Boca Look to Get a Leg Up.

By: Mauro | May 28th, 2008

Club Atlético Boca Juniors vs. Fluminense Football Club (Estadio Juan Domingo Perón “El Cilindro de Avellaneda”, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

LIVE @ 5:30pm on Fox Sports Español. Online radio here, courtesy of Radio Rivadavia (in Spanish). Online TV here. Gamecast here.

With their home stadium, La Bombonera, still under suspension, Boca must host Fluminense in Racing Club’s stadium “El Cilindro” (The Cylinder). But worry not, I can bet good money that Boca’s faithful will still fill the stadium and create a worthy Copa Libertadores atmosphere.

Boca are coming into this match after having overcome an adverse situation against Atlas in Mexico winning 3-0 in resounding fashion. Boca drew their last match in Argentina, staged at the Estadio El Fortin, Velez Sarsfield’s ground, against Atlas in a 2-2 stalemate.

Fluminense are coming off defeating fellow Brazilians and favorites to win the title, Sao Paulo. In what was a big tie, Fluminense, powered by their great movement of the ball and creativity, lost the first leg in Sao Paulo, 1-0, and won the second leg in Rio, 3-1, overpowering Sao Paulo’s slower more methodical play by the sheer number of scoring chances.

As it turns out, Boca are far more dangerous away from home especially since they’ve all been away matches since the suspension of their ground. Still, I expect to see the best version of Boca tonight. Boca coach, Carlos Ischia has to decide, and he may already have, to include Hugo Ibarra, who is coming back from injury, instead of Jonathan Maidana. Ibarra can afford more offensive thrust forward but Maidana is more solid on defense. Word is, it’s a game time decision.

Also, it looks like Cristian Chavez is going to start over Fabián Vargas. Ischia is opting for Chavez since he’s had good matches linking up with Juan Román Riquelme in the middle and Vargas is an option should he need to come off the bench and bring more of a defensive role to the table.

Still the big worry to make sure that Riquelme has people to play with in the middle. That’s also why, Jesús Dátolo is starting on the left side. Dátolo and Riquelme have also been hooking up quite well giving Riquleme two great options on both sides of the pitch should one be weaker than the other. And let’s not forget the firepower up front with Martín Palermo and Rodrigo Palacio.

Flu’s coach, Renato Gaucho, has to make sure that they start Dario Conca in the middle should they want a more offensive answer to what Boca bring to tonight’s match and they should keep in mind that the pressure is truly on Boca’s shoulders since this is on their turf. But when they do opt for a more defensive set up, they give up too much terrain and possession to their opponents, which is what happened in the first leg of their tie with Sao Paulo.

Look for Conca to hook up with Thiago Neves and Cicero in the middle. Washington up front has been fantastic and is coming off a two goal performance against Sao Paulo. Arouca is their midfield marshall and should do well to keep track of Riquelme. The same goes for Sebastián Battaglia, most likely the man to mark Conca.

Bottom Line: This is Boca’s turf and chance to really explode and see what Flu can and cannot handle. Flu will most likely come out a little more modest but look for them to strike right back regardless. This is a special match in that both teams rely on possession to create, Riquelme on one side and Conca on the other, and this is the standard that both teams fly and do not abandon. This means it could be more of a chess match and strategic than a defensive face off (Ahem, take notes Fergie and Rijkaard). Look for this one to be more San Lorenzo vs. River Plate (first leg) and less América vs. Santos (second leg).

My pick: 2-1 to Boca. Boca will play a spectacular match but fail to score more than two despite creating more than two opportunities to score. Flu will get the away goal that will keep the second leg interesting.

Check the CONMEBOL website for results, stats and upcoming matches.