in the group stage, and speed on the counter attack with Germán Villa placing perfectly weighted passes to Salvador Cabañas and Enrique Esqueda, with which they had some great success over their opponents leading up to this match.

América coach Juan Antonio Luna is not going to be able to count on Sebastián Dominguez and Alejandro Arguello for tonight’s match. But, LDU coach Edgardo Bauza is also going to be missing Luís Bolaños, who has scored some important goals for his squad in this year’s tournament. Dominguez and Bolaños were sent off on the same play in last week’s match

Luna will be able to count on his leading goal scorer Cabañas who has scored in Quito with the Paraguayan National team in the World Cup qualifiers last year. Look for him, as always, to be a force up front with partner Enrique Esqueda and Germán Villa in the midfield pulling the strings. Also, Ismael Rodriguez is going to be back for the Aguilas now that he’s recovered from his injury.

LDU Quito will have Joffre Guerrón, who is playing his best football right now and is very dangerous anywhere near the penalty area much less inside it. He’s got a wide-ish stalky body which makes it easy for him to overpower defenders off the ball and a brilliant right foot. He’s currently drawing the eye of teams like Boca Juniors and even tonight’s opponent, América, as possible transfer destinations for him next season. Don’t expect to see him in the LDU white jersey for long.

LDU will also be able to count on Damián Manso, Patricio Urrutia in the midfield and the quick Claudio Bieler up front. Bauza has come out and said that his squad will be standing steadfast to their footballing philosophy and we shouldn’t see a defensive set from them tonight. Basically, they are going to come out and try to take América apart.

Last week’s match ended 1-1 and with that result, América needs either at very least a 2-2 draw or a win of any sort to advance. LDU Quito, on the other hand, could advance with as little as a 0-0 draw or a win of any sort. These options are an indication of how accessible qualification for the finals is for both sides and how disputed this match is going to be.

Bottom Line: LDU are unbeaten at home but have given up three draws in La Casa Blanca Stadium in this year’s competition. Not a good stat for LDU fans. América, since Luna has taken over, has had mixed success away from home. One win and one loss, but the uncertainty in their results and performances makes it difficult to figure out which América team will show up.

My pick: 2-1 to LDU Quito. For the first time in their club’s history, the Ecuadorians will reach the final. I believe that América has not faced a team in this competition that is this neat and organized and dangerous and lethal at the same time.

I believe that América’s win over Flamengo in the second leg of their round of 16 match was the result of a combination of events. Flamengo was distracted by the result they achieved in Mexico coupled with the celebration they wanted to give their exiting coach Joel Santana.

Also, América was spurred by the scrutiny and harsh criticism they received from their own press for the horrible domestic season they had. In the quarter-finals, Santos lacked the star power that América could afford to combine and that was the difference maker in the end.

The emotional wave is coming to an end, it’s all just white wash now with little push left. It’s all on the players and I don’t think they can come together to make it happen.

Be sure to check the CONMEBOL website for any and all information regarding the Copa Libertadores, like stats, results and upcoming matches. It even has a pull down menu where you can check out past editions of the Libertadores.