This Tuesday, the draw for the initial stages of the Copa Sudamericana took place in Buenos Aires Sheraton in Argentina. All the CONMEBOL big whigs are in Argentina preparing for the beginning of the world’s oldest international tournament, the Copa America which is starting tomorrow.

But with this year’s competition comes a new sponsorship name. Gone are the days of Nissan, making way for Bridgestone (random). So the new cup will be called Copa Bridgestone Sudamericana. (I just threw up in my mouth a little.)

All the marketing stuff aside, the tournament remains unchanged from last year’s edition with 8 Brazilian sides, 6 Argentine teams, and 3 teams from the rest of the 8 associations that comprise the CONMEBOL. In the first round, all 8 of the number two sides from each participating country will be facing off against the number 3 sides, except the Argentine and Brazilian sides who will be facing off against each other to dwindle down the number of participants from those two countries.

The champion of this year’s Copa Sudamericana will be automatically qualified for the 2012 Copa Libertadores, the Copa Suruga (vs. the J-League champs) and the 2012 Recopa Sudamericana (vs. recent Libertadores champs Santos). CONMEBOL are also trying to get the winner to play a Copa Interamericana where they face off against the winner of the CONCACAF club tournament (likely the Champions League?).

Also announced was the “Superclásicos de las Américas.” Not that these matches need a title because they are rivalry matches but for the next 8 years, Argentina and Brazil will face each other in a home and away style match up. This year’s “Clasicos” are scheduled to take place on the September 14th in Buenos Aires and the 28th in Brazil and both teams will likely field local league players. Not really news but I guess they are committing to these matches on a yearly basis. Marketing bullshit in my opinion.

So God willing we’ll have a good Sudamericana coming up. Below are the results of the draw yesterday.

Results of the draw:


First Round

(A) San José (BOL)[L]              vs.    Nacional (PAR)
(B)
Uni. César Vallejo (PER)[L]    vs.    Independiente Santa Fe (COL)
(C)
Chile 3 [L]                    vs.    Fénix (URU)
(D)
Deportivo Quito (ECU)[L]       vs.    Deportivo Anzoátegui (VEN)
(E)
Olimpia (PAR)[L]               vs.    The Strongest (BOL)
(F)
Equidad CD (COL)[L]            vs.    Juan Aurich (PER)
(G)
Bella Vista (URU)[L]           vs.    Universidad Católica (CHI)
(H)
Yaracuyanos (VEN)[L]           vs.    Liga de Quito (ECU)


Second Round


WINNER A [L]          vs.    Aurora (BOL) (O14)

WINNER B [L]          vs.    Deportivo Cali (Colombia) (O8)

WINNER C [L]          vs.    Nacional (URU) (O2)

WINNER D [L]          vs.    Universitario (PER) (O6)

WINNER E [L]          vs.    Emelec (ECU) (O10)

WINNER F [L]          vs.    Libertad (PAR) (O4)

WINNER G [L]          vs.    Deportes Iquique (CHI) (O16)

WINNER H [L]          vs.    Trujillanos FC (VEN) (O12)


Second Round
Argentina


Argentinos Jrs. [L]    vs.    Vélez Sásrfield (O1)

Arsenal [L]             vs.    Estudiantes LP (O7)

CA Lanús [L]             vs.    Godoy Cruz (O11)

                                Independiente (defending champions) (O5)


Second Round
Brazil


Flamengo [L]            vs.    Atlético Paranaense (O15)

Atlético Mineiro [L]    vs.    Botafogo (O9)

Ceará SC [L]             vs.    Sao Paulo FC (O13)

Vasco da Gama [L]       vs.    Palmeiras (O3)

If this cup final seems like it snuck up on you, well, you’re not the only one feeling that way because it snuck up on me too. But the winner of the 2009 Copa Libertadores is facing the winner of the 2009 Copa Sudamericana in this one and I’m hoping it’ll be a good one.

Estudiantes de La Plata arrived yesterday in Quito to face the 2009 Sudamericana champions LDU Quito in the Estadio La Casa Blanca in Quito. But Estudiantes will not arrive at full strength.

They’ll be without strikers, Rodrigo López (knee injury) and Gáston Fernández (shoulder injury). But they’ll also be without goalkeeper Agustín Orión and defender Leandro Desábato who are both suspended after being sent off in their last 2010 Libertadores match against eventual champions Internacional.

But midfielder Gabriel Mercado is back from an injury he had to his clavicle and is expected to start. But, coach Alejandro Sabella has yet to reveal the starting line up but rumor has it it’ll be the same one that earned a draw in the Argentine Primera at the weekend against Banfield.

Since winning the Copa Libertadores, Estudiantes have lost a few key players including goal scoring machine Mauro Boselli who took his goals to Wigan Athletic in England’s Premier League. Also, transferred away were Marcos Angeleri (now with Sunderland in the EPL), Mariano Andújar (now with Catania in Serie A), Christian Cellay (now with Boca Juniors) and Rolando Schiavi, who pulled a Henrik Larsson and was only on loan with the club until the end of the Libertadores and is now back with his club, Newell’s Old Boys.

Recopa Sudamericana Fun Fact: US born player, Michael Hoyos (born in Fountain Valley, CA), who traveled to Quito with the squad, could be on the bench for Estudiantes. Hoyos featured for the Argentine U21s recently, so take it easy there US Soccer geeks!

LDU Quito are back in this match as the reigning Recopa Sudamericana champions, as well as the 2009 Copa Sudamericana championsx. Liga are playing on their ground and are looking to gain some headway for the return leg next week in Argentina. With a win in this series, LDU Quito win their 4th international title in the club’s history, all under Argentine coach Edgardo Bauza.

Despite the changes in line ups since their first international title in the 2008 Libertadores, (most notably Joffre Guerrón and Enrique Vera) LDU Quito are still the best team in Ecuador (top of the table in the local league). But not all is rosy. They lost the Copa Suruga against the J-League champs Tokyo FC and have struggled to cover more recent transfers (mostly Claudio Bieler on the forward line).

At the weekend, however, LDU Quito fielded a mixed side of youngsters and starters that earned them a 1-0 win over local side, Olmedo. The win puts them comfortably atop the standings in Ecuador with 20 points in the 2nd stage of their season.

These two faced off on one prior occasion in the 2008 Libertadores (which LDU Quito went on to win) in the Round of 16 where LDU Quito won the first leg at La Casa Blanca, 2-0. Estudiantes won the second leg 2-1, but gave up an important away goal that eliminated Estudiantes.

My pick: Away goals rule does not apply here. This one will go 2-1 to LDU Quito. Local fans will go home happy and Estudiantes will show that the bomb scare they had on arrival in Guayaquil, Ecuador, rattled them. Couple that with the fact that they can’t field an out and out proven striker and that their starting goal keeper is suspended, this one does not end on a positive note for Estudiantes. But LDU Quito will not run riot. They have failed to replace players like Damián Manso and Enrique Vera and don’t have the goal scoring prowess they once had with Claudio Bieler and Joffré Guerrón.

Fox Sports en Español will be airing this match LIVE at 9pm EST. Come back to check out the match report and then leave without leaving me not one comment. Remember that Colo Colo vs. Universidad de Sucre will be aired at 1am EST due to coverage of this final match.

The second leg between Chilean side Colo Colo and Universitario de Sucre from Bolivia takes place tonight at the Estadio Monumental in Santiago. The host side has the obligation of not only winning, but making up the difference that they gave up last week in Bolivia.

With a spot of blood in their eye, Colo Colo are looking to use their home field advantage to make up for the two glaring mistakes they made against the Sucre offense. But they’ll be trying to do it just like last week except (possibly) without their goal scorer Ezequiel Miralles (Argentine Javier Campora will play in his place if he isn’t 100% at game time), without central defender Uruguayan Andrés Scotti (injured) and without Sebastian Toro as well.

Colo Colo gave up two goals last week that now has them facing quite the uphill battle. While they are flying high in the local Chilean league all is quite different in South America. They’ll need to win by three clear goals and things could get even more complicated should Sucre manage to get another one past Colo Colo keeper Raúl Olivares.

Without a win tonight, all the Chilean side will have left is the local league, where they sit atop the standings all by their lonesome with 47 points, but only one more than Universidad Católica.

Meanwhile, Sucre comes into this one with a little breathing room and with time definitely on their side. Expect to see basically the same team that lined up last week except that this week, they’ll probably play a little more of a defensive posture. But Sucre will be lining up their talismanic striker, Roberto Galindo and look for Sacha Lima to continue his good work.

According to Sucre coach Javier Vega, Colo Colo plays a different style when playing at home than when they play away. He says they have a larger volume of play from the midfielders and the forwards when at home. So clearly, this is going to be a different match from the one last week.

My pick: 2-1 to Colo Colo, they’ll get the win on the night but they’ll fail to qualify for the next round. With their minds on the local league they won’t be able to get enough goals in to get them what they’ll suit up for tonight.

Stay tuned, tonight is also the Recopa Sudamericana between the last Copa Sudamericana champion LDU Quito and last year’s Copa Libertadores champions Estudiantes de la Plata. I’ll be posting match reports of both matches tomorrow night as well.

Oriente Petrolero will have to play without their goal scorer Alcides Peña (12 goals this season so far), who is ruled out for this match because of injury. The Bolivian side qualified for this competition by managing a third place finish in the 2009 Bolivian league. Fox Sports en Español will be airing this match LIVE at 7:15pm EST, with coverage most likely beginning at 7:00pm EST.

In Tuesday’s second match, we’ll see Ecuador’s Barcelona hosting Peruvian side Universidad César Vallejo at Guayaquil’s Monumental Stadium. The first leg of this one ended 2-1 to Barsa so the Peruvian side has an uphill climb to try to earn the upset. Both teams are coming off weekend losses and both teams could face each other without some key players. Barsa could be without Luis Bolaños and Cesar Vallejo could be without Colombians Mayer Candelo and Héctor Hurtado. The first leg was played on artificial turf in Peru. Unable to get any love from the people at Fox, this match will not be televised. I trust you’ll be able to find a stream of this match online somewhere.

On Wednesday, the sole match is Colo Colo hosting Bolivian side Universitario de Sucre in Santiago at the Estadio Monumental. Colo Colo was surprised by the good play of Sacha Lima and Bolivian goalscorer, Roberto Galindo, who contributed to their side’s 2-0 win. Colo Colo are on top of their league right now and are looking good but not so much in the Sudamericana. But they could turn it around at home if Colo Colo coach Diego Cagna can get his guys in line. More on this match later, I’m featuring this one as a recommended match. This match is not available live due to the Recopa Sudamericana coverage (which I will be covering here), but will be aired on tape delay at 1:00am EST on Fox Sports en Español. If you don’t catch it then, it’ll be re-aired at 11am EST.

In Thursday’s first match, Argentine teams debut with Independiente (the leader in Copa Libertadores titles with 7, 4 of them in consecutive fashion) hosting Argentinos Juniors, who have one Libertadores cup (back in 1985) and are coming off winning the Argentine Clausura 2010. But they have a new coach since Claudio Borghi (also part of the Argentinos ‘85 winning side as a player) left to sign with Buenos Aires giants, Boca Juniors. Pedro Troglio is taking the reins of the team but hasn’t made many friends in La Paternal. But both sides are floundering near the bottom of the table in the beginning of the Argentine Apertura 2010 with only one point each. I’m not expecting either side to really light the night on fire in this one. The winner of this series qualifies to the round of 16. Fox Sports en Español will be airing this one LIVE at 8:15pm EST.

The last match of the week on Thursday night, Santa Fe of Colombia is hosting CD Lara of Venezuela at the Estadio “El Campin” de Bogota. Lara earned a 2-0 win over the favored Colombian side. Santa Fe is also at the top of their local league but not looking as good in the Sudamericana. But Santa Fe have won their last three matches on their ground and could turn this series around in front of their fans. The winner of this series goes on to face 2009 Copa Venezuela champion, Caracas FC in the second stage. Look for this one LIVE on Fox Sports en Español at 10:30pm EST.

Catch up with me here at the end of the week for highlights of all these matches and a small round up of each one as well as what the possible match ups in the next round are.

On Wednesday, Avaí hosted Santos FC in Florianopolis, Brazil, the same day that Inter took the Libertadores against Chivas. Santos managed to get the 1-0 win over Avaí with a 22nd minute fantastic strike by Ze Eduardo. Santos, a favorite to win this cup, was eliminated since they lost the away match last week 3-0. Avaí will face the winner of the series between Universidad San Martin of Peru and Emelec of Ecuador. That series won’t start until Sept. 15.

Palmeiras hosted Vitória at the Estadio Palestra Italia and unlike Santos, they were able to turn around a negative result enough to advance to the round of 16 where they’ll meet the winner of match O13 that pits Paraguayan side Cerro Porteño against the winner between Sucre and Colo Colo taking place next week. So still a few things need to be sorted out before we know who Palmeiras will be playing.

Same drill next week. I’ll choose one or two matches to watch and highlight those with a match preview and a match report so we can, sort of, track some of these teams and see if any of them have what it takes to make a good run. Thanks.

This match started off firing on all cylinders and with the folks in attendance gave us great South American nights atmosphere. Both teams seemed intent on surprising one another and attacks on both ends. And since this is the first match for each side in this competition, it felt like there were some nerves to play through on both sides in the opening minutes.

But the pace of the match held and attacks on both ends were the norm through the first 20-30 minutes or so. Not sure either River Plate or Guarani fielded defensive examples to follow since both sides found themselves deep into enemy territory with the ball on a constant basis.

With an on fire Jonathan Fabbro, Guarani seemed closer to scoring with an equally talented Ricardo Texeira on the forward line but the opening goal eluded them through most of the first half.

River on the other hand, was able to collectively answer Guarani on several occasions with wonderful plays that connected Sergio Souza, Nicolas Pereyra and Rodrigo Montelongo, but like Chivas last night, they were a little innocent or naive on their final touch where they lacked the finish that veteran players have.

Both sides seemed hell bent on scoring which made this a fun match to watch for the neutral observer.

Unfortunately, the first half ended like it started. Nether team could manage to get one past the other team’s keeper but it was all that was missing in a match that gave us plenty of action and last second saves.

The second half was more of the same. Lots of running, group play and River playing a nice brand of team football. But in the 66th minute, Jonathan Fabbro tapped in a cross from the left. The play happened in almost slow motion with Texeira getting the cross off and then the two River defenders leaving Fabbro all alone for him to tap it past the keeper.

1-0 to Guarani.

But River didn’t let up. And for that matter, neither did Guarani. Things sped up if anything and attack upon attack rained down on both penalty areas with both sides playing great football.

But in the 73th minute, Texeira took advantage of a stationary keeper to head the ball into the back of the net. Guarani fans celebrated, River Plate’s players lamented.

2-0 to Guarani.

Now with a deficit to cover, River Plate opened up more than ever in search of a goal to get them back into the game. But Fabbro and company kept them from getting too comfortable up the pitch and more and more it seemed like this one was over.

River made some changes after the second Guarani goal but the new fresh players seemed more interested in playing short horizontal passes than long vertical ones up the pitch. And when they had a couple of clear chances, their finishing was just poor.

Pablo Gaglianone saved a third by Fabbro off the line near the end of the match and that was how it ended.

Final Score: 2-0 to Guarani.

I had this match going 1-1 but only because I was sure that River could put one away. Turns out Guarani is a tougher team than I expected and have some players who come together really well on game day.

The return match will take place in Uruguay, most likely at the Centenario in Montevideo, in two weeks, on Sept. 1st. Check out this page again later as I’ll be posting highlights of the rest of the action that took place this week in Copa Sudamericana.

This is the second match that I recommended you watch this week.

Guarani vs. River Plate, aired LIVE @3:30pm PST on Fox Sports en Español.

Like the other featured match this week, it’s doesn’t pit two teams with similar standings in their local leagues, but rather features one side that is expected to perform well or at least get into the round of 16 against a recent champion.

River Plate is the team that, based on most recent results, should qualify deeper into the tournament than say, Lara of Venezuela or Atletico Huila of Colombia. Tonight’s match will take place in Paraguay’s historic stadium, Defensores del Chaco, where Guarani is the home side.

This match will be River Plate’s first official match of the season (post World Cup). The official start date of the Uruguayan season was this past weekend but it’s being pushed back because of a referee’s strike.

River Plate is known for it’s offensive brand of football and their results have shown that it’s been an effective style for them. In the 2007-2008 season, the club fought for the Uruguayan title and reached 2nd place in the league. A huge feat for a side who only earned promotion to the first division in 2004. Riding that good form also earned them a great semifinals performance in the Copa Sudamericana in 2009 where they were eliminated by eventual champs, LDU Quito.

But this River Plate team is missing some star players from previous years yet still managed to keep a few of it’s players from recent glories with the club. Young players like midfielder Bruno Montelongo and defender Mauricio Prieto are still with the club. But they will also have Pablo Gaglianone to count on with his experience at 34 years old in the midfield. Plus, coach Eduardo Del Capellán is a former River Plate player and a coach ingrained with the club’s tradition.

On the other side of the ball, Guarani is a team that qualified for this competition by finishing 5th on the 2009 Paraguayan Primera table (I failed to mention but River were the 4th best place team overall in Uruguay). Guarani can boast that they qualified for the Copa LIbertadores a total of 10 times with their best showing (a semifinal finish) coming way back in 1966. Since then they’ve failed to make an impression.

But with recent signing Gerardo Vander Putten and veteran players like Walter Guglielmone, Elvis Marecos and Brazilian Rodrigo Texeira, Guarani have a mix of experienced players with young up and comers like Argentine born Paraguayan Jonathan Fabbro. Guarani are also coming off winning the 2010 Apertura of Paraguay so while they are not a popular side, they will not be pushovers.

My pick: I know I might talking up River Plate in this one but based on what happened earlier this week with the Sucre-Colo Colo match, I’m going with a 1-1 draw in this one. I don’t see River Plate running riot and I don’t see Guarani able to take this one completely either.

Check back here for a match report tomorrow when I can get my hands on some video of this one for you. Also check back here tomorrow for a recap of the week’s action of matches I didn’t recommend you watch this week, including the elimination of one of Brazil’s most storied clubs on Wednesday night when everyone was busy watching Inter win the Copa Libertadores.

Which, as it happens, I’ve written a match report of over at the Libertadores Offside. Check it out when you get a chance.

Last night’s match wasn’t quite the one sided affair most people expected, including me. What was expected was Colo Colo to come out and run over Universitario de Sucre. But what ended up happening couldn’t have been more different from that.

Colo Colo began the match running directly at Sucre. But in a way that wasn’t necessarily dominating but more like they were getting into the final third or quarter of the pitch without realizing they had gotten there with the ball. At least that’s what it seemed like because their passes looked unintentional and surprising, not to mention completely unrehearsed. So the result was a final touch that looked unrefined and sloppy.

And since the Chileans did not dominate possession they allowed the Bolivian club a chance to get comfortable and realize that they were playing in front of their fans and frankly deserved more of the ball and more chances to score. And they did. Slowly but surely they came at the Colo Colo defense and revealed that the Chilean league leaders had some question marks on their back line.

Despite Colo Colo’s inadvertant ease to get to the Bolivian penalty area and Sucre’s innocence at building plays, neither team found the back of the net, even with Javier Campora coming on for an injured Ezequiel Miralles for Colo Colo’s first substitution. In my opinion, Miralles was far more involved with the play making than Campora and I think that’s why he got more touches than Campora but it was an obliged sub due to an appeared muscle pull by Miralles.

Half time score: 0-0

The second half started where the first left off. Isolated plays on either end, none coming from any kind of building momentum or extended possession. One team attacked another but not in the collective sort of way but rather with long vertical balls or isolated dribbling from players like Macnelly Torres or Lucas Wilchez for Colo Colo or Martin Michel or Sacha Lima for Sucre.

So it was a total surprise when the opening goal came. Completely unexpected, in fact. The Chilean keeper Raul Olivares took a free kick that landed just past midfield where a Bolivian player won a header, another of his teammates smartly headed again, freeing up a streaking Roberto Galindo (the Bolivian player of the moment BTW, scoring 5 goals in the last 5 matches, 6 in 6 now) who lobbed the ball over the out-of-position Olivares who was standing just a few meters from where he took the prior free kick.

Universitario de Sucre score: 1-0 to the hosts.

But then as the match seemed to wane and it seemed like Colo Colo’s defense was looking sharper and looking like they were closer to drawing level than Sucre did to their second. And then, the unthinkable(?) happened. Universitario scored their second.
Horacio Fernández freed up on the right and crossed the ball into the penalty area. The “light” cross that it was hopped over a diving defender’s feet and right to Sacha Lima at the top of the area. Lima slotted the cross into the net past a diving Olivares. Game, set and match?

Universitario de Sucre score again: 2-0 to the host side.

Then, put off their game, Colo Colo had trouble keeping any type of Sucre offensive play from looking dangerous. And consequently, Sucre looked more and more seasoned at the back despite whatever disheveled offensive attempt Colo Colo threw at them.

In the waning moments, both sides looked dangerous but it was Sucre who ended the match looking more organized, more deliberate and more professional.

Final score: Universitario de Sucre wins, 2-0.

I had this match going 2-1 to the Chilean side. Sucre was better than I thought and probably than most people thought. The press is dubbing them the Cinderella team of this competition. Let’s see how they do next week in Santiago. I honestly didn’t expect a two goal difference between these two and definitely not going the Bolivians way. But Sucre made their home field advantage count and are taking a nice lead to Santiago next week where, I’m sure, Colo Colo will throw everything including the kitchen sink at them.

I think this was a good choice of a recommended match of the week even if it didn’t go the way I thought it would. Be sure to check this page again come Thursday for a preview of the Guarani vs. River Plate match, the other recommended match up for this week in the Copa Sudamericana. Also, be sure to check the Copa Libertadores page where I’ll be posting a preview of the final match.

Alright well, here is the first of two matches that I recommend you watch this week.

Universitario de Sucre vs. Colo Colo, aired @ 4pm PST on Fox Sports en Español.

Tonight’s match up isn’t necessarily a BIG one but it features one of the best sides in Chilean football at the moment, Colo Colo, against Bolivian side, Universitario de Sucre at the Estadio Olimpico Patria that happens to be at 2750 METERS above sea level.

Now many people dispel the fact that it’s difficult for teams to beat Bolivian, Peruvian and Ecuadorian teams because they play at high altitude stadiums and having just spent the past weekend in the mountains, I can say that there is a hell of a lot of truth to that. I felt like crap my first day there and it took a few days to get acclimated, I can’t imagine having to run for 90 minutes upon arrival.

Universitario have not had great showings in CONMEBOL tournaments, with first round exits in their only two international participations: The first in 2006 Copa Sudamericana and last year in Copa Libertadores. Locally they only have 2 cups, one being a 2005 2nd division win to earn them promotion to the Bolivian first division.

Their manager, Carlos Leeb, had a good run as coach of Guarani (they’ll play against River Plate on Thursday) before taking the reins at Universitario and like most Argentine managers, he’s managed to sign quite a few Argentines to his roster. But, not all is rosy for Universitario. They are coming off a poor showing in a 1-1 draw in their local league which leaves them in an uncomfortable 6th place on the table.

I also have to highlight that Universitario qualified for this competition by being the winners of a hexagonal group made up of teams that were eliminated in the first phase of playoffs in the Bolivian first division. I’d say they are sitting ducks if it wasn’t for the high altitude so I’ll save that for next week.

But the real reason I want you to see this match is Colo Colo. This club are one of the most popular clubs in Chile and are currently riding high in their league. Colo Colo has won the Chilean league 29 times and have not slouched through international competitions either. In 1991, they were Copa Libertadores winners, winners of the ensuing Recopa Sudamericana in 1992 and most recently won the Sudamericana in 2006.

But this Colo Colo side is completely different in that they have a new coach in Diego Cagna. Some of you might remember Cagna from his playing days at Boca Juniors of Argentina, but he started his coaching career with then 2nd division side Club Atletico Tigre, getting them to earn promotion to the Argentine Primera where they have become a permanent fixture. In their first season in the Argentine top flight, Tigre finished the season in 2nd place with Cagna at the helm and two years later they finished at the top only to lose a three way tie to Boca Juniors.

In short, what I’m trying to say is Diego Cagna can coach. If there was any question, his current club’s form should confirm his abilities.

If you followed my Libertadores blog back in 2008, you’ll recognize Colombian Macnelly Torres’ name. Back then he featured for a small Colombian outfit Cúcuta. If not, you’ll be sure to see him get a lot of touches as most of what his club will do will likely go through him. Also look for the midfield partnership of Rodrigo Melendez and captain Arturo Sanhueza to back him up in the midfield.

Two players that will not feature for Colo Colo tonight are forward Esteban Paredes, injured, and veteran central defender Uruguayan Andrés Scotti. Despite this, Colo Colo are the favorites to get a positive scoreline tonight.

My pick: I got this one going to the visitors tonight. Colo Colo 2-1. I think that Colo Colo won’t quite be what everyone is expecting. The elephant in the room (read: high altitude) will rear it’s ugly head and Colo Colo will win by the smallest of margins.

Alright, after this week, I can focus fully on this tournament and possibly more matches. Don’t forget to watch the Copa Libertadores final match tomorrow night. I’ll be posting a preview of that match tomorrow. And stay tuned here for my post match report of this one. Enjoy!

Today’s other match is Venezuelan CD Lara hosting neighboring country Colombia’s Independiente Santa Fe. Now, it would be easy for me to trash this game and make fun of it because it’s meaningless but the last Venezuelan-Colombian match up we’ve seen so far in this competition was Atletico Huila vs. Trujillanos in a really open, fun-to-watch match. Plus, I’ll bet one of these two sides has a jersey you probably haven’t ever seen. Either way, it doesn’t look like Fox Sports is going to televise this match, another unfortunate reason I’m not covering this match at any further length.

Wednesday is Copa Libertadores final match day but there will be Sudamericana action as well. Avaí look to surprise us all by ousting one of Brazil’s most storied clubs in Santos. Unfortunately, you’ll have to find a live feed somewhere online since Fox Sports en Español will not be airing this one live. It will be aired on Thursday at 11:30am PST. The scoreline of the first leg should be enough of an indication of the state of South American football, not just Brazil. The bigger clubs are now struggling as much as the smaller clubs are and that levels the leagues and in turn, the competitions to which they qualify for. And why we are seeing teams like Avaí and Vitória in this competition.

Thursday rounds out the Sudamericana week with Guarani of Paraguay hosting River Plate of Uruguay at the historic Defensores de Chaco stadium. This is another recommended match that I’ll be posting a preview of later this week. River Plate have surprised a lot of people in recent years with their results. Fox Sports en Español will be airing this match LIVE at 3:30pm PST. Stay tuned for more info on this match.

Also, keep an eye out for the all Brazilian tie, Palmeiras hosting Vitória with the first leg going to Vitória. Not unlike the other Brazilian tie in this round, the smaller, unknown club looks to upset the larger more storied club. Vitória was able to win, 2-0 and have a lead going into the match at the Palestra Italia. Fox Sports en Español will be airing this one tape delay at 10:30pm PST for you night owls.

Unlike last week, I’ll post highlights for this week’s matches (minus the ones I’m going to highlight with match previews) at the end of the week. Keep an eye on this page for match previews and better coverage once the Copa Libertadores final match tomorrow takes place.