The Brazil national team might not be having much success in recent FIFA World Cups, but Brazilian clubs have won the last seven Copa Libertadores, South America’s version of the UEFA Champions League. This domination is unprecedented, and, going into this year’s semifinal, consecutive victory number eight could be coming up.
There is the guarantee of one Brazilian finalist. Over the next two weeks, Palmeiras of São Paulo will duel with Fluminense of Rio de Janeiro. At stake for both is a place in the final in Montevideo, Uruguay on Nov. 28. And whoever comes through, it could well set up a highly attractive decider against defending champions Flamengo.
A Palmeiras vs. Flamengo final would be yet another big-stakes game between the two clubs that have dominated Brazilian and South American soccer for the past decade. It would be a replay of last year’s final, and that of 2021, and a match between the teams going head-to-head to win this year’s domestic league.
Should Fluminense come through, it would set up a delicious Rio derby on Uruguayan soil. Flamengo and Fluminense are historic rivals, and the expression “Fla-Flu” is often used in Brazil to refer to an entrenched two-way dispute.
It is all very enticing. But there is one club that can upset the narrative. In their semifinal, Flamengo must first get past opponents from Argentina. And it is not River Plate or Boca Juniors, the two Buenos Aires giants whose explosive clash in the 2018 final marks the last time that anyone but Brazil got their hands on the trophy.
This is a surprise — or certainly should be. Although they were eliminated early, both had the benefit of a cash boost from their participation in last year’s Club World Cup. River Plate can now count on the largest capacity stadium in South America. With these advantages, and the immense size of their fan bases, it is River and Boca who should theoretically be carrying the challenge to the Brazilians in the Copa Libertadores. But both have been in a slump.
Amazingly, River did not even qualify for this year’s Libertadores. They had to make do with the Copa Sudamericana, the Europa League equivalent, and were bitter disappointments even in that, falling in the second round to Colombia’s Independiente Santa Fe.
And Boca played a dismal first half of the year. They finished third in their Libertadores group, eliminating them from the competition and taking them into the Sudamericana, where, after a coaching change and the emergence of some new talent, they have gone through a resurgence. They now face Brazil’s Vasco da Gama in the semifinal of that competition.
And so the Argentine team still fighting to become champion of the continent is humble Estudiantes de La Plata. Just as happened last year, it has fallen to them to carry the fight to the Brazilians — a task which is well within the tradition of this extraordinary club.
Long before Boca or River had ever won the Libertadores, modest Estudiantes had three titles to their name, won consecutively between 1968 and 1970. This was a huge shock. Argentine soccer and society remain highly centralized in Buenos Aires — and this was even more true some six decades ago. Estudiantes are from La Plata, a much smaller city some 40 miles outside the capital. What chance did a team from there have?
As it turned out, every chance if they applied themselves thoroughly. The late ’60s Estudiantes team were extremely well prepared, ahead of the curve in taking advantage of set pieces and in discovering and exploiting the weak points of their opponents. They were very tough to play against, and the type of game they played was not always easy on the eye. But they did have a wonderful talent in attacking midfielder Juan Ramón Verón.
In 2009 they won the Libertadores once more. This time the star man, dictating operations from central midfield, was Juan Sebastián Verón, the son of the original. And for the last few years, Verón Jr. has been a totally committed and extremely effective club president.
And so the current Estudiantes team, which takes the field for the first leg in La Plata this Thursday are well aware of the tradition they are representing. In financial terms, this semifinal might come across as a mismatch. Flamengo’s pockets are much, much deeper. They recently swooped to sign Joaquín Freitas from River Plate, a 19-year-old who many in Argentina see as the new Julián Álvarez. And if Flamengo can take away River’s brightest promise, what hope is there for the likes of Estudiantes?
But results — recent ones — would seem to indicate that Estudiantes can compete. Last year they met in the quarterfinal, and Flamengo needed a penalty shootout to get through. This year they were placed in the same group. The sides drew 1-1 in La Plata, with Flamengo winning in Rio by the only goal — a mistake from veteran Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.
After his World Cup humiliation, Muslera will be seeking redemption in these games, and it would take a hard heart, or an allegiance to Flamengo, to deny him his moment. At the other end, the Brazilians will certainly be wary of Guido Carrillo, the bruising former Southampton center forward who has always given them problems. And, operating behind him, Joaquin Correa is a classy former Argentina international who could cause problems running at the Flamengo defense.
There are some other familiar faces. Former Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo has just rejoined the club where he first made his name. And silky former Atlético Madrid midfielder José Sosa is the club captain, although at 41 he is unlikely to see much action. There are some dangerous wingers with flashes of talent such as recent signing Baltasar Rodríguez, the promising young Uruguayan Joaquín Tobio Burgos or his compatriot, the crafty Tiago Palacios.
But more than anything else, there is grit and determination and solid soccer sense. They have fought their way through the competition. It took a stoppage-time goal in the last group game to book their place in the knockout stages. In the quarterfinal, they struck at the end to avoid a shootout against Corinthians.
Estudiantes have shown they can rise to the occasion. Will it be enough to overcome the mighty Flamengo and spoil the Brazilian party?
