Lléo
2024-10-31 05:19:05 UTC
1st legs played on October 22 and 23rd, 2nd legs on October 29th and
30th. Both semis were over in the first leg, really, and we're on to the
4th all-Brazilian final in 5 seasons.
Atlético Mineiro 3-0 River Plate (at Arena MRV, Belo Horizonte)
River Plate 0-0 Atlético Mineiro (at Monumental de Nuñez, Buenos Aires)
In front of a crowd of 44,870 (which is now Arena MRV's record),
Atlético dominated its home fixture and had Deyverson putting out a
man-of-the match performance, scoring twice and assisting Paulinho for
the third goal. River could do little but try to limit damages, and fail
at that.
Second leg was a different story. Before a full house at Monumental de
Nuñez, River dominated actions and made most of the play. Yet Atlético
put on a solid defensive display and, when that wasn't enough,
goalkeeper Everson rose to the occasion, making a number of key saves.
Indeed, for all of River's dominance, the best chance of the match was
Atlético's. River fans put out a great show, though, and kept singing on
even when it was clear that they would not bridge the three-goal gap -
and, indeed, carried on after final whistle.
Botafogo 5-0 Peñarol (at Estádio Nilton Santos, Rio de Janeiro)
Peñarol 3-1 Botafogo (at Estádio Centenário, Montevideo)
This one had more tension to it. Incidents of vandalism involving
Peñarol fans in Rio de Janeiro, coupled with the violent approach of RJ
police resulted in the arrest of 20 of them before the game. They are
still behind bars to this day and there are narratives pointing fingers
and shifting blame, with the Brazilian press on one side and
Argentinian/Uruguayan press on the other.
During the match, Peñarol even put on a good show in the first half and
held a 0-0 draw, but in the second half Botafogo kicked up a couple of
gears and the floodgates opened, with goals by Barboza, Luiz Henrique,
Igor Jesus and two by Savarino. A bloodbath, which was probably
Botafogo's finest display this season.
Tensions were very high for the second leg, in Montevideo, due to the
situation of Peñarol fans arrested in Brasil. Over the week, the
Uruguayan Interior Ministry requested that the game be played without
away fans, with the support of the AUF and Peñarol's. Conmebol would
have none of that, though, and replied that either the game would go on
with both sets of fans present (and with due security guarantees) or it
would be played (a) behind closed doors or (b) away from Uruguay. In the
eleventh hour a solution was found: it was moved away from Peñarol's
stadium, Campeón del Siglo, to the old Centenário, which is larger and
made it easier to separate both sets of fans.
On the field, Peñarol played with a lot of heart and earned a deserved
victory. It is true that Botafogo rested players who were one yellow
card away from a suspension (which included some of their main stars),
with the only exception being goalkeeper John, who, due to this, was
under strict orders to not waste time on goal kicks or even try to talk
to the referee. Artur Jorge was visibly tense about this every time his
keeper had the ball :-). But, though the game was hard (one red card for
each side), it did not descend into a hackfest.
No exchange of jerseys post final whistle, though, as Botafogo players
stayed celebrating on one end of the pitch, in front of the emptier side
of the stands, where their fans were, while Peñarol players were around
the middle of the pitch, receiving the applause of the rest of the
stadium's crowd
The final will be played on November 30th, at Estadio Monumental de
Nuñez, in Buenos Aires. With a capacity of 84,567, it is currently the
biggest stadium in South America. Conmebol may have hoped that an
Argentinian club made the final, which would make it easier to make it a
full house, but now they're stuck with two Brazilians. I've heard talk
about moving it to Independiente's aptly named Estadio Libertadores de
America (capacity 49,592), but I'm not sure if this is indeed being
considered by the powers-that-be.
This will be Atlético Mineiro's second final, the previous one having
been in 2013, in which they beat Olimpia on penalties. Botafogo makes
the final for the first time, having been a semifinalist in 1963
(eliminated by Pelé's Santos) and 1973 (outdone by Colo-Colo and Cerro
Porteño in their semifinal group). They are the only Brazilian big club
that still haven't won Copa Libertadores.
Both teams have also to contend with battle in other fronts: Atlético
Mineiro plays Flamengo in Copa do Brasil final, while Botafogo leads the
league by three points, with seven rounds to go. Atlético settles their
deal on November 3rd (in Maracanã) and 10th (Arena MRV), while Botafogo
has to face four league rounds over the month before November 30th.
Best regards,
Lléo
30th. Both semis were over in the first leg, really, and we're on to the
4th all-Brazilian final in 5 seasons.
Atlético Mineiro 3-0 River Plate (at Arena MRV, Belo Horizonte)
River Plate 0-0 Atlético Mineiro (at Monumental de Nuñez, Buenos Aires)
In front of a crowd of 44,870 (which is now Arena MRV's record),
Atlético dominated its home fixture and had Deyverson putting out a
man-of-the match performance, scoring twice and assisting Paulinho for
the third goal. River could do little but try to limit damages, and fail
at that.
Second leg was a different story. Before a full house at Monumental de
Nuñez, River dominated actions and made most of the play. Yet Atlético
put on a solid defensive display and, when that wasn't enough,
goalkeeper Everson rose to the occasion, making a number of key saves.
Indeed, for all of River's dominance, the best chance of the match was
Atlético's. River fans put out a great show, though, and kept singing on
even when it was clear that they would not bridge the three-goal gap -
and, indeed, carried on after final whistle.
Botafogo 5-0 Peñarol (at Estádio Nilton Santos, Rio de Janeiro)
Peñarol 3-1 Botafogo (at Estádio Centenário, Montevideo)
This one had more tension to it. Incidents of vandalism involving
Peñarol fans in Rio de Janeiro, coupled with the violent approach of RJ
police resulted in the arrest of 20 of them before the game. They are
still behind bars to this day and there are narratives pointing fingers
and shifting blame, with the Brazilian press on one side and
Argentinian/Uruguayan press on the other.
During the match, Peñarol even put on a good show in the first half and
held a 0-0 draw, but in the second half Botafogo kicked up a couple of
gears and the floodgates opened, with goals by Barboza, Luiz Henrique,
Igor Jesus and two by Savarino. A bloodbath, which was probably
Botafogo's finest display this season.
Tensions were very high for the second leg, in Montevideo, due to the
situation of Peñarol fans arrested in Brasil. Over the week, the
Uruguayan Interior Ministry requested that the game be played without
away fans, with the support of the AUF and Peñarol's. Conmebol would
have none of that, though, and replied that either the game would go on
with both sets of fans present (and with due security guarantees) or it
would be played (a) behind closed doors or (b) away from Uruguay. In the
eleventh hour a solution was found: it was moved away from Peñarol's
stadium, Campeón del Siglo, to the old Centenário, which is larger and
made it easier to separate both sets of fans.
On the field, Peñarol played with a lot of heart and earned a deserved
victory. It is true that Botafogo rested players who were one yellow
card away from a suspension (which included some of their main stars),
with the only exception being goalkeeper John, who, due to this, was
under strict orders to not waste time on goal kicks or even try to talk
to the referee. Artur Jorge was visibly tense about this every time his
keeper had the ball :-). But, though the game was hard (one red card for
each side), it did not descend into a hackfest.
No exchange of jerseys post final whistle, though, as Botafogo players
stayed celebrating on one end of the pitch, in front of the emptier side
of the stands, where their fans were, while Peñarol players were around
the middle of the pitch, receiving the applause of the rest of the
stadium's crowd
The final will be played on November 30th, at Estadio Monumental de
Nuñez, in Buenos Aires. With a capacity of 84,567, it is currently the
biggest stadium in South America. Conmebol may have hoped that an
Argentinian club made the final, which would make it easier to make it a
full house, but now they're stuck with two Brazilians. I've heard talk
about moving it to Independiente's aptly named Estadio Libertadores de
America (capacity 49,592), but I'm not sure if this is indeed being
considered by the powers-that-be.
This will be Atlético Mineiro's second final, the previous one having
been in 2013, in which they beat Olimpia on penalties. Botafogo makes
the final for the first time, having been a semifinalist in 1963
(eliminated by Pelé's Santos) and 1973 (outdone by Colo-Colo and Cerro
Porteño in their semifinal group). They are the only Brazilian big club
that still haven't won Copa Libertadores.
Both teams have also to contend with battle in other fronts: Atlético
Mineiro plays Flamengo in Copa do Brasil final, while Botafogo leads the
league by three points, with seven rounds to go. Atlético settles their
deal on November 3rd (in Maracanã) and 10th (Arena MRV), while Botafogo
has to face four league rounds over the month before November 30th.
Best regards,
Lléo