Pursuing the American dream: Cerro Porteño, Santos, Velez and Peñarol struggle to reach Libertadores final.
Libertadores semi-finals features two exciting matches this week. Brazilian favorite Santos hosts Cerro Porteño this Wednesday, while Peñarol hosts Velez Sarsfield in Uruguay this Thursday.
The four survivors play a highly offensive football, and most of them have a clear offensive referent to harmonize the attack. 19-years old Neymar has been the main engine of Muricy Ramalho's Santos, Roberto Nanni has successfully lead Cerro Porteño, and Uruguayans Santiago Silva and Juan Manuel Oliveira have done the same for Velez and Peñarol respectively.
Santos, already crowned champion of the Torneo Paulista, wants to lift its third Libertadores title, for the first time in more than 45 years. Velez Sarsfield wants to recover the American glory after 17 years, while at the same time leading the Argentinean Clausura.
Peñarol, a true Libertadores veteran, wants to deliver a fatal blow to Ricardo Gareca's Velez and reach the final for the first time in 24 years.
Both Santos and Cerro Porteño have shown strong credentials to lift this year's Libertadores. Brazilians and Paraguayans met each other on the fields only weeks ago, back in the Group Stage, when Santos defeated Leo Astrada's boys 2-1 in Asuncion, before sharing points in Brazil.
Lead by Roberto Nanni and Juan Manuel Iturbe, Cerro Porteño reached its sixth semi-final in the Libertadores. Astrada's boys advanced to this stage upon defeating Jaguares in Mexico, while Santos had to take on Once Caldas. "Our rival suffers when they don't have room to create. We'll not adopt a defensive stance in Brazil, we'll be offensively aggressive" said Astrada in Brazil.
"This could be the most complicated, most challenging game waiting ahead for us" said Cerro's top scorer Roberto Nanni. Jonathan Fabbro, Javier Villarreal and Iván Torres will lead the attack with the Argentinean, while Juan Manuel Lucero could be making way for Rodrigo Burgos in the starting eleven.
Santos' coach Muricy Ramalho celebrated its first victory with the Brazilian powerhouse against Cerro Porteño back in the Group Stage. "Instead of thinking about the four games pending to lift the title, I analyze the difficulties we've been through in this competition to reach this stage. Now, it's time to face two major rivals to claim the Libertadores" said Ramalho.
Regarding his rival this week, Ramalho declared "They know what they do, they play their game. Cerro has a strong presence on the wings. Their technique is unchallenged, albeit not particularly fast".
Santos looks forward to lift the Libertadores for the first time since 1963. Can young promise Neymar lead the Peixes towards the American glory?
Velez Sarsfield visits Uruguay to take on Peñarol at the Centenario. A special clash for Uruguayan striker Santiago Silva, who declared he used to follow Peñarol's eternal rival Nacional, but his fanaticism stopped "as soon as I started playing there, I didn't like it a bit". Ricardo Gareca's offensive trident (Maxi Moralez, Juan Manuel Martinez, Santiago Silva) might not be enough to break through Peñarol's sturdy defense.
Peñarol's attack referent Juan Manuel Olivera knows the Argentinean squad will be a tough nut to crack in Uruguay. He shares a common past with Santiago Silva, and they'll be meeting in the field after nine years, when Silva played for Nacional and Olivera for Danubio in the final of the Uruguayan Tournament back in 2002.
Velez Sarsfield is leading the Torneo Clausura with 30 points, and is in excellent form to lock horns with Peñarol this Thursday. Augusto Fernandez and Fabian Cubero were unable to train normally with the team during the week, but they're expected to be fully fit to perform in Montevideo.
Diego Aguirre's Aurinegros are aware an early goal could give them the necessary advantage to tame Velez Sarsfield. Can they succeed?
The four survivors play a highly offensive football, and most of them have a clear offensive referent to harmonize the attack. 19-years old Neymar has been the main engine of Muricy Ramalho's Santos, Roberto Nanni has successfully lead Cerro Porteño, and Uruguayans Santiago Silva and Juan Manuel Oliveira have done the same for Velez and Peñarol respectively.
Santos, already crowned champion of the Torneo Paulista, wants to lift its third Libertadores title, for the first time in more than 45 years. Velez Sarsfield wants to recover the American glory after 17 years, while at the same time leading the Argentinean Clausura.
Peñarol, a true Libertadores veteran, wants to deliver a fatal blow to Ricardo Gareca's Velez and reach the final for the first time in 24 years.
Both Santos and Cerro Porteño have shown strong credentials to lift this year's Libertadores. Brazilians and Paraguayans met each other on the fields only weeks ago, back in the Group Stage, when Santos defeated Leo Astrada's boys 2-1 in Asuncion, before sharing points in Brazil.
Lead by Roberto Nanni and Juan Manuel Iturbe, Cerro Porteño reached its sixth semi-final in the Libertadores. Astrada's boys advanced to this stage upon defeating Jaguares in Mexico, while Santos had to take on Once Caldas. "Our rival suffers when they don't have room to create. We'll not adopt a defensive stance in Brazil, we'll be offensively aggressive" said Astrada in Brazil.
"This could be the most complicated, most challenging game waiting ahead for us" said Cerro's top scorer Roberto Nanni. Jonathan Fabbro, Javier Villarreal and Iván Torres will lead the attack with the Argentinean, while Juan Manuel Lucero could be making way for Rodrigo Burgos in the starting eleven.
Santos' coach Muricy Ramalho celebrated its first victory with the Brazilian powerhouse against Cerro Porteño back in the Group Stage. "Instead of thinking about the four games pending to lift the title, I analyze the difficulties we've been through in this competition to reach this stage. Now, it's time to face two major rivals to claim the Libertadores" said Ramalho.
Regarding his rival this week, Ramalho declared "They know what they do, they play their game. Cerro has a strong presence on the wings. Their technique is unchallenged, albeit not particularly fast".
Santos looks forward to lift the Libertadores for the first time since 1963. Can young promise Neymar lead the Peixes towards the American glory?
Velez Sarsfield visits Uruguay to take on Peñarol at the Centenario. A special clash for Uruguayan striker Santiago Silva, who declared he used to follow Peñarol's eternal rival Nacional, but his fanaticism stopped "as soon as I started playing there, I didn't like it a bit". Ricardo Gareca's offensive trident (Maxi Moralez, Juan Manuel Martinez, Santiago Silva) might not be enough to break through Peñarol's sturdy defense.
Peñarol's attack referent Juan Manuel Olivera knows the Argentinean squad will be a tough nut to crack in Uruguay. He shares a common past with Santiago Silva, and they'll be meeting in the field after nine years, when Silva played for Nacional and Olivera for Danubio in the final of the Uruguayan Tournament back in 2002.
Velez Sarsfield is leading the Torneo Clausura with 30 points, and is in excellent form to lock horns with Peñarol this Thursday. Augusto Fernandez and Fabian Cubero were unable to train normally with the team during the week, but they're expected to be fully fit to perform in Montevideo.
Diego Aguirre's Aurinegros are aware an early goal could give them the necessary advantage to tame Velez Sarsfield. Can they succeed?
