It was a year for triumph and tragedy. Champions were crowned on three continents, and a new generation of stars dominated the international club scene. But 2007 was also marked by tragedy as Italian soccer descended into violence.
Tag: copa libertadores
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Boca buries Gremio by record margin in Libertadores Cup final
Juan Roman Riquelme scored two second-half goals as Boca Juniors beat Gremio, 2-0, in Porto Alegre on Wednesday to win the Libertadores Cup by an aggregate score of 5-0 — the largest margin of victory in the 48-year history of the competition. Riquelme, playing the final match for Boca under its loan agreement with Spain’s Villarreal, scored eight goals during the competition. He scored with a long-range effort in the 69th minute and slotted home a rebound 12 minutes later.
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Boca crushes Gremio, 3-0, in first leg of Libertadores Cup final
Boca put itself in good shape to capture its sixth Libertadores Cup title when it beat Gremio of Brazil, 3-0, in the the first leg of the final on Wednesday.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Boca loss moves San Lorenzo closer to Argentine title
A goal by Ruben Ramirez with three minutes remaining in the game gave struggling Colon to a 2-1 win over Boca Juniors on Sunday and left San Lorenzo on the brink of Argentina’s Torneo Clausura title. San Lorenzo tied Argentinos Juniors, 1-1, on the road on Saturday and now has a four-point lead with two games to play. It has not won an Argentine title since 2001.
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Panamanian Perez leads underdog Cucuta past Boca in Libertadores Cup
Panamanian striker Blas Perez led unfancied Colombian club Cucuta to a stunning 3-1 victory over Argentina’s Boca Juniors in the first leg of their Libertadores Cup semifinal series on Thursday.
Perez scored two spectacular goals to the delight of a sellout crowd of 45,000 fans at the General Santander Stadium. Gremio beat Brazilian rival Santos 2-0 in the first leg of the other semifinal on Wednesday.
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Riquelme rescues Boca in Libertadores Cup quarterfinals
Argentine star Juan Roman Riquelme scored a goal that began when he collected the ball in his own half to lead Boca Juniors to a 2-0 win over Paraguay’s Libertad and a place in the Libertadores Cup semifinals on Thursday. After being held to a 1-1 tie at home, Boca was in danger of falling to the Paraguayan champions, but Riquelme, who is on loan from Spain’s Villarreal rescued Boca with the deciding goal in the 62nd minute. He picked up the ball with his back to goal just inside his own half, turned inside Victor Caceres, cut inside a defender, worked an opening and scored with a low shot from the edge of the area.
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Santos knocks Club America out of Libertadores Cup
Brazilian clubs Santos and Gremio and Colombian champion Cucuta are first three teams through to the semifinals of the Libertadores Cup. Santos came from behind on Wednesday against Mexico’s America to win the second leg of their quarterfinal series, 2-1, and win by the same score on aggregate. Goals by Tcheco and Teco gave Gremio a 2-0 win over Uruguay’s Defensor Sporting to even their series, 2-2, and the Brazilian club went through on penalties, 4-2. Cucuta, playing in the tournament for the first time in its 47-year history, twice came from behind to earn a 2-2 tie at Uruguayan club Nacional on Tuesday and win, 4-2, on aggregate.
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Cruz Azul kicked out of Mexican playoffs
Pachuca reached the final of the Mexican First Division’s Torneo Clausura playoffs by forfeit when semifinal rival Cruz Azul was expelled from the competition for using Salvador Carmona in the first leg of the semifinals on Thursday after being informed Carmona had been handed a lifetime ban for doping Wednesday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. Pachuca, which won the first leg, 3-1, away faces Club America in the final. With a second-half goal by Ismael Rodriguez, America beat archrival Guadalajara for its second 1-0 victory and advance to the Mexican First Division finals, 2-0, on aggregate.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Boca pays for blunders at home in Libertadores Cup stunner
[COPA LIBERTADORES RESULTS] Martin Palermo scored in the 90th minute to salvage a 1-1 tie for Argentine powerhouse Boca Juniors against Paraguayan champion Libertad in the first leg of their Libertadores Cup quarterfinal series on Thursday in Buenos Aires. Boca star Roman Riquelme and keeper Mauricio Caranta were the goats for Boca. Riquelme missed a penalty kick for Boca, which fell behind when Caranta tried to tip Osvaldo Martinez‘s free kick out of play but missed the ball, which flew into the Boca goal.
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Colombian champion Cucuta opens Libertadores Cup quarterfinals with win
[TV SCHEDULE} Late goals by Macnelly Torres and Panamanian Blas Perez gave Colombian champion Cucuta a 2-0 victory over Nacional of Uruguay in the first leg of their Libertadores Cup quarterfinal series on Tuesday.
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Ze Roberto comes to Santos’ rescue in Libertadores Cup
Former Brazil national team midfielder Ze Roberto scored twice to lead Santos from 2-0 down to beat Caracas FC, 3-2, on Thursday and reach the Libertadores Cup quarterfinals, 5-4, on aggregate. Gremio beat Sao Paulo, 2-0, on goals by Tcheco and Diego Souza on Wednesday to win the all-Brazilian series, 2-1, on aggregate, while the Parana and Flamengo, other two Brazilian teams to reach the knockout phase, both are out.
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Road weary Club America plays to 3-3 tie at Atlas in Mexican playoffs
Two days after facing Colo Colo of Chile in Santiago for the second leg of their Libertadores Cup quarterfinal series, Club America was back in action on the road — this time in Guadalajara against Atlas. The Eagles, who traveled 15 hours (including connections) to get from Santiago to Guadalajara, blew a lead three times against Atlas and settled for a 3-3 tie in the first leg of their quarterfinal series in Mexico’s Torneo Apertura.
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Mexico’s Club America battles on two fronts
[TV PREVIEW] It will be a busy week for Mexican giant Club America. It began Tuesday night in Santiago, Chile, where the Eagles fell to Colo Colo, 2-1, in the second leg of their Libertadores Cup series but moved into the quarterfinals with a 4-2 aggregate win. America returns home for two games in the quarterfinals of Mexico’s Torneo Clausura.
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Mexico’s Toluca crushed in Libertadores Cup
Argentine youngster Juan Manuel Martinez scored a hat trick in 13 minutes late in the first half to lead of Colombian champion Cucuta past Mexico’s Toluca, 5-1, in the first leg of their Libertadores Cup second-round series. In the other Thursday matches, Paraguayan champion Libertad came from behind to win at Brazil’s Parana, 2-1, while Nacional of Uruguay beat Mexico’s Necaxa, 3-2, in Montevideo.
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Libertadores Cup Preview
[TV PREVIEW] Four months after quitting as Boca Juniors coach, Ricardo La Volpe returns to La Bombonera Wednesday night as coach of Velez Sarsfield for the first leg of their Libertadores Cup round-of-16 series. Mexican clubs Toluca, Necaxa and Club America have both signed reinforcements for the knockout phase. Brazilian club Santos can break the Libertadores Cup record of eight straight wins it now shares with Vasco da Gama if it beats Caracas FC in Venezuela.