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Boca Juniors - Sixth Libertadores Cup for the Trashmen

Ozren Podnar reports...

Boca Juniors, the supremely popular Trashmen (Bosteros) have made it to the second spot of the all-time winners' chart of the most prestigious club competitions in the Americas - Copa Libertadores (The Liberators' Cup). In a clash between old rivals, Boca defeated the Brazilian side Gremio 3-0 at their Bombonera Stadium and 2-0 in the return in Porto Alegre.

Scorers in the first leg were Palacio (18), Riquelme (73) and Ledesma (89) while in Porto Alegre, in Boca's 200th game in Copa Libertadores Riquelme scored both goals in the 68th and the 81th minute. Martín Palermo could repeat the score from the Buenos Aires match but he missed a penalty in the 84th minute that he had won himself in a duel with Rolando Schiavio.

The hero of the final matches was Juan Román Riquelme, on a four-month loan from Villarreal, enhancing his already enormous stature among Boca followers who have idolized him ever since his first spell with the Trashmen.

Boca's path to the sixth continental title was not easy, having had a hard time going through the group stage past the Mexican side Toluca before narrowly beating Vélez Sarsfield, Paraguay's Libertad and Colombia's sensation Cúcuta.

Riquelme's impact was crucial in the semifinals too, opening the scoring against Cúcuta when Boca had to come from two goals down.

Two-times winner of this competition Gremio also has a difficult trip to the finals, which included rivals like Sao Paulo in the round of 16 and Santos in the semis. Beside being famous for goals, Palermo is noted for missed penalties and on one occasion he missed three.

Cup decided elections for mayor

The amazingly successful Boca now owns 15 big international trophies (just behind Milan at 16) and two lesser ones that their fans and historians also include in the count to prove their team is the most crowned in the world - the Copa Masters and Copa Oro - arguably lack the stature to stand up to the remaining team's trophies (see Boca's fact file below).

Never mind the controversy over who holds most titles, Boca's president, centre-right politician Mauricio Macri won the elections for mayor of Buenos Aires just days after his team won the Libertadores. The political analysts say Macri's most important "rally" was held in Porto Alegre, rather than in the Argentinian capital.

Copa Libertadores review

Round of 16 1st 2nd

Cúcuta Deportivo - Toluca 5:1 0:2
America C. México - Colo Colo 3:0 1:2
Defensor - Flamengo 3:0 0:2
Paraná Clube - Libertad 1:2 1:1
Boca Juniors - Vélez Sarsfield 3:0 1:3
Sao Paulo - Gremio 1:0 0:2
Caracas - Santos 2:2 2:3
Nacional Montevideo - Necaxa 3:2 1:0

Quarterfinals 1st 2nd

Cúcuta Deportivo - Nacional Mont. 2:0 2:2
America C. México - Santos 0:0 1:2
Defensor Sporting - Gremio 2:0 0:2, 2:4 (11 m)
Boca Juniors - Libertad 1:1 2:0

Semifinals 1st 2nd

Cúcuta Deportivo - Boca Juniors 3:1 0:3
Gremio - Santos 2:0 1:3

Finals 1st 2nd

Boca Juniors - Gremio 3:0 2:0

Boca fact file

Full name: Club Atletico Boca Juniors
Date of foundation: April 3rd, 1905.
Nickname: Xeneizes (Genovans), Bosteros (Trashmen)
Stadium: Bombonera (60,000)
Coach: Miguel Angel Russo
President: Mauricio Macri
Members: 55.000
Famous players: Rattin, Rojas, Gatti, Maradona, Bochini, Batistuta, Caniggia, Verón,
Samuel, Kily González, Burdisso, Palermo, Riquelme, Tevez, Palacio, Gago
Famous coaches: Di Stefano, Menotti, Basile, C. Bianchi
Domestic titles: 30, including 22 championships
International trophies: 3 Intercontinental Cups, 6 Libertadores Cups, 2 Sudamericana Cups, 3 Recopas, 1 Supercopa, 1 Master Supercopa, 1 Copa Oro

Boca Juniors 2007

No. Player Age Position
1 Aldo Bobadilla 31 Goalkeeper
2 Matiás Silvestre 22 Midfielder
3 Claudio Morel Rodríguez 29 Defender
4 Hugo Ibarra 33 Defender
5 Sebastián Battaglia 26 Midfielder
6 Daniel Diaz 28 Defender
7 Guillermo Marino 26 Midfielder
8 Pablo Ledesma 25 Midfielder
9 Martín Palermo 33 Forward
10 Juan Román Riquelme 28 Midfielder
11 Bruno Marioni 32 Forward
12 Mauricio Caranta 28 Goalkeeper
13 Nicolás Bertolo 21 Midfielder
14 Rodrigo Palacio 25 Forward
16 Sergio Ortemán 28 Midfielder
18 Marcos Mondaini 22 Midfielder
19 Neri Cardozo 20 Midfielder
20 Jonatán Maidana 21 Defender
22 Matiás Cahais 19 Defender
23 Jesúa Datolo 23 Midfielder
24 Juan Krupoviesa 28 Defender
25 Pablo Migliore 25 Goalkeeper
26 Ever Banega 18 Midfielder
28 Santiago Villafane 19 Midfielder
29 Andrés Franzoia 21 Midfielder
30 Mauro Boselli 22 Forward

Learn about South-American trophies

Surprisingly, the former Supercopa competition is nothing like the European Supercup; it was a tournament with the former winners of the Copa Libertadores. The competition that does resemble the European Supercup is the Recopa - the duel between the current winners of the Libertadores and the Sudamericana cups. The confusing detail is that in European Spanish Recopa means the Cup Winner's Cup. To help decypher the South American cup scene, here's a glossary.

Competition Translation European equivalent

Copa Libertadores Liberators' Cup Champions' League
Copa Sudamericana South-American Cup UEFA Cup
Recopa Sudamericana Cup Winners' Cup Supercup
Supercopa* Supercup none
Copa Master de Supercopa* Master Supercup none
Copa de Oro* Gold Cup none

*discontinued

Ozren Podnar

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