This Wednesday will be the first of two matches to take place up in the Andes between teams that have never been this far in Copa Libertadores.
I didn’t think these teams would make it this far. I had hoped Liga would make it and thought Boca was a no brainer but Fluminense had other ideas.
On paper, Fluminense have the more expensive team with an annual budget of 24 million compared to a 7 million budget for Liga. It will come down to who wants the title more.
It’s known most of Liga’s team will depart in July. Striker Joffre Guerron has sealed a contract with Spanish team Getafe, while rumors have Paraguayan Enrique Vera and Captain Patricio Urutia going to Mexico and that only to name a few players. Even Coach Bauza is expected to leave the team in search of more money!
Liga will depend on the altitude of Quito and it’s individual players in order to hopefully take an advantage back to Rio. Difficult task as Fluminense have stars Thiago Neves a midfield general and Thiago Silva a wall as a defender who will have their minds set on spoiling Liga’s dreams and sealing the deal on the return game to take place on Wednesday July 2.
I predict a 2-1 victory for Liga. We’ll see what happens.