First Time Finalists on Both Sides.

By: Mauro | June 25th, 2008

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.