Cruzeiro Will Have Hands Full at La Bombonera.

By: Mauro | April 30th, 2008

Club Atlético Boca Juniors vs. Cruzeiro Esporte Clube (Estadio Alberto J. Armando ‘La Bombonera,’ La Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina)
LIVE @ 1:00pm PST on Fox Sports Español. Leave work and go watch this one!! I am, well… at least I’ll try.

This is the first of five matches today. Coming off of a demoralizing defeat at the weekend, against fellow Copa compatriots San Lorenzo, Boca are sort of limping into this match. Given that they did rest key players like Juan Roman Riquelme, Morel Rodriguez and Sebastian Battaglia in that match, they do have quite a few players playing below their potential or injured. So the loss has been a long time coming actually. Given that, this is Boca’s chance to take a something to Belo Horizonte with them next week.

But if Boca are good at anything, it’s coming back when everyone thinks they’re down. This is the classic wounded animal syndrome here. Cruzeiro will have their work cut out for them since Rodrigo Palacio only played part of the second half so look to him to have his engine roaring when the whistle is blown. Fortunately for Boca, they have a pretty good record against teams from Brazil at home in the Copa Libertadores. Check those stats here.

Cruzeiro are coming off a really tough defeat in the Copa against lowly Real Potosi in Bolivia in the last match of the group stage. That’s the last impression they left us with and it wasn’t a good one despite fielding an alternate squad for that match. However, in their league, they are coming off a complete stomping of Atlético Mineiro, 5-0. Hopefully, Cruzeiro has not yet peaked, because that could spell trouble.

Should they bring this level of performance to the Libertadores, I believe that they will be very hard to stop. This match could easily be the final match of the competition. Look for 20-year old Marcelo Martins Moreno to match up against Boca defender Morel Rodriguez or Gabriel Paletta in what could be a great battle within the match.

Side Note: Watch the match or try to catch a live radio feed of it, the crowd is going to be deafening and something to behold. Leave work! Fake like you had something sketchy for lunch! Don’t miss it!

Bottom Line: Boca is wounded and the players are angry about the loss at the weekend. If Carlos Bianchi left anything at Boca, its the pride in the jersey, especially in the Copa Libertadores. Should Cruzeiro have the momentum, they do have the squad with which to take something away from this match. My pick: 1-1 draw. Boca don’t have the teeth to finish off a squad like Cruzeiro, and the Brazilians don’t have enough momentum to finish off Boca at La Bombonera. After all, like the Bosteros say, Boca is Boca.

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