Felipao’s got a great Danny DeVito impression.
O Derby is one name for the Derby Paulista, the second most important classico in Brazil. This the biggest rivalry for the megacity of Sao Paulo, and pits reigning South American champions Corinthians against Palmeiras. I already mentioned Corinthians in a previous Know Thy Classics post, so I won’t talk about them much, but Palmeiras is a club you ought to know about. Continue reading
Independiente fans doing their thing.
Clearly, the fixture gods of South American footie care not for opening weekend of the English Premier League, much to my chagrin. Instead of covering one clásico for you this week, I’ve got to run down three. So find a comfy chair, grab a cup of coffee, and settle in. We’re headed to Sao Paulo, Brazil, first. Continue reading
Danilo is the man for Corinthians.
The South American version of the UEFA Champions League is the Copa Libertadores. Unlike the European tournament, which has a Super Bowlish final at a pre-selected glitzy venue, the South Americans prefer a two leg final, where each team gets to host one leg. Why? Because two finals are better than one, that’s why.
Another fun wrinkle is that they drop the away goals rule for the final, so if the score is tied after the second leg, we get to enjoy extra time and penalties. That eliminates some of the “antifútbol” tactics that unscrupulous managers use to win big games like this.
The first leg is on tonight (8:50 p.m., Fox Deportes) in Buenos Aires, when 2011 Argentine champions Boca Juniors host 2011 Brazilian champions Corinthians. This is Boca’s tenth appearance in the Libertadores final. They’ve won six (good for 2nd all time). As for Corinthians, I think this is their first time ever in the final, though they did manage to win a FIFA Club World Cup in 2000 (I think that was an early edition when FIFA was handing out invites instead of limiting it to confederation champions). Continue reading
