* South American giants Boca Juniors will play European champion A.C. Milan on Sunday for the World Club Cup championship. The Xeneizes won over the Italian squad in the 2003 Intercontinental Cup.* Brazilian striker Kaka can add another award to his mantel; on Thursday he was named as World Player of the Year by World Soccer magazine. Argentina’s Lionel Messi came in second though he was named as Sports Illustrated Latino’s 2007 Sportsman of the Year.
* For some teams, 2007 has been the year of the underdog:
- Lanus won the latest Argentine championship for the first time in their 93-year history.
- Argentina's Arsenal upset Mexico’s Cub America to win the Copa Sudamericana.
- Provincial side San Jose won the Bolivian league title.
- Atlante captured the Mexican championship for the first time since 1993.
- La Equidad is in the finals of the Colombian league championship despite playing in their first year in the top division.
* Though players like Juan Pablo Angel and Cuauhtémoc Blanco flourished last season in Major League Soccer, one Latin American player brought in under the “Beckham Rule” has been an utter disappointment. FC Dallas dropped the option of resigning Brazil’s Denilson; the former international tallied one goal and eight assists during the 2007 season.
* Speaking of designated players and MLS, Argentina’s Olé reported that Juan Sebastian Veron will stay with domestic side Estudiantes de La Plata instead of accepting a “lucrative offer” from D.C. United. (Hat tip: Soccer by Ives).
Sources- Telgraph.co.uk, The Latin Americanist, Reuters UK, ESPN Soccernet, Goal.com, The Sports Network, Wikipedia, Soccer by Ives
Image- CNN (“Neri Cardozo celebrates after scoring the winner for Boca Juniors against Etoile Sahel”)
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