Estudiantes Look to Take Advantage of a Weakened Botafogo Side.

By: Mauro | October 21st, 2008

Club Estudiantes de La Plata vs. Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas (Estádio Cuidad de La Plata “Unico”, La Plata, Argentina)

LIVE @ 4pm on Fox Sports Español. Gamecast here. Online TV here.

While Estudiantes de la Plata are coming into this match with a full head of steam and riding on the backs of star players, Mauro Boselli, José Luís Calderón and Juan Sebastian Verón, Botafogo have had some exceptional results in the competition on the backs of Lucio Flavio and their goal scorer, Carlos Alberto both of whom will not be available.

Estudiantes open the doors to the team that has scored the most goals in this competition–at least the one still alive (no offense Católica fans) in the tournament–in the Brazilian side. But it looks like this version of Botafogo might lack a little bite. Carlos Alberto, the team’s leading goalscorer in the competition with 4 goals–tied with Marco Lázaga of Olimpia of Paraguay–and Lucio Flavio, the two players who have made the most difference for their side will reportedly be out injured for this one.

The bigger worry for coach Ney Franco is that his side lost a crucial match in the Brasileirao this past weekend against Santos, 0-1. The loss puts them in 6th place, just outside the qualification spots for the much more revered Copa Libertadores.

Another problem (an off-field one) is that Botafogo is experiencing some economical and financial troubles that have resulted in the players not having received their paychecks for the last two months, something not unheard of in South American football, unfortunately.

Still, Botafogo got here by logging some convincing results. They slammed Atlético Mineiro in the first round beating them 3-1 in the first leg and 5-2 in the second leg. They then eliminated América de Cali, losing in Colombia 0-1 in the first leg and then qualifiying for the quarters by beating them in Rio 3-1.

With many of Estudiantes’ key players returning from injury in recent weeks, it seems the waves made by their former coach’s, Roberto Sensini, departure have been smoothed out as well, making this an ideal time for Estudiantes to host a Brazilian club in a quarter-final.

Coming off a 2-0 win in the Argentine Apertura over Gimnasia de Jujuy at the weekend, Estudiantes are riding a three game win streak (one of those wins over Boca Juniors). Slowly but surely, new coach Leonardo Astrada has reinvigorated this side and they appear as one of the candidates to win the Sudamericana since they are more than 10 points off pace in the Argentine Apertura.

Estudiantes have quite the strike force themselves in Calderón and Boselli up front. Boselli, former Boca Juniors reserve striker, has knocked in three goals of his own in the competition and threatens to take the lead over Carlos Alberto.

Estudiantes eliminated fellow Argentines Club Atlético Independiente in the first round by losing the first leg 1-2 in a fantastic match, then winning 2-1 in their stadium only to advance on penalties, 4-3. In the Round of 16, Estudiantes ousted defending champs, Arsenal, winning the first leg 2-1 and then drawing 0-0 in Sarandi.

Bottom Line: All stats aside, it’s hard for a club to ignore the their off field troubles. But it’s even harder when they are expected to perform without their two best players and knowing that they may or may not get paid for their performance despite the level. Coach Ney Franco has his work cut out for him since he must drive this team on pure passion, pride and honor. No easy feat, but possible since they are facing an Argentine side who could be painted as bitter continental rivals.

Estudiantes really couldn’t have asked for a better time to host a match of this magnitude. While the Sudamericana is not as important for the Brazilian sides, the Argentine sides play this cup with pleasure and each one participating in it, relishes the chance to lift this trophy. With their team back to full strength, look for El Pincha to try to take advantage of Botafogo in their possible weakened state.

My Pick: 2-1 to Estudiantes. Estudiantes will not be able to keep a clean sheet but they will win on their ground. Botafogo will play a great match making Pincha keeper, Mariano Andujar, the man of the match.

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.