I have been lucky in life, and getting to watch any football abroad is considered a privilege. As the Copa Libertadores starts up now for the 2023 diet, I thought I would research some recollections of the 26 games I have had the opportunity to watch, thus far in a 2002 to 2015 period in this great competition. These matches predominantly took place in Uruguay (13) and Argentina (12), with one rogue encounter in Brazil. Thirty three clubs from 10 lands were involved, and given the CONMEBOL region has ten lands, you’d think I had seen teams from them all, but alas Bolivia remains elusive, even if I have marvelled at the National stadium in La Paz. The anomaly arises courtesy of Mexico being involved in the Libertadores for a period, and Chivas Guadalajara and America were both watched in Buenos Aires versus Argentinos Juniors and Lanus respectively. The other oddity is, in my first ever game outside Europe in the Azteca, Mexico City, the visitors to Atlante that day were Atlas Guadalajara, meaning, despite never having been to the southern Mexican city, I have seen the two major clubs.
Club Nacional de Football have been seen the most, seven times, four at the Centenario, one in their amazing home ground at Gran Parque Central, and others on the road at Banfield and Velez. Penarol have been seen four times, all at the Centenario, with Racing Club de Avellaneda, Velez Sarsfield, Banfield, and most curiously Sporting Cristal from Lima, all having been seen three times.
A number of the games at the Centenario and the top encounters in Argentina were all captured in previous tales on this blog, but there are enough curious encounters elsewhere to entertain, I hope.
1/ Estadio Burgueno, Maldonado
Very soon this fabulous stadium along the coast from Montevideo will host the proud debut of the home side Deportivo Maldonado in the competition against the far flung Brazilian outpost Fortaleza. This will be an amazing match-up. Deportivo are one of two debutante Libertadores teams from Uruguay, with Boston River playing Zamora from Venezuela in another qualifier. It was another Venezuelan side who trotted out here in Maldonado in March 2004, when Montevideo side Fenix decided to move this clash a considerable distance along the coast. It might well have been the first Libertadores game in Maldonado, but sadly it was a brown paper bag occasion. Maracaibo (who don’t exist now) won the game 2-1, leading to much navel gazing in the country, as it was the first that a Uruguayan club or national side had ever lost at home to Venezuelan. The game was played in the late afternoon on a school day, they got a reasonable crowd, but I am sure they would have got a bigger audience for an evening game under the lights at the Franzini back in the capital where I also saw Fenix play International club football.
2/ Estadio Franzini, Parque Rodo, Montevideo
Many Uruguayan sides’ canchas (stadiums) don’t have floodlights, resulting in the choice of venues for night games in the Libertadores being limited. I saw two matches here, neither involving the host Defensor Sporting. Curiously, I had finally convinced my then partner Nuria, an excellent photographer, to come with me to the Centenario to watch Defensor in the Libertadores. Maybe an hour before we left the hotel, a wild storm hit the city, it was a night only for madmen and ducks. I had to settle with watching the rain lashed encounter on TV, with those who had braved the elements hiding in the stairwells and exits to get a modicum of shelter.
On more balmy nights, Fenix and Danubio both used Defensor’s stadium for Libertadores action. Fenix would fall 2-1 again, but this time it was no disgrace as the mighty Corinthians from Sao Paolo were the opposition. Despite the visitors winning, it truly had been a stirring Fenix effort and they were given a standing ovation at the end.
By contrast, from my experience of Quito clubs at sea level, a bit like Bolivians, they struggle. My three Ecuadorian games saw the three different clubs all lose relatively heavily with a 10-2 aggregate over the three games. That said, Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito were the only one to fail to score, and that was here, with Danubio swatting them aside 3-0. LDU were a useful team in those days, this was a big reverse.
I met an elderly chap who had been at the third Racing Club v Celtic clash in 1967 that night, he didn’t have a kind word to say about either team, “a terrible game” as he shook his head. My greatest joy was being in the Centenario 36 years later from that momentous occasion, the first time Racing had played there since, and they won again, 2-1 versus Nacional.
3/ Villa Belmira, Santos
This was the culmination of a road trip down the Costa Verde from Rio with my great friend Andrew, who lived in the famous Brazilian city for a number of years. Curiously, while I have seen all four of Rio’s famous quartet playing each other in the State Championship in the Maracana, I have never come across any of them in my Libertadores viewing.
The Villa Belmira is a fabulous venue, a famous old ground, even more poignantly now, once home to Pele, and his great side that won the Libertadores in the early ‘60’s. The museum at the stadium is full of souvenirs of that era. In 2004, Robinho and Diego were in the starting line up versus Barcelona Guayaquil from Ecuador.
I have rarely felt as bad at a game, but I was in the recovery stage from a dodgy prawn bout of food poisoning on the road down from Isla Grande the night before. We checked into the Santos hotel early to let me rest, but that proved futile with drumming et al going on in the room next door. It transpired that this was the Santos team chilling before heading to the stadium.
As you’d expect, a raucous crowd helped Santos to a 3-1 win that night. Amongst the Barcelona team was Jose Chatruc, a legend from Racing Club, part of the clubs first Championship since 1967, sealed once the curse of the last dead cat was found at El Cilindro, naughtily hidden with six others by those Rojo No Existe scamps as La Academia celebrated becoming the first Argentine club to be World Club Champions.
4/ Sporting Cristal
The chances of seeing the same Peruvian side three times seems quite random, but inadvertently that’s what happened. I was staying the night in Liniers at my great friend Laura’s parents home when a Velez v Sporting encounter seemed too close to say no too! This worked in my favour twice as I trekked across the road to the Amalfitani to see Huracan visit too. Ultimately I somehow managed to wrack up five games here, with one “technically” a River Plate home game versus Racing. I was in the away end at three of my five Amalfitani games! Sporting Cristal were well organised and gave Velez a close game, but the home side got the crucial goal to win 1-0, which was a similar pattern and score versus Huracan too.
Next up for Cristal was a game at the Bombonera, the home of Boca, one of the most over-rated stadiums in the world, let alone Argentina. Juan Pablo and I were in the home end, right at the back, seeing the game was a challenge! Boca won 3-0, it was all too easy, however a few years later, wading through piss couldn’t dampen my joy having been amongst the Racing hinchas on a night we won 2-1 here.
Sporting’s third visit to Gran Buenos Aires, my last game in the country in 2015 was a Peruvian success, in a game they needed to win, while Racing had already won the group. They came from a goal down to win 2-1. I haven’t got a great win record at El Cilindro, indeed Jorge and I never saw Racing win when we were both in attendance. Alas, following his passing last year, that will never be resolved. I was proud to call him my friend, he was a magician getting tickets when they seemed unlikely, and it culminated in celebrating Racing’s World Club title at Hampden, just days shy of the 50th anniversary together.
One footnote here, two weeks prior to Racing v Sporting Cristal, I finally broke my 12 year wait for a second Racing home win, 4-1 v Guarani of Paraguay. It was the last ever professional appearance of legend Diego Milito. A number of years earlier, Juan Manuel and I journeyed to Quilmes to watch Estudiantes host Racing. It was Diego Simeone’s last ever professional game as a player too, and the following week, I met Diego in the Museo de Jamon restaurant in the Microcentro after a 2-0 loss to Velez at El Cilindro. It was the first game of his managerial career.
5/ The Mexicans
Mexico’s involvement in the Libertadores has ended, CONMEBOL were keen that their competition should carry the weight in North/Central America. It was a monumental trek south three times in a group scenario and further journeys should they progress.
Swine flu and the Mexicans inadvertently ruined one of the most startling campaigns by any of the sides I cheer for in South America, and potentially the second proudest Libertadores match I ever saw, once again in the Centenario. This was covered more extensively in my 15 game Centenario recollection, but being at Racing Club de Montevideo’s Libertadores group stage bow at home to Cerro Porteno was just a dream come true. The fact they won this game and finished second in the group was incredible, this is a very small team from the Sayago suburb of the capital. Swine flu ruined it though. The season before, two Mexican sides had been thrown out because of it, and were promised places in the last 16 the following year. That meant that two second placed sides would fail to qualify, and of course Racing were one, sadly.
The Mexican sides never won the Libertadores but they came mighty close and they provided stiffer opposition than a number of South American teams. America, arguably the biggest Mexican side came a calling to the Estadio Diego Maradona in La Paternal, where one of my other favourite clubs of Buenos Aires play, Argentinos Juniors. I was by 2011 an AAAJ vet, having seen them play sensational matches with River Plate here, winning one 2-1 and drawing 3-3 in the other, as well as a Huracan “home” match versus Lanus. America flew back to Mexico City having lost here 3-1, but it was a memorable night. I had my nephew down in Buenos Aires that year, and together with both Juan’s, Ema and Mariano, we were quite the band of brothers cheering on the Los Bichos. A few weeks later, Scott and I were in the Gran Parque Central in Montevideo when Argentinos did it again, this time a narrow 1-0 win in a hostile atmosphere.
A much more sedate, but equally well attended midweek Libertadores clash by my friends in Lanus saw Chivas Guadalajara fly north having taken a draw in an absorbing tussle with the home side. I would experience the away end at Lanus too with the Racing hinchas, a game that sadly resulted in yet another narrow loss for my team. I was lucky being regularly in South America when away fans were still allowed. It adds to the atmosphere and allows true fans of clubs the right to see their team play week in week out, but that’s impossible for now.
6. All and Sundry
My two Libertadores matches in Rosario on consecutive nights with Juan Manuel were both an experience, and again these have been covered elsewhere, but suffice to say, I like Newell’s, and Central’s night of racist shame has them permanently marked as “scum”. The fact Newell’s now call the stadium the Marcelo Bielsa, after a living legend adds to their appeal for me as I am drawn to this undoubtedly talented, but eccentric coach. Messi is a NOB! Well a Newell’s Boy, even if he never played for the first team. Rosario was a lovely experience, even if the heat in our hotel room nearly killed us!!
My trio of Banfield games sit high in my pantheon of recollections. Osvaldo had been chipping away at me to come see Taladro, and when I finally did, versus El Nacional from Ecuador, I was given the first of two red carpet experiences in the barrio, meeting his father, sister and niece. There was an amazing sunset and the rare sight of a goalkeeper converting a penalty as Banfield won 4-1. A few years later whilst with Osvaldo, my allegiances were more with Nacional, who won 2-0 that night, a week after a fantastic first half in the Centenario between the two that ended 2-2 with all the goals in the first 45 minutes. Susanne and Osvaldo had ventured across to Montevideo for that match, and our time in the Uruguayan capital was my chance to be host and show them what a fabulous city it is.
Seeing Rocha’s first ever Libertadores match at Velez was something to behold, it is unlikely to ever happen again. The tiny side from the far eastern province of Uruguay have dropped two levels since and while they may have bounced back slightly, the second or third tier is where they will largely stay.
One final Libertadores match at the Buenos Aires equivalent of Rocha, was at Arsenal Sarandi. It’s a tiny little Barrio just south of Avellaneda, and together with Juan Pablo and Ema we headed down to see them play Libertad from Asuncion. Arsenal won 1-0 with the away support almost as sizeable as the home one, but it was a cracking wee stadium and very nice match. The AFA President was an Arsenal man, and they weren’t all that well liked as fans believed they got favours. That baton has now passed on to Barracas Central!.
Well there you have it, a wee skip through some of the games on my Libertadores CV. My favourite game was Nacional 1-2 Racing; my most unexpectedly exciting was Velez Sarsfield 1-1 Nacional, with the solitary game in Brazil at Santos being an especially poignant occasion. Memories are made of these, and even if I never see another Libertadores match, I have lived the dream, I have been very lucky. Putting these 26 games into perspective, I have only been at 7 European Cup/Champions League games in Europe, five in Scotland, all qualifying except Dundee United v Roma, the European Cup Semi-final of 1984. That was the last ever semi in Scotland in Europe’s premier club competition, and it will never happen again. I was at Inter v Spartak Moscow, and more recently, Napoli v Ajax, and that’s your lot!
Football Adventures with James Rendall 