El Cruz Azul comenzó con el pie derecho su participación en la Copa Libertadores 2012 venciendo como visitante al Nacional de Paraguay. Enrique Meza quiso contar con sus mejores hombres para afrontar el prestigiado torneo sudamericano. Lo normal, alternar el cuadro para que físicamente todos los jugadores se mantengan a tope, más con los viajes tan largos que hay que hacer a media semana y regresar para enfrentar el torneo local.

On Wednesday of this week, interim CONCACAF president Alfredo Hawit gave the clearest signal yet that the confederation will collaborate much more closely with CONMEBOL than they have in the past. Will it be a merger in everything but name? Not yet, but significant factions within both groups are considering the possibilities.

By Chris Wright

Seen here is an Emelec (of Ecuador) fan wearing a huge and really rather unsettling 'Chucky' head assuming it's not some terrible affliction in the crowd as his side takes on Paraguay's Olimpia in Guayaquil in the Copa Libertadores, putting the guy in front's feeble Janet Street-Porter mask, quite literally, in the shade.

By Chris Wright

Seen here is an Emelec (of Ecuador) fan wearing a huge and really rather unsettling 'Chucky' head assuming it's not some terrible affliction in the crowd as his side takes on Paraguay's Olimpia in Guayaquil in the Copa Libertadores, putting the guy in front's feeble Janet Street-Porter mask, quite literally, in the shade.

Copa Libertadores 2012 Property of Brazil? is a post from: Just Football

South America's flagship competition, the Copa Libertadores, is up and running for another season with the group stages kicking off this week. 32 of Latin America's finest will compete to succeed Santos as champions, and thanks to the increasing strength of the Brazilian economy and the country's increasing ability to keep hold of and attract their finest countrymen, Brazil is once considered the trophy's most likely destination come the final in July.

Copa Libertadores 2012 Property of Brazil? is a post from: Just Football

South America's flagship competition, the Copa Libertadores, is up and running for another season with the group stages kicking off this week. 32 of Latin America's finest will compete to succeed Santos as champions, and thanks to the increasing strength of the Brazilian economy and the country's increasing ability to keep hold of and attract their finest countrymen, Brazil is once considered the trophy's most likely destination come the final in July.

Image: REUTERS/Sergio Moraes.

With our penchant for crap hats and whips, you might say we're the 'Indiana Jones's' of the fluffy football world.

With this in mind, we ventured into the depths of the Copa Libertadores last night and found this photo of Wagner (r) being tackled/molested (depending on how loose your definition on on-pitch discipline is) by the magnificently named Hugo Nervo.

Si hay que evocar al romanticismo del balón, habría que tomar una taza de café para charlar de la Copa Libertadores. Del Santos de Pelé, del Boca de Bianchi, de la pegada prodigiosa de Alberto Spencer. Pero en términos de despachos y negocios, el torneo más importante a nivel de clubes de América representa para muchos obtener 100% de su presupuesto anual.

The Copa Libertadores is one of the most prestigious competitions in all of soccer and last week Victor Garza made his professional debut for Tigres in the elite South American tournament.

05.02.2012 - Terminadas las (6) series del repechaje (Fase 1) clasificatorio a la Copa Libertadores de América (2012), las seis plazas vacantes fueron ocupadas por:
G1: Arsenal (Argentina) sobre Sport Huancayo (Perú) - (4-1) - Al Grupo 4.G2: Libertad (Paraguay) sobre El Nacional (Ecuador) - (4-2) - Al Grupo 5.

2010 Copa Libertadores champions Sport Club Internacional (usually called Internacional or Inter) have unveiled their Nike 2012 home kit. The three time Campeonato Brasileiro Série A winners switch technical sponsors...

Jonathan Bornstein and Victor Garza both saw action on Thursday night as Tigres' Copa Libertadores campaign ended with an aggregate loss to Union Espanola in the qualifying round.

Frigid temperatures and snowstorms across Europe are starting to take their toll on the soccer schedule.

Saturday's anticipated match between Roma and Inter Milan has already been postponed because of snow blanketing Rome. The Cesena-Catania match has also been called off, and that is in addition to four midweek Serie A games having to be rescheduled because of the snow.

Jonathan Bornstein once again got the start for Tigres in the Copa Libertadores, but they exit the tournament to Union Espanola. Playing at the Estadio Universitario, Tigres went up a goal in the 14th minute and had a 2-0 lead by the 22nd. Unfortunately for the home side, they went down a man when defender Jose Rivas was red carded in the 37th minute.

By FRANCO PANIZO

A day after a riot at a club soccer game in Egypt left at least 74 dead and many others injured, Egypt's prime minister has dissolved the Egyptian FA's board.

Kamal el-Ganzouri announced the decision to dissolve the board during Thursday's emergency parliamentary session, and also said that the governor of Port Said (where the game took place) and the area's police chief have resigned.

Most of last night's headlines might have been about the U.S. men's national team's friendly in Panama, but that was not the only place south of the border where an American was playing.

Lost amid the U.S. team's 1-0 win, Jonathan Bornstein made his season debut, starting and going the distance in Tigres UANL's 1-0 first-leg loss to Chilean club Union Espanola in the Copa Libertadores.

Yesterday was quite an afternoon of football, with two compelling Cup matches. Turns out there's more today another Copa del Rey quarterfinal second leg, another Coppa Italia quarterfinal, and this just in from our Uruguayan buddy it's time for Copa Libertadores again. Click thru for livesoccertv's TV listings and match previews:

Coppa Italia quarterfinal – Milan vs Lazio - 8:45pm CET / 2:45pmET / 7:45pm GMT (USA: GolTV, ESPN3.

[Editor's note: The original version of this article was hidden from public consumption after a contention by the Philadelphia Union that portions of it were "inaccurate." We at the Brotherly Game and SB Nation removed the article and underwent a secondary research process to draw our own conclusions as to the validity of the article in question.

Tuesday night sees Arsenal de Sarandí get the ball rolling in the first match of the 2012 Copa Libertadores, which is being played as this post goes online because I hadn't realised it kicked off so early in the evening. ... Continue reading →

Tuesday night sees Arsenal de Sarandí get the ball rolling in the first match of the 2012 Copa Libertadores, which is being played as this post goes online because I hadn't realised it kicked off so early in the evening. ... Continue reading →

STARTERS
US Soccer has named Clint Dempsey as the 2011 Male Athlete of the Year. And Brek Shea was named the Young Male Athlete of the Year.
dN
Richie Williams, the original Ankle Biter, has been named the new head coach of the USA U17 team. He had been serving as coach of the U18s, so I guess they are looking for a new boss now.

Se está disputando la O-League, el máximo torneo de clubes de Oceanía. Se trata del nuevo formato que en 2007 adoptó la antigua Copa de Campeones de Oceanía, imitando a la Champions League europea.
En esta edición 2011/12 participan ocho equipos de siete paíes, lo que demuestra un constante crecimiento.

Mere hours after Mike Burns indicated that the New England Revolution would be finalizing the transfer of two South American players today, the team announced this morning that they have signed Colombians John Lozano and Fernando Cardenas. Both will count as international players and will be added to the roster when their P-1 Visas and International Transfer Certificates have been processed.

America de Cali's loss has turned out to be the New England Revolution's gain.

The Revolution announced the signings of centerback John Lozano and attacking midfielder Fernando Cardenas from the traditional Colombian giant, which was relegated to the country's second division last month.

The Chicago Fire announced that Mike Matkovich and Leo Percovich will return to the club as Frank Klopas' assistant coaches for the 2012 season. Matkovich rejoins the Fire as an assistant coach, having previously served in the role for the club from 2009-10. The fact that Klopas is bringing Matkovich back on suggests that there was some kind of rift between Matkovich and former Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos.

Borussia Dortmund has one of the world's up-and-coming stars in its grasp, and the defending Bundesliga champions aren't planning on letting him go.

Dortmund plans to keep 19-year-old playmaker Mario Goetze for at least another season despite major transfer interest, the club's sporting director said to German media.

PRIMERA FASEArsenal (Argentina) - Real Potosí (Bolivia) - Caracas (Venezuela) - El Nacional (Ecuador) - Internacional (Brasil) - Unión Española (Chile) - Sport Huancayo (Perú) - Flamengo (Brasil) - Peñarol (Uruguay) - Libertad (Paraguay) - Once Caldas (Colombia) - Tigres UANL (México)

Llave G124/1: Arsenal - Sport Huancayo31/1: Sport Huancayo - Arsenal
Llave G225/1: Real Potosí - Flamengo1/2: Flamengo - Real Potosí
Llave G326/1: Peñarol - Caracas2/2: Caracas - Peñarol
Llave G424/1: El Nacional - Libertad31/1: Libertad - El Nacional
Llave G525/1: Internacional - Once Caldas1/2: Once Caldas - Internacional
Llave G625/1: Unión Española - Tigres UANL2/2: Tigres UANL - Unión Española
SEGUNDA FASEGrupo 1Santos (Brasil) - Juan Aurich (Perú) - The Strongest (Bolivia) - Ganador G5
9/2: ganador G5 - Juan Aurich15/2: The Strongest - Santos23/2: The Strongest - Juan Aurich8/3: Santos - ganador G513/3: Juan Aurich - Santos15/3: ganador G5 - The Strongest21/3: The Strongest - ganador G522/3: Santos - Juan Aurich4/4: ganador G5 - Santos5/4: Juan Aurich - The Strongest19/4: Santos - The Strongest19/4: Juan Aurich - ganador G5
Grupo 2Olimpia (Paraguay) - Emelec (Ecuador) - Lanús (Argentina) - Ganador G2
9/2: Emelec - Olimpia15/2: Lanús - ganador G223/2: Olimpia - Lanús8/3: ganador G2 - Emelec13/3: Lanús - Emelec15/3: ganador G2 - Olimpia20/3: Emelec - Lanús28/3: Olimpia - ganador G23/4: Lanús - Olimpia4/4: Emelec - ganador G212/4: ganador G2 - Lanús12/4: Olimpia - Emelec
Grupo 3Bolívar (Bolivia) - Junior (Colombia) - Universidad Católica (Chile) - Ganador G6
8/2: Ganador G6 - Junior9/2: Universidad Católica - Bolívar21/2: Bolívar - Ganador G623/2: Universidad Católica - Junior6/3: Ganador G6 - Universidad Católica8/3: Junior - Bolívar20/3: Bolívar - Junior28/3: Universidad Católica - Ganador G65/4: Junior - Universidad Católica10/4: Ganador G6 - Bolívar17/4: Bolívar - Universidad Católica17/4: Junior - Ganador G6
Grupo 4Boca Juniors (Argentina) - Zamora (Venezuela) - Fluminense (Brasil) - Ganador G1
7/2: Fluminense - Ganador G114/2: Zamora - Boca Juniors21/2: Ganador G1 - Zamora7/3: Boca Juniors - Fluminense14/3: Ganador G1 - Boca Juniors14/3: Fluminense - Zamora29/3: Boca Juniors - Ganador G129/3: Zamora - Fluminense10/4: Zamora - Ganador G111/4: Fluminense - Boca Juniors18/4: Boca Juniors - Zamora18/4: Ganador G1 - Fluminense
Grupo 5Nacional (Uruguay) - Alianza Lima (Perú) - Vasco da Gama (Brasil) - Ganador G4
8/2: Vasco da Gama - Nacional (U)9/2: Ganador G4 - Alianza Lima16/2: Nacional (U) - Ganador G46/3: Vasco da Gama - Alianza Lima14/3: Ganador G4 - Vasco da Gama20/3: Alianza Lima - Nacional (U)21/3: Vasco da Gama - Ganador G427/3: Nacional (U) - Alianza Lima3/4: Alianza Lima - Vasco da Gama5/4: Ganador G4 - Nacional (U)12/4: Alianza Lima - Ganador G412/4: Nacional (U) - Vasco da Gama
Grupo 6Corinthians (Brasil) - Dep.

Universidad de Chile crowned a fantastic year by winning the Clausura championship final last night. Following a goalless draw in the first leg played last week, "La U" saw off final opponents Cobreloa with a 3-0 score line with all of the goals coming in the first half. Gustavo Canales, Eduardo Vargas and Matias Rodriguez scored the goals which settled the championship which was La U's 15th Chilean championship title overall.

Cate celebrates with Ted Chronopoulos after setting up Chronopoulos' second goal in a 2-1 win over D.C. United at Foxboro Stadium on August 18, 2001. (Photo by Art Donahue/artdonahue.com)

Former New England Revolution striker Marco Antônio Lemos Tozzi, better known as Catê, passed away on Tuesday morning in a car accident in his native Brazil.

foto por Supermean

La Conmebol ya saco el calendario para la proxima Copa Libertadores de America.
Los equipos mexicanos ya se estan alistando para lo que sera un evento deportivo digno. ¿Cual llegara mas lejos, el mas popular o el campeón actual?

Programa de Partidos Copa Santander Libertadores de América 2012
Tabela de Jogos Copa Santander Libertadores de América 2012
DÍA FECHA HORA HORA GMT LLAVE PARTIDO
DIA DATA HORA HORA GMT CHAVE JOGO
24.

"Se mira y se toca" Copa Sudamericana glory for Universidad de Chile is a post from: Just Football

Just Football's man in Chile, Santiago Irribarra reports on an historic continental cup triumph for Universidad de Chile:

In June, when Universidad de Chile lost the first leg of the Apertura final to bitter rivals Universidad Católica 2-0, everybody expected Católica, Copa Libertadores quarter-finalist and building on last year's title-winning form, would have no trouble sealing the win in the second leg, especially when they'd have to lose the second leg by three goals to not win the tournament, in accordance with new rules favouring the higher play-off seed.

Deportivo Quito are the new champions of Ecuador following their 2-0 aggregate victory over Emelec in the final of the domestic championship.

In order to qualify for the play-offs Deportivo won the second stage of the league, which was played from July to December, topping the table after 22 games with a four point margin over Barcelona de Guayaquil.

On Sunday morning if you happen to be in Western Europe the champions of world club football will be crowned, as the final of the 2011 Club World Cup is played at the International Stadium in Yokohama between Barcelona, the current champions of Europe, and Santos of Brazil, the current champions of South America.

Barcelona face Santos in the Club World Cup final on Sunday in a match which pits South American superstars Lionel Messi and Neymar face-to-face for the first time ever at club level. The two clubs are the apotheosis in terms of quality in both their respected continents with Santos having won their third Copa Libertadores [.

By Eric Beard

Argentine fútbol has been suffering. The country's national team failed to live up to the hype in Copa America this past summer, while Brazil's emergence as an economic power has spurred the Brasileiro to new financial and competitive heights.

Universidad de Chile are the deserved winners of the 2011 Copa Sudamericana. Their 3-0 second leg victory at home to LDU Quito last night completed a 4-0 aggregate win and brought with it the chance to compete in next year's Copa Libertadores.

Eduardo Vargas, as so often in this competition, proved himself to be the hero for the Chileans.

Carlos Tevez has for the first time spoken out on his future saying that he wishes to return to his old club Boca Juniors. The 27 year old revealed that going back to City was next to impossible and that it did not matter if he took a wage cut to make his dream a reality.

Speaking to Gente, Tevez also said that he was tired of shuttling to and from England.

TweetSantos secured their place in the Club World Cup Final after a 3-1 win over Kashiwa Reysol thanks to goals by Neymar, Danilo and striker Borges. The Copa Libertadores winners started the match with rip-roaring pace and quickly grabbed the lead when star striker Neymar curled in a fabulous left-footed effort in the 19th minute.

The 2011 Torneo Apertura ended on Monday with, among other matches, three games which affected the battle for Copa Libertadores 2012 qualification. With Racing, Independiente, Tigre and Godoy Cruz all going into the last round with hopes of qualifying for ... Continue reading →

Tigres are the new champions of Mexico following their 4-1 aggregate victory over Santos Laguna in the Torneo Apertura (Opening Championship) final.

Tigres had finished in third place in the regular season table with a record of seven wins, seven draws and three defeats from seventeen games, before going on to defeat Pachuca CF and Queretaro FC in the play-offs on their way to the final.