South America Review: CONMEBOL says no to CONCACAF, more news

A CONCACAF proposal to host an intercontinental tournament with CONMEBOL was soundly rejected by the confederation from South America.

On Feb. 26, Andrew Das of the New York Times reported that US Soccer had reached out to the 10 national federations across South America that comprise CONMEBOL to invite them into a partnership to host a 2020 tournament in the United States similar to the Copa América Centenario. US Soccer reportedly offered massive financial guarantees to the national federations as well as both CONMEBOL and CONCACAF. In the process, US Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro and the executive board was gambling on extant infrastructure and past successes hosting soccer tournaments in the United States to bankroll another winner.

Globo reporter Martin Fernandez in Sao Paulo followed up two days later with CONMEBOL’s quick rejection of the offer. Citing the fact that the tournament lacks FIFA sanction, CONMEBOL rolled out the historic nature of its own tournament. Noting that the Copa America is the oldest continental championship in international soccer, the governing body of the sport in South America asserted that it would not participate in any tournament that would conflict with its own tournament. Since the Copa America is shifting its calendar to run concurrently with UEFA’s European Championships, it was a non-starter.

When it comes to soccer, South America has always blazed its own path. In the days prior to the formation of the World Cup, Uruguayan and Argentine successes on the Olympic stage helped define a unique style for the world. Uruguay was the early juggernaut on the continent, a prelude to the days of o jogo bonito and the Brazilian national teams that dominated from the 1950s through the 1970s on a global level. In the end, the proposal from US Soccer needed CONMEBOL and its members far more than South America needed the offer to bolster its brand of soccer.

With that in mind, let’s dive in and look at the happenings from across the continent, both in terms of the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana as well as several big stories from domestic leagues.

Copa Libertadores group stage now set

The last three days of February saw the second leg of the final qualifying stage of the 2019 Copa Libertadores, as eight teams vied for the last four spots in the 32-team group stage. With the conclusion of the round, we now know how the groups stack up for the next round.

Defensor Sporting had no answer for Brazil’s Atletico Mineiro on Wednesday, Feb. 27. After losing 2-0 at home in the first leg, the Uruguayan club went on the road to Belo Horizonte and were only able to muster a scoreless draw. Atletico Mineiro controlled the possession, preventing Defensor Sporting from mustering many quality chances on goal. As a result, Atletico Mineiro joins Internacional, Cruzeiro, Flamengo, Palmeiras, Athletico Paranaense, and Gremio as the seven teams representing Brazil in the group stage.

Peruvian club Melgar will also be in the group stage this year after surviving their return match against Venezuela’s Caracas FC a day earlier on Tuesday. Melgar already had a 2-0 lead from their home victory in the first leg, but they were nearly forced to settle things in a shootout. Caracas leveled the score on aggregate thanks to goals from Eduardo Fereira and Richard Celis on either side of halftime. But an 89th-minute strike by Bernardo Cuesta was enough to send the Peruvians through to join Alianza Lima and Sporting Cristal in the next round.

Talleres de Cordoba felt the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, all in one match on Wednesday. A 2-2 draw at home in Argentina in the first leg sent them to Santiago de Chile needing a win against Palestino. Dayro Moreno put Talleres on the board in the 20th minute, and for the first half and much of the second half it appeared that the goal would hold as the winner. Then Luis Antonio Jimenez netted an equalizer in the 70th minute, and the Chileans reversed their fortunes on Cristobal Jorquera’s 91st-minute winner. Thus Palestino advance to represent Chile alongside Universidad de Concepcion and Universidad Catolica.

The last team to make their way into the tournament, Libertad of Paraguay, needed penalties to get past Colombia’s Atletico Nacional. Libertad held a 1-0 advantage after the first leg, but Jeison Lucumi’s 33rd-minute header off a Hernan Barco service put the hosts level on aggregate. When neither team found another goal over the next hour, the two sides were forced into a shootout of spot kicks after regulation time came to a conclusion. When Atletico’s Daniel Bocanegra missed the first attempt, it opened the door for Libertad to enter the group stage alongside Cerro Porteno and Olimpia as a Paraguayan representative.

The first matches in all eight groups take place this week, with six matches on Tuesday, seven more on Wednesday, and the final three on Thursday.

Early returns from the Copa Sudamericana

Much like the relationship between the Champions League and the Europa League, clubs in South America also have the opportunity to compete in the second-tier Copa Sudamericana. At this stage the tournament has a more scattered calendar, with the first stage playing out in waves over the next couple of months.

As a result, we already know eight teams that have advanced through to the second stage while the full second-round field will not be decided until early May. We also know the two teams that will move on to the second round of the Copa Sudamericana from among the two best-placed losers in the final qualifying round of the Copa Libertadores.

At this point we know that Brazil and Uruguay each have two teams among the final 32 in the Copa Sudamericana. Both Brazilian sides through so far advanced at the expense of Argentine sides, with Botafogo taking down Defensa y Justicia 4-0 on aggregate and Corinthians downing Racing Club 5-4 in a shootout after the draw finished 2-2 on aggregate. It wasn’t all lucky for Brazil, though, as Uruguay’s River Plate and Liverpool went through at the expense of Santos and Bahia respectively.

Also through out of the first round are Ecuador’s Macara, Paraguay’s Deportivo Santani, Bolivia’s Royal Pari, and Union La Calera from Chile. From the Copa Libertadores, Caracas FC went through after their narrow loss to Melgar 3-2 on aggregate. They were joined by Atletico Nacional of Colombia after their qualifying tilt ended in a shootout loss to Libertad.

The next batch of participants will be decided on March 17, when the second leg between Antofagasta and Fluminense will take place in Chile after a scoreless draw between the two teams on February 26 at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.

Junior F.C. now within a point of Millonarios in Colombia

As Junior FC prepare for their first Copa Libertadores match at home on Wednesday against Palmeiras, the club is also in a fight to win the Apertura in domestic play in Colombia. Entering the weekend, Junior found themselves three points behind Millonarios and two points behind Cucuta Deportivo in the Primera table. After the weekend, they are now within a point of the lead.

Junior set themselves up for the leap after taking down Caldas in a straightforward 1-0 victory early on Saturday in the eighth round of the 20-match campaign. Fredy Hinestroza struck a pretty goal in the 18th minute, reaching out to latch on to a cross with his left foot and punch the ball into the roof of the net just under the crossbar.

Cucuta Deportivo lost 2-1 to La Equidad later on Saturday, allowing Junior to leapfrog them in the standings by a point. Then Millonarios was only able to muster a 1-1 draw on the road against Deportivo Cali, after Camilo Vargas punched in an equalizer for the hosts in second-half stoppage time to neutralize Eliser Quinones’s 57th-minute penalty conversion.

Now the Clausura champions from last season are on track to put themselves in contention for the Apertura this year in Colombia. But it must be remembered that Colombia does employ an eight-team playoff to settle both halves of their season. In that regard, the real battle is between Caldas and Union Magdalena. Despite their loss to Junior, Caldas sit ahead of Union Magdalena with a three-goal lead in goal differential to break the tie with both teams sitting on 11 points.

Olimpia now four points clear in Paraguay

Moving further south, the Paraguayan season looks once more like a runaway competition for Olimpia after another win for the league leaders on Saturday. After winning both the Apertura and Clausura season last year, the defending champions are really starting to pull away with the lead in this year’s Paraguayan Apertura.

They still remain unbeaten through the first nine matchdays of the new campaign after Jorge Ortega and Nestor Camacho potted goals for the front-runners in a fairly easy 2-0 victory on the road against General Diaz. On Sunday, Olimpia’s closest challenger Sportivo San Lorenzo was unable to claim any points against Libertad on the road. The 2-1 loss put Sportivo four points behind Olimpia.

More important to the situation, Olimpia still have a match in hand after an early match was postponed due to a Copa Sudamericana match scheduled already for Deportivo Santani. With a four-point buffer in the standings, Olimpia could jump as many as seven points clear once they make up the missing match on their record.

At this point, Olimpia have the type of gap in domestic play that will afford them the opportunity to put more emphasis on the upcoming Copa Libertadores. The three-time champions of South America will be a real threat to advance deep in the tournament this season, especially with a favorable draw in Group C.