Assumption.- With four former champions playing from the first phase, the 2015 Copa Libertadores de América kicks off this week, which will run until August 5 and will feature several of the continent’s “heavyweights.” Argentines Boca Juniors and River Plate, Brazilians Corinthians, Internacional de Porto Alegre, Atlético Mineiro, Cruzeiro and Sao Paulo, and also Argentine San Lorenzo, the last champion, are some of the 38 teams that will compete in the 56th edition of the continental tournament.
The first phase will be played between this week and the next, with twelve teams looking for six places in the second round or group stage. Among them are four former champions of the tournament, Corinthians, Once Caldas from Colombia, Estudiantes de La Plata and Nacional from Uruguay.
The group stage will be played between mid-February and late April, with the round of 16 and quarter-finals to be played in May.
In June, the Libertadores will enter a recess due to the Copa América in Chile – between June 11 and July 4 – and the continental club tournament will return in mid-July for the semifinals and the final, the return match of which is scheduled for August 5.
– Corinthians-Once Caldas, outstanding duel of the first phase –
And the 2015 Libertadores will already have some outstanding duels that could leave some of the South American giants out of the tournament from the very beginning.
Among the first round matches, the one between two former champions of the tournament, Corinthians (champion in 2012) and Once Caldas (2004), stands out. The first leg between the two will take place on Wednesday in Sao Paulo and the return match next week in Manizales.
The winner of this tie will be placed in Group 2, the “Group of Death”, which includes the reigning champion, San Lorenzo, Sao Paulo and Danubio of Uruguay.
Another notable first round matchup is the one between Nacional of Uruguay and Palestino of Chile.
The Uruguayan team, three-time champion of the tournament in 1971, 1980 and 1988, will visit Palestino on Thursday in Santiago, which returns to the Libertadores after 35 years of absence, and will receive them in the rematch a week later in a match behind closed doors at the Gran Parque Central in Montevideo.
The winner of this tie will qualify for Group 5, where Boca Juniors – six-time Libertadores champions – Venezuelan Zamora and Wanderers of Uruguay will be waiting.
For its part, River Plate of Argentina, champion of the 2014 Copa Sudamericana and seeking its third Copa Libertadores after those of 1986 and 1996, will play in an accessible Group 6 of the second round with San José de Oruro, Tigres de México and Juan Aurich.
— First leg matches of the first phase of the 2015 Copa Libertadores de América:
– Tuesdays
In Lima: Lima Alliance (PER) – Huracán (ARG)
En Morelia: Morelia (MEX) – The Strongest (BOL)
– Wednesday:
In San Cristobal: Deportivo Tachira (VEN) – Cerro Porteño (PAR)
In Sao Paulo: Corinthians (BRA) – Once Caldas (COL)
– Thursday
In Santiago: Palestinian (CHI) – National (URU)
In Sangolquí: Independent of the Valley (ECU) – Students of La Plata (ARG)
(fuente:conmebol.com)
#ball #rolling #Libertadores
2024-08-04 08:15:05
