An Inter Win That’s More of a Warning to their Future Opponents.

By: Mauro | November 20th, 2008

With a fantastic performance in the first leg in Guadalajara, Inter came into this match with a big lead that allowed them to manage the match at their discretion. Chivas was desperate to score early on and slowly fell apart in front of a much more organized, seasoned and veteran Inter side that seriously took care of business.

On Inter’s side of the ball the match was strangely calm, cool and collected. You see, since they had a wonderfully comfortable cushion separating themselves form Chivas, they were able to trot and not play full tilt, which in retrospect is very scary.

With Andrés D’Alessandro pulling the strings in the midfield and Taison (looking damn good tonight BTW) and Nilmar up front causing all kinds of havoc for the Chivas defenders, Inter looked in charge and in control of the match.

With a Chivas side desperate to score, they held onto possession from the first whistle but were unable to make a difference on the scoresheet or make Inter’s keeper Lauro nervous. Using the flanks, the Mexican side got close to the penalty area, but the well organized home side was able to keep the Mexicans from invading the 16-yard box, something that forced players like Ramón Morales to take long range shots.

But in the 18th minute, Juan Ocampo tackled D’Alessandro in the penalty area and the referee sounded his whistle for the penalty kick. D’Alessandro stepped up and buried the ball into the side netting, low to the right of the keeper. 1-0 and Inter had one foot into the Final match.

Not much later, Chivas suffered another blow. Off a free kick just outside the penalty area, D’Allesandro scored a magnificent free kick, beating the keeper for his second of the night and extended his side’s lead. 2-0 to Inter and now the aggregate was 4-0.

If Chivas had a prayer before this goal, now they were hopeless. BTW, the Mexican press blamed the keeper for this goal – more on these clowns later – but D’Alessandro was able to bend it like the best of them.

In the 41st minute, Alberto Medina brought down an Inter player from behind and got a straight red for a hard tackle. Only moments later, the keeper was at fault for the next goal. Off a corner, the keeper had trouble getting clearing the ball from his net only to allow it to go over his head and towards a waiting Nilmar who pounced and got ahead to it at the back door of the keeper’s goal. 3-0 to Inter. 5-0 on aggregate. Put a fork in Chivas, they are done. The worst news is that there is still a whole half left to play.

Now with ten men, the goal for Chivas was to try to get through the match without conceding another goal. So with this in mind, they played ten men behind the ball against an Inter side determined to hold possession until Chivas defenders made a mistake somewhere that they could take advantage.

And the mistake came in the 70th minute where on a wonderful give and go play between Taison and Nilmar up front, ended in a fantastic finish by the former Lyon player for the final nail in the coffin. 4-0 to Inter. 6-0 on aggregate.

Final Score: 4-0 to Inter. The qualify for the Final match.

Chivas was unable to do what Pumas, Pachuca and América were able to do, that is, get to a Copa Sudamericana Final match.

Unbeknownst to them, Inter have made history. They are the first Brazilian club to earn a spot in the final of a Copa Sudamericana. Now, I know, this cup hasn’t been around for a very long time – 6 years only – but that’s something for our Brazilian readers to get excited about.

One thing I am happy to get upset about is the Mexican team announcing tonight’s match for those of us here in North America. These guys are a total embarrassment. Actually, before I go there I’d like to congratulate them on knowing just about everything any human would want to know about the Mexican sides in these competitions. But they don’t have a single clue about the names of the players on the other team (MAGRAO!! not Marcao!!) and you can forget about them knowing their strategy or who they played at the weekend. I also hate that everything that happens in favor of other teams is considered a mistake by the Mexican side. “The goalkeeper allowed that fantastic goal to go in.” It’s total bullshit for people who call themselves professionals. There, I’ve said it.

I had this one going 2-1 to Inter. I hadn’t expected it to be so one sided but Inter are a solid team and it’s a shame they won’t be in next year’s Copa Libertadores. Chivas, better luck next time.

Feel free to check the CONMEBOL website for results and information about upcoming matches and for those of you in need of a bracket to get your heads around the competition, get an updated one here.