Futbol de Latinoamerica - The South American Soccer Thread

[Zososoxfan]

Boca vs. River on Fox Deportes, no HD (shakes fist, takes Advil for headache).

I don't watch nearly as much Latin American soccer, but I'm tuned in for this. Boca and River is among the biggest rivalries in sports, if you're not familiar, I highly recommend looking it up. They're playing in the Copa Libertadores, the biggest club competition in South America, the closest thing they have to Champions League in Europe. If nothing else, it will be interesting to compare to the insane European matches this week.

We can also use this as a catch-all for South American soccer, but Mods feel free to mod anything accordingly.

 

[Snakebauer007]

When is the match?
I remember seeing river and boca highlights back in the day on FSC
atmosphere always looked insane

 

[Zososoxfan]

Game on right now. River dominated 1st half, should have a goal. Marcelo Gallardo who played in Europe and in multiple world cups is their coach. Ref seemingly calling a pro Boca game so far.

 

[Vinho Tinto]

TWC has Fox Deportes in HD. Typical physical game between those two. Hopefully the return leg at La Bombonera will have more action.

 

[Zososoxfan]

I have Verizon, which in addition to not having Fox Deportes HD (AFAIK) also does not license Fox Sports mobile. Utterly ridiculous.
 
Here's a primer on Boca-River:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqehvzezyV4 

 

[Vinho Tinto]

Return leg is scoreless at the half. Match delayed because Boca fans pepper sprayed the River players.

 

[Zososoxfan]

The situation VT is talking about is batshit. Boca fans compromised the integrity of the allegedly secured player entrance to the field. Players were saying they were blinded and gasping for air. Worst of all, once the match was delayed and ultimately suspended, players couldn't get off the field safely, so they just milled around the center of the pitch for over an hour.

http://screengrabber.deadspin.com/superclasico-suspended-after-fans-pepper-spray-river-pl-1704628532/+bubbaprog

 

[Billy R Ford]

That is some crazy stuff. Especially the Boca players (a) wanting to keep playing and (b) saluting the fans when walking off the field after it was suspended.

 

[Vinho Tinto]

That is some crazy stuff. Especially the Boca players (a) wanting to keep playing and (b) saluting the fans when walking off the field after it was suspended.

The Boca manager, Arruabarrena , didn't appear all that empathetic to the situation. He spent the first half hour of the delay looking like Earl Weaver talking to Bill Haller. Goal.com reports four players with 1st degree burns.  They were easy to see once they took of their shirts. I didn't notice Mori's bloody nose, but he did have puffy eyes also. [SIZE=12.960000038147px]Driussi breathing issues explains why he looked like he was on the verge of tears. [/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=12.960000038147px]I knew one guy in high school who was pepper sprayed. Along with his dad and brother, they got into a serious argument with their neighbor. The neighbor pepper sprayed all three. They were useless for at least 24 hours afterwards. [/SIZE]

 

[Zososoxfan]

When I was in Rio last year for the WC, we went to party in the Lapa district and I ran into dissipated pepper spray from across the street. It definitely had a choking effect on me and that was from roughly 30 feet away.
 
More specifically for the game, the only way this stuff will stop happening is to punish the team. Don't finish the game and award the tie to River. The fact that there was no security when the Boca fan calmly cut a hole thru the players' tunnel is inexcusable. If this was an AFA game, no chance that happens, but since this was the Libertadores competition, I could see that organizational body coming down hard on this.

 

[SLC Sox]

This is a total novice question.  Deadspin has articles and highlights from Latin American leagues all the time and I'm just curious how those leagues compare to the MLS.  Are they comparable talent-wise, or are some of those leagues (I'm thinking Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, I guess), as I suspect, much better than the MLS?

 

[Billy R Ford]

I think the consensus is that these leagues are better than MLS, but not as good as the top European leagues.
 
Specifically, Mexico, Argentina, & Brazil definitely have strong leagues with deep rosters. After that, I wouldn't be surprised if it dropped off significantly. MLS typically surpasses the Central American leagues in the CCL, and I can't imagine clubs from the smaller South American countries are all that strong. Some Columbian clubs experienced financial difficulties in recent years and MLS poached their players, who had varying degrees of success but on the whole didn't really work out (though the MLS clubs may have simply snapped up the wrong players).
 
Comparing leagues is a very inexact science, but I would put the top latin american leagues (Brazil, Argentina, Mexico) at least on par with the second tier European leagues (Netherlands, Portugal, Russia). The South American countries have larger populations and can support their leagues with a lot of domestic talent. OTOH, the European leagues seem to offer higher salaries, so they poach the top talents from South America.

 

[SLC Sox]

Thanks, that's exactly what I wanted to know.

 

[Spacemans Bong]

Peñarol and Nacional in Uruguay are traditionally very, very strong and a Paraguayan team has been in the last two finals, so it's not entirely about Argentina or Brazil.

 

[SoxFanInCali]

So, the Boca-River match has been called off, and River advance based on their 1-0 win in the first leg.  Boca is out of the competition, will have to play their next 4 continental home games in an empty stadium, and are not allowed to bring supporters to their next 4 continental away games.  They've also been fined $200,000.
 
Boca is appealing.

 

[Zososoxfan]

Peñarol and Nacional in Uruguay are traditionally very, very strong and a Paraguayan team has been in the last two finals, so it's not entirely about Argentina or Brazil.

 
Very good point. There are a few other notable teams not from Mexico, Argentina, or Brazil, like Atletico Nacional (Colombia), Universidad de Chile (Chile), and Colo Colo (Chile). However, I can say with certainty that Argentina and Mexico typically have deep leagues with several strong teams competing for the title. Not sure how Mexico or other South American leagues compare. I would love to see some MLS challenge matches against these squads to see how they compare.
 

So, the Boca-River match has been called off, and River advance based on their 1-0 win in the first leg.  Boca is out of the competition, will have to play their next 4 continental home games in an empty stadium, and are not allowed to bring supporters to their next 4 continental away games.  They've also been fined $200,000.
 
Boca is appealing.

 
That's more substantial than I was expecting. I wish AFA (Argentine soccer federation) would have similar punishments, but if they did, I feel like the Argentine Primera Division would probably cease to exist.

 

[DLew On Roids]

I heard on the Football Ramble podcast last night that FIFA is pissed at the mild punishment and considering taking away CONMENOL's 5th place playoff spot in the World Cup as a consequence.

FIFA: Where pepper spray injuries are more outrageous than construction worker deaths.

 

[Titans Bastard]

More fun in CONMEBOL:
 
http://www.espnfc.us/brazil/story/2455221/brazil-national-team-squad-selection-sold-to-firm-report
 

 
 
In a shocking exposé in Saturday's O Estadao, the newspaper reveals Brazil's football federation, CBF, entered into a multimillion dollar secret contract with marketing firm ISE in 2006, and since the deal's renewal in December of 2011, has given powers of player call-ups to the Cayman Islands-based company and its business partners.

 

[Zososoxfan]

I heard on the Football Ramble podcast last night that FIFA is pissed at the mild punishment and considering taking away CONMENOL's 5th place playoff spot in the World Cup as a consequence.

FIFA: Where pepper spray injuries are more outrageous than construction worker deaths.

 
That's rich. Pot, kettle, etc. Really hoping for a shock on May 29, but deep down I know that Sepp will be here as long as he wants and he will probably off his challengers, like literally.

 

[BelgianSoxFan]

I despise FIFA as much as anyone, but that was a very mild punishment. That was one of the worst incidents against opposing players I had ever heard. A several year ban from continental competition should be a starting point.

 

[DLew On Roids]

I agree completely--my mocking of FIFA for caring about this but not Qatar is entirely to do with the Qatar end.  From the media reports I heard over the weekend, the pepper spray was still concentrated, making it much worse than even your standard gassing.  Some of the River Plate players suffered burns to their corneas.  And the security guards apparently did nothing, which creates a direct link from the club to the the actions.