Cúcuta’s Catenaccio Backfires.

By: Mauro | May 2nd, 2008

Well, as expected, this match was all Santos. The team was on display and the fans had to one up them with a 5 minute interruption mid-match due to the smoke from the flares lit up in the stands.

Santos owned this match almost completely. The had possession, the pitch and everything in their favor. Mauricio Molina had a great match and even the newest Santos player Lima had a good match as well.

But Cúcuta came out, like I had predicted, and played very defensively. In fact, the only player stationed up front was Matías Urbano and was Cúcuta’s only hope for a rebound or long ball for the counter attack.

This unbelievably boring strategy made it tough for Santos to break through and find the goals to get them through this one. Fortunately, they (and us) didn’t have to wait long. 18 minutes in, Lima was able to finish off a pass by Betao well inside the 8 yard box which was the only place way Santos was going to score, off a rebound just outside the goal.

The match continued on a sort of uninspiring level, Cúcuta who all but rejected the ball when they had it and Santos who couldn’t break the defensive wall of human beings that Cúcuta had built. In my opinion, it’s sort of cowardly to come out and play this way. I find, in my years of watching football, it’s far harder to create than to destroy.

The smoke from the flares in the stands was unbelievable. While it might have been ok on the pitch to continue playing, from the camera’s perspective, you couldn’t see a damn thing.

Which is just about when Molina scored for Santos again, his sixth in the Libertadores, in the second half off a corner kick. I’ve watched the replay about a thousand times and it still looks like an own goal to me. He was apparently able to beat a Cúcuta defender to it and was maybe about a foot from the first post. Again, the only way to score on Cúcuta last night.

Near the end, Molina took down a Cúcuta player with a hard foul and Wesley, came into the play as it happened and attempted to clear the ball but instead of clearing (booting the shit out of it in all honesty) it out of play it went out of play and right into the fouled Cúcuta player lying on the pitch. The ref didn’t hesitate and pulled the red card, sending Wesley off. He’ll miss the return match in Colombia.

Urbano was almost a non-factor last night and so were any offensive players on the ‘rojinegros.’ Cúcuta played this way early on in the competition and I had written that it would be a crime to football for them to advance playing in this fashion. While they had a few good results and had played a couple decent matches, this was pure crap. (Seriously, where’s Jorge Valdano?)

Hopefully, Cúcuta coach Pedro Sarmiento and company have something up their sleeves that will make the return leg worthwhile. Watch at your own risk.

This result poises all five Brazilian teams with the possibility of advancing to the next round, including Cruzeiro who lost their match at Boca Juniors but a 1-0 win could still get them through.

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