Flamengo face uphill battle in Copa Libertadores final
Flamengo, Brazil’s most popular yet perennially underachieving club, meet reigning South American champions River Plate in Saturday’s Copa Libertadores final in Lima, Peru. The winner advances to next month’s Fifa Club World Cup in Qatar, where Champions League winners Liverpool will likely await.
Normally played as a twolegged home and away affair, the Libertadores final to decide the continent’s champion was switched to a single game at a neutral venue for the first time since the competition’s inception 58 years ago.
Last season’s postponed final between River Plate and Boca Juniors inadvertently raised the profile of the game globally. Conmebol, the South American confederation, are keen for more international exposure and the one-off afternoon kick-off time will certainly help boost global television viewing, as will a Brazilian team being pitted against an Argentinian one. River Plate boast a settled side, experience and winning six continental trophies since Marcelo Gallardo took charge in 2014 including the 2015 and 2018 Libertadores.
Brazilian sides have underperformed in the competition and for a country renowned for their attacking players, too many sides played dull defensive football. Four Argentinian teams have lifted the Libertadores trophy four times or more, not one Brazilian team has won it more than three times.
Recently, the 2017 winners Gremio became the only Brazilian team to make the final in the last five years. Gremio reached the semi-finals this year, drawing 1-1 with Flamengo in Porto Alegre before losing 5-0 in the second leg in the Maracana. It was a stunning performance by Flamengo as they achieved their first Libertadores final since their only other appearance in 1981.
Flamengo’s turnaround in fortunes can be attributed to their Portuguese boss Jorge Jesus, formerly of Benfica and Sporting Lisbon, who arrived in June and changed the way their playing style. Flamengo had not even impressed in the Libertadores prior to that. They progressed from the last 16 on penalties over Emelec before beating Internacional, the other giant from Porto Alegre in the last eight.
Flamengo are now 25 games unbeaten in league and cup, with striker Gabriel Barbosa, 23, the leading goalscorer in the competition with seven. He came on loan from Inter Milan in January and is now known as ‘Gabighol’. No player has made more assists than Bruno Henrique, who arrived in April. They’re close to winning their first league title in a decade
Jesus has woken the sleeping giant through a mixture of bringing in players from abroad who would normally not consider a move to South America. Filipe Luis, Gerson and Rafinha have worked wonders. Full back Luis, 34, had 18 mostly good years at Atletico Madrid as a winner. Full back Rafinha, 34, had eight successful years at Bayern Munich.
Flamengo also boast tens of millions of fans spread across Brazil. Last year’s match between Boca and River Plate had high expectations and it’s the same for this one as well.