By DAVID MOSSE
The first half of the Brazilian Championship came to a close this weekend with a number of local
derbies highlighting the schedule. It's all part of a strategy to avoid teams fielding
second-string lineups in the final round of the competition, and the most fascinating matchup took
place on Sunday between Santos and Sao Paulo.
There are still three rounds of games to be played in the Campeonato Brasileiro before the half way
stage in the competition is reached and eleven of the twenty clubs have already changed their
managers since the start of the season.
This staggeringly high rate of hiring and firing will perhaps increase further before the season is
out.
By NESTOR F. SEBASTIAN
The Copa Libertadores group phase winds down over the next week as the final matchday
approaches. With six sides through and 20 teams still battling for the 10 available spots into the
knockout round, this has become one of the more exciting conclusions to the group stage in recent
memory.
