Defending champions on verge of elimination

River Plate's result crisis seems to find no end. Last night, they lost 2-0 away to Independiente del Valle and find themselves on the verge of elimination after the first leg of their round of 16 matchup already. Librado Azcona celebrates his team's goals. (Photo: Conmebol) It was the first game back in Ecuador after many earthquakes had kept the country on its toes for several days. Independiente's stadium was nicely filled and sporting...

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Entertaining first leg between Racing and Atlético Mineiro

Last but not least, I got the pleasure to report on another goalless draw today. 2 goals in 5 copa Libertadores round of 16 matches are not too impressive for the viewer, so let us hope it gets better tonight during the last three games. Racing Club and Atlético Mineiro could not find a winner last night. Two of the night's best players fight for the ball: Romero vs Urso. (Photo: Conmebol) 28.000 people came out to see the clash between the...

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Uruguay week 10 preview

Week 10 in Uruguay is right around the corner. Thanks to Labor Day, a national holiday in Uruguay on May 1, the football weekend starts on Thursday and is over on Saturday evening. Here is your preview for all the games. Racing host Villa Teresa in the Parque Roberto. (Photo: racingclub.com.uy) Racing Club and Villa Teresa are kicking things off on Thursday afternoon local time. Over in central Europe, the game will kickoff at 8:30pm CET....

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Marco Rubén sinks Grêmio at home

After having won their group on the last matchday, Rosario Central had to travel first before playing the second leg on home turf. Their opponent: Grêmio Porto Alegre.  Central players celebrate their goal. (Photo: Conmebol) The Brazilians had collected seven points at home during the group stage, while Central managed to mount six away points. A pretty even game was to be expected. Personnel The main man returning into the lineup for...

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Nacional unlucky in draw with Corinthians

The Copa Libertadores round of 16 continued last night with three matches. In Montevideo, Nacional hosted Corinthians to build a good base for the second leg. It did not fully work out for them. The captains with the refereeing team before kickoff. (Photo: nacional.uy) Copa Libertadores nights are always special ones. Under the floodlights of Gran Parque Central, Uruguay's champion produced a decent performance against the favourite from Brazil....

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Huracán steal draw from heavy favourites

When the best remaining team plays against the worst, you would think it ends with a clear result. Not so much last night: Huracán managed to come away with a goalless draw against Atlético Nacional. José San Román defends the ball against Jonathan Copete. (Photo: weltsport.net) Both teams had already met twice in the group stage and while Huracán's home game on matchday 1 ended in a 0-2 loss, the two teams tied 0-0 a week ago. Right from...

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Táchira surprise Pumas with home win

The Copa Libertadores round of 16 started with two games last night. Over in Venezuela, Deportivo Táchira was visited by Pumas UNAM. Yuber Mosquera celebrates with his teammates. (Photo: Conmebol) Venezuela's champion had a big task ahead of them as the Mexicans had been the second best team of the group stage points-wise. Early on in the game, you could not see anything from the favourite with Táchira pouring on the pressure. A first spectacular...

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Liverpool find dramatic winner, Peñarol comeback

Uruguay's round 9 of the Clausura had a lot to offer throughout the past weekend. From outsider wins to favourite comebacks, here is the summary of all the games. Once again Liverpool's hero: Junior Arias. (Photo: AUF) Junior Arias was Liverpool's hero in a 0-3 away win against Sud América a week ago. On Saturday, the striker worked his magic again, scored twice and gave Liverpool a dramatic 3-2 win over Racing Club. Up until the 83rd minute,...

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Nacional beat Fénix in game that should not be

Nacional have beaten Fénix 1-0 at home, but the main story of the night was one happening off the pitch. Alfonso Espino. (Photo: nacional.uy) Round 9 of Uruguay's Primera División started off under scandalous circumstances. On Fénix arrival to the Gran Parque Central, Montevideo's police detained their coach Rosario Martínez, only to let him go shortly after. For a long amount of time, it was up in the air whether the game would even be played...

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Back to normality in Uruguay?

Following the tragic natural catastrophes in many South American countries, football rightly had to take a backseat for a while. Many people are still trying to help rebuilding the damage done to homes and whole areas. Nevertheless, Germancopa is a football blog and Uruguay's Primera División is supposed to return on the upcoming weekend. As the title race reaches its later stages, here is a preview of everything you need to know before Saturday. If...

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Promising round of 16 matchups in Copa Libertadores

The group stages are officially done with last night's expected advancement from title holders River Plate and São Paulo FC. Here is the look at what is coming up next in the 2016 Copa Libertadores. The trophy. (Photo: latalonnade.com) Best team of the group stages was, at the end unsurprisingly, Atlético Nacional. They absolutely killed it in their Group 4 without conceding a single goal through six matches. Now, as the system wants it, they...

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Cerro Porteño catch Santa Fe on finish line

Cerro Porteño have caught Santa Fe on the finish line to the round of 16 the past evening. In the last round of Group 8, Paraguay's champion of early 2015 beat the Colombians by a score of 1-0. Goalscorer Alonso (#4) celebrates with his teammates. (Photo: Conmebol) All Santa Fe needed in the legendary Estadio Defensores del Chaco was a draw, but they ended up making it impossible for themselves as bad discipline killed any chance of the current...

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Peñarol go out with a bang, Huracán advance

Group 4 had its final games take place in the Copa Libertadores last night. While most decisions had been made already, the fans got to see some attractive games across the continent. Luís Aguiar. (Photo: turojadirecta.com) Peñarol had not managed to win a single game yet going into last night's meeting with Sporting Cristal. For 45 minutes, it did not seem like they would today either. Down 1-3 going into the break, the Uruguayans had a massive...

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Rosario Central stop Palmeiras' efforts

Rosario Central have qualified for the round of 16 in the Copa Libertadores. Last night, they beat Nacional 2-0 away in the Gran Parque Central.  Alejandro Donatti. (Photo: rosariocentral.com) Nacional, already qualified beforehand, took the opportunity to rest a lot of regulars last night, including the likes of Nico López, Santiago Romero or goalkeeper Esteban Conde. At least Leandro Barcia returned from his illness and got in 78 minutes.  Central...

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Boca take over group lead, River struggles continue

Aside from Grêmio's triumph over LDU Quito, there were five more games in the Copa Libertadores last night. Here is a summary of all of them.  Nico Lodeiro after his late goal. (Photo: Conmebol) Boca Juniors visited Racing Club in an all-Argentine duel. In front of Racing supporters who were in fine voice, a relatively even game developed. Both teams did not threaten their opponent's goal too much during the first half. Boca's best chance...

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Grêmio kills last hope for San Lorenzo

A lot of Copa Libertadores action last night and some further participants of the round of 16 were decided. One team that did not play and still got eliminated: 2014 champion San Lorenzo. It was thanks to Brazilian club Grêmio Porto Alegre, that San Lorenzo can watch the round of 16 in front of the television for a second straight year. Grêmio beat LDU Quito 3-2 away in Ecuador and advance to the next stage themselves. Bobô, scorer of Grêmio's...

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Peñarol crash out while Atlético Nacional stays invincible

The group stages of this year's Copa Libertadores are reaching their decisive time. Last night, four games were being played. Uruguay's Apertura winner Peñarol travelled to Argentina to take on Huracán in a must-win game. Having only collected one point previous to last night, Diego Forlán & Co. had it all to do against the in-form team. Sadly, for them, it was over before it really started. Marcel Novick fights for the ball with Huracán's...

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