Boca Juniors champions of Copa Libertadores

The streets of Buenos Aires were awash in blue-and-yellow yesterday after Boca Juniors won the Copa Libertadores. Boca won South America’s top soccer tournament after beating Brazil’s Gremio home 3-0 last week and 2-0 last night in Porto Alegre with goals by Juan Roman Riquelme.

Despite difficulties in qualifying from the group stage, Boca’s victory last night secured its sixth ever Libertadores title and its first since 2003. In addition, Boca qualifies for the FIFA World Club Cup with Italy’s AC Milan and Mexico’s Pachuca.

Image- SI.com (Boca Juniors' Martin Palermo holds the the Copa Libertadores and celebrates with his teammates)

Sources (English)- The Latin Americanist, International Herald Tribune, ESPN Soccernet, People’s Daily Online

Source (Spanish)- Clarin

Boca draws first blood in Libertadores final

In a battle between Argentines and Brazilians in the Copa Libertadores final, Boca Juniors is at an advantage after beating Gremio 3-0 last night. Much like in the previous rounds midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme (image) was key in Boca’s victory during the first leg of South America’s top soccer club tourney played at “La Bombonera” in Buenos Aires. The deciding second leg will be played in Brazil next Wednesday.

The Porto Alegre club tied in aggregate goals 3-3 with Santos in the semifinals, but a goal by Diego Souza during the second leg in Sao Paulo served as the tiebreaker in Gremio’s favor. Meanwhile, Boca came back from a 3-1 first leg deficit and won the second leg at home 3-0 over Colombia’s Deportivo Cucuta.

Meanwhile, leaders of several Andean states continue to protest against FIFA’s high altitude ban; a ban that one blogger blamed on Brazil and Argentina. Bolivian president Evo Morales and some of his staff played a makeshift soccer game nearly 20,000 feet up in the Andes Mountains on Tuesday.

Sources- Latin Americanist, Foreign Policy Passport, International Herald Tribune, ESPN Soccernet

Image- Javno.hr