An entertaining match ended 0-0 in La Plata last night in the first leg of the 2009 Copa Libertadores final, as Estudiantes dominated but couldn’t find a way past the inspired goalkeeping of Cruzeiro’s Fábio. If you’ve read about it but would like to see some highlights, step this way.
Copa Libertadores 2009, final first leg: Estudiantes de La Plata 0 – 0 Cruzeiro Esporte Clube (BRA), 8th July 2009:
Hasta El Gol Siempre 
For a nil-nil draw, no-one can complain that there wasn’t much going on, ha ha.
But most of the real world class quality came from the Brazilian keeper. He needed to be, with some of those guys playing in front of him!
I saw very brief glimpses of what Cruzeiro might do in Brazil – tbh, Ramires was the only player I’d seen much of before – and they could put on a show in front of their own fans, which will delight all those Gimnasia fans :-)
But then, it might be interesting to see how Estudiantes go about the counter-attacking game that the Brazilians were playing last night.
Good luck to Gimnasia tonight, just about to watch. Doing okay for three hours sleep, tho I’m off to bed the minute this match finishes.
Rafaela 1 GELP 0. About as offside as it’s possible for a goal to be. Terrible. Why are hideously illegal goals killing off the teams I want to win? :-(
Oops. Just seen it from another angle. Terribly slow defending from Gimnasia. MOVETE LOBO MOVETE!!!
2-0. Another shocking refereeing decision, a corner given instead of a free kick to Gimnasia. It’ll be very difficult for Lobo now.
3-0. A bit like a goal Cruyff scored for Barcelona. But the Primera will be poorer without GELP. :-(
Poor Gimnasia fans. I don’t say poor players, because that was a pretty insipid performance. Yes, decisions went against them, but you don’t lose 3-0 on decisions.
But like Seba says, the fans have had to suffer so much. Three titles they deserved to win (95, 96, 05), then Estudiantes win one when Boca implode, and now this – Estudiantes in the final and Lobo nearly down.
Now they’re talking about playing the second leg in that horrible Estudiantes stadium not La Bosque, for ‘security concerns’. If Gimnasia must go down, let them do so in their own home, not in that stadium that is totally alien to them, the 7-0 stadium, the stadium of all Estudiantes’s recent triumphs. That would be the ultimate humiliation.
I really hope Cruzeiro win now, to at least give those loyal fans some pleasure.
It’s a municipal ground, Matthew, and both clubs shared it for a couple of years until Gimnasia moved back to El Bosque at the start of this season. Estudiantes’ stadium is far, far worse!
No futbol today, nada. Arghhhhhh.