Former champs and underdogs braced for next test - COPA LIBERTADORES
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Of the eight teams still in the running for the 2016 Copa Libertadores, five have lifted the famous trophy before: Boca Juniors, Nacional, Sao Paulo, Atletico Mineiro and Atletico Nacional, the only one of whom won't be facing a former champion in the quarter-finals.
Nevertheless, the Colombians have a tough assignment against Rosario Central, one of the leading outfits on the ever-competitive Argentinian scene. Elsewhere, Mexico’s powerful Pumas will be looking to end the fairytale run of Independiente del Valle, who knocked out reigning champions River Plate in the previous round.
FIFA.com sets the scene for the first legs of the quarter-finals of this year’s Copa Libertadores, which will take a break to make way for the Copa America Centenario after this round has been completed.
Quarter-final fixtures (first legs)
Wednesday 11
Sao Paulo-Atletico Mineiro
Thursday 12
Nacional-Boca Juniors
Rosario Central-Atletico Nacional
Tuesday 17
Independiente del Valle-Pumas
The big match
Nacional-Boca Juniors
Thursday 12 May, Estadio Gran Parque Central, 19.30 (local time)
No other quarter-final tie is steeped in quite as much Libertadores history as this one. Between them, the Montevideo and Buenos Aires giants have played 619 matches in the competition and won it nine times. Surprisingly, they have only ever squared off once, in the group phase in 2013, when they each recorded 1-0 away wins.
Both clubs are also coached by former idols who have each given them that little bit extra needed to fight for major silverware. For his part, Gustavo Munua has steered Nacional into Copa and Liga contention, which means he will have to divide his attention between Thursday’s meeting with El Xeneize and next weekend’s Montevideo clásico against Penarol. Munua’s men are brimming with confidence after beating Corinthians of Brazil on the away-goals rule in the previous round.
Meanwhile, Guillermo Barros Schelotto’s Boca have nothing on their minds but the Libertadores, a competition in which they remain unbeaten this year, having gone from strength to strength. Inspired by Carlos Tevez, who won the trophy with the club in 2003, the Argentinian side saw off the ever-awkward Cerro Porteno in the last 16 and are slight favourites going into this tie.
In the spotlight
Pitching together two pool winners from the group phase, the meeting between Rosario Central and Atletico Nacional promises to be a close and exciting affair. El Verdolaga have showcased their strength at the back by conceding a mere two goals in their eight games to date, while also revealing plenty of attacking options, with their 16 strikes coming from eight players.
Adopting more of an attacking game-plan, having let in an average of a goal per game so far, El Canalla have shown their gift for breaking forward at pace. Their two key contributors in front of goal are star striker Marco Ruben, who has struck seven of their 17 goals in the competition, and central defender Alejandro Donatti, who has chipped in with four.
Player to watch
Lucas Pratto (Atletico Mineiro)
A hero figure for the club’s demanding fans, the experienced 27-year-old Argentinian forward is his side’s leading marksman with four goals. Since arriving at the club in 2015, Pratto, the best foreign player in Brazil last year, has scored an average of 0.43 goals per match, the highest return of a career that stretches back nearly a decade.
Did you know?
It has been 15 years since Rosario Central last graced the quarter-finals of the Copa Libertadores, an occasion on which they took on another Colombian side in America de Cali and won through to the semis in a penalty shoot-out. Victorious by a solitary goal in the first leg in Rosario, El Canalla lost 3-2 in the return in Cali, in the days when there was no away-goals rule in the competition. All three of their goals in the tie were scored by Juan Antonio Pizzi, who is now Chile’s national team coach.
The stat
5 - the number of times Sao Paulo have played another Brazilian side in the last eight since the tournament adopted its current format in 1988. Tricolor won three of those ties, beating Criciuma in 1992, Flamengo a year later and Cruzeiro in 2010, and going on to win the title on the first two of those occasions. Their other two all-Brazilian last-eight encounters ended in defeat, to Fluminense in 2008 and Cruzeiro in 2009.
What they said
“We can’t deny that we’re excited at the possibility of playing in the Club World Cup, but to get there we have to beat everyone in the Libertadores. We’ve got another very tough challenge against Rosario Central, but we’ll try to overcome it using the same attributes we’ve shown up to now.” Atletico Nacional coach Reinaldo Rueda.