Boca-Fluminense: A Semi-Final Pre-Preview.

By: Mauro | June 2nd, 2008

Fluminense lost their match at the weekend against rivals Flamengo, 1-0. They fielded an alternate/substitute squad with starting keeper Fernanado Henrique at the back. The Brasilerao is only three weeks old or so, so Flu have plenty of time to catch up and are doing what anyone would do, focusing on resting their best players for the Copa Libertadores.

Arguably Fluminense’s best player, Thiago Neves, was in a car accident on Sunday. The car he was driving skidded out on a street in the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro and crashed into another car. No one was injured as a result and Thiago Neves will be able to start for Fluminense on Wednesday.

Boca superstar Juan Román Riquelme, missed Monday’s practice due to gastroenterocolitis, which a medical dictionary I found online described as, inflammation of the stomach, small intestine and colon. This is the second consecutive training session he missed this week.

Boca travel Tuesday to Rio de Janeiro on a two hour flight where they will be taken to the Maracaná upon landing to become familiar with the pitch. They will stay at the Sheraton in Barra de Tijuca, I’m sure this is news Flu fans already know about. They will most likely sit on the street and play music loudly and set off plenty of fireworks in order to keep Boca players awake the night before the match.

Before deciding on the final line up for the match on Wednesday, Ischia is still undecided on who will accompany Riquelme on the right flank. It looks like it’s a toss up with either Fabián Vargas or Cristian Chávez. Vargas offers more of a defensive marking type role while Chavéz can give Riquelme more of an offensive, crisp passing type partner.

Boca is also coming off a big win in the Argentine Primera where they beat Arsenal de Sarandi, 3-1 with Mauro Boselli getting a hat-trick. Looks like Boca’s second team can also compete on a local level and find themselves 4 points from league leaders River Plate with two matches (6 points) still to play. While unlikely, it’s possible that Boca could manage a double this season should they win their remaining matches and hope for a small type debacle from Estudiantes de La Plata who are two points ahead of them and a major debacle from River Plate while making sure to win the Copa Libertadores with their first team.

So that’s it. Look for the match later this week. The match begins at 5:30pm PST on Fox Sports Español on Wednesday the 4rd of June. The first leg ended 2-2, the Argentina-Brazil rivalry and just to see Riquelme play in the blue and yellow jersey are only a handful of reasons this is a great match to tune in to. Also, you’ll see two teams who will come out to play offensive football, not that watch and wait defensive crap.

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.