Cup winning goal

Internacional knocked off Estudiantes de la Plata in the Copa Sudamericana final with an extra-time goal by Nilmar. Inter won 2-1. Here's the strike that delivered a cup:

Copa Sudamericana final, first leg

Internacional went down to 10 men but still managed a 1-0 win over Estudiantes de la Plata. Alex scored the only goal of the game on a first-half penalty kick.

Here are the highlights. The foul didn't really look like much contact and although there was, the Inter player dived to the ground as if nailed by a truck.

Chivas lose game, Nery

Chivas lost the game and then lost the man. First, Chivas fell to Internacional 2-0 in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final. But also Chivas also missed out on Nery Castillo as Shakhtar shot down the deal.

Omar Arellano had a terrible game and could have gone up multiple times but Arellano's aim was well off. Chivas' task of going down to Brazil and winning by multiple goals seems impossible now.

Here are the highlights:

Internacional awaits

Chivas de Guadalajara faces a critical stretch in the coming four days. While their league fate will be decided on the weekend, the club's got a Brazilian powerhouse coming in for an international showdown.

Chivas hosts Internacional in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana semifinals tonight in Estadio Jalisco. Chivas has reached the semifinals of Copa Libertadores twice before but failed to advance to the final. If Chivas can get past this round, the club would play in their first South American tournament finale.

But first things first. Chivas has to get past Internacional, who won Copa Libertadores in 2006.

Cancha of course has tonight's preview covered. Their keys to the game:

- Chivas has to attack on the flanks to take advantage of Omar Arellano's speed; Alberto Medina would do well to start also.
- Alex will be dangerous and Chivas would do well to put either a defender (Ocampo) or defensive midfielder (Araujo) on him exclusively.
- The midfield needs to be much tighter than it was against River Plate; if they give up the same type and number of chances as they did against River, Chivas will be in trouble.

Possible lineups
Chivas: Hernandez; Ocampo, Reynoso, Mejia; Morales, Araujo, Fabian, Baez; Santana, Arellano, Medina.

Inter: Lauro; Alvaro, Indio, Marcao, Bolivar; Guinazu, Edinho, Magrao; Andrezinho, Nilmar, Alex.

Ahora quien es el mas grande?

Thursday's Chivas-River Plate game was truly one for the ages. Two proud clubs with tradition dripping from their jerseys met for a spot in the semifinals of the Copa Sudamericana. River Plate followed Chivas' lead from the first leg by scoring two but Chivas came back and scored two second-half goals later. I've got highlights below, well, Chivas' goals at least.

Anyway, here's the contrasting covers from the different sides. First, Cancha from Guadalajara:

The headline doesn't translate very well, as literally in English it's "How Rooster-like" or something. But it's more describing their swagger and manner in which they came back.

In Argentina, though, the angle is much different.

Now, to start off, I don't know what MEONE means. Sorry. I must have slept through that lesson. If someone can enlighten the rest of us, that would be great. Whatever MEONE means, it was done by an elephant.

But the subhead is quite enlightening:

"River took a quick lead, they scored two goals and squandered several others, but allowed two Chivas counters in a five-minute span in the second half and are out, unjustly, from the Sudamericana."

I'm not sure how "unjust" the result was or what they are referring too. Chivas were deserved winners, plain and simple. But I guess I'm not watching the game from Buenos Aires, so my perspective is different.

Chivas wins a partidazo

Chivas and River Plate played the second leg of their Copa Sudamericana quarterfinal series earlier tonight and the teams pieced together a helluva game.

River went up 2-0 pretty early but Chivas battled back and scored two goals midway through the second half to level terms. The game finished in a 2-2 draw and Chivas advanced to the semifinals on a 4-3 aggregate win.

Check out Chivas' goals. Some pretty dramatic stuff:

Draw your line

Guess what we're going to follow today?

The return leg of Chivas-River Plate's Copa Sudamericana quarterfinal series will be played tonight. Chivas hold a 2-1 advantage heading into the decisive second leg. The pressure will be on the Argentines to try and come out and attack but I wouldn't expect Chivas to play defensively.

Chivas were on their heels for much of the first leg but still held a 2-0 lead until a late PK. I'd expect Chivas to dictate terms early and, if I'm a betting man, I'd say Chivas gets a crucial early goal and holds off a late charge to win and reach the semifinals.

Here's how Cancha sees the starting lineups

Chivas: Hernandez; Solis, Reynoso, Mejia, Esparza; Pineda, Araujo, Moralez, Baez; Arellano, Santana.

River: Ojeda; Villagra, Quiroga, Cabral, Ferrari; Abelairas, Ahumada, Fernandez; Abreu, Buonanotte, Garcia.

River > Chivas

River Plate will play at Chivas de Guadalajara in the second leg of their Copa Sudamericana series and River forward Sebastian Abreu likes their chances.

He also likes their history. More than Chivas' in fact. Abreu told Cancha that River Plate is the superior club.

"If we're talking about a history of greatness, then I simply refer to the statistics," Abreu told Cancha (sorry, can't link the story because it's a pay site).

Here are the numbers: River Plate has 32 league titles and two Copa Libertadores championships. Chivas have 11 league titles and one CONCACAF Champions Cup title. Beyond that, it's subjective in terms of players produced, significane within their respective leagues, etc.

Surely those could be fighting words so Abreu tempered his comments a bit.

"We respect Chivas because we know how important they are. They are a big club, very popular and we'll see on the field who is able to walk away with the advantage."