Inter Travel to São Paulo With One Foot in the Final.

I’m looking forward to this match. While I may not be able to watch it live, I am recording it in case work rears it’s ugly head in the next few hours.

Last week, in Porto Alegre, Inter was dominant. They controlled the ball for most of the match and if you didn’t know what the score line was, you’d think they were the clear winners. And they were, 1-0, is a win, but it’s just a win. They had enough opportunities to send a message and didn’t. Plus, their defensive midfield and defenders did an excellent job of keeping Hernanes and Dagoberto at bay and from scoring. They were, without question, in control of the match, but not the scoreboard.

São Paulo, on the other hand, can hang their hats on the fact that they are only one goal down with the series closing in their stadium. And the great performances of their backline with Miranda and Alex Silva clearing out crosses and short passes by the bootful. But they’ll need some better performances from Hernanes, Junior Cesar and the front two, Dagoberto and Fernandao if they want to keep this match up interesting.

Also, the Colorado faithful and the Estadio Beira-Rio brought the funk and served up some great Copa Libertadores atmosphere to go with the match. I don’t think they were quiet for one minute. Let’s hope the Estadio Morumbi and the São Paulo fans can do the same or better tonight.

My pick: Inter earn a draw and a passport to the final, 1-1. Based on volume of play alone, Inter should be able to walk away with at very least a draw from this match. While São Paulo did get away with giving up only one goal in Porto Alegre, they could do very little to keep guys like Taison, Andrezinho, D’Alessandro, Alecsandro, Nei, Guiñazu and Kleber from running all over the São Paulo part of the pitch. I had the away match going 2-1 to Inter and they walked away with just a 1-0 win.

The winner of this match not only gets to play the final against Chivas of Mexico but also gets to represent the CONMEBOL in the Club World Cup later this year. Since Mexican clubs are not allowed to represent the region even if they win the Copa Libertadores trophy, the winner tonight is the only regional team left to play in Tokyo in December.

The match is being aired LIVE at 6pm on Fox Sports en Español. Tune in to watch these teams duke it out to be one of the two best teams in the Western hemisphere.

Category: Tournament News