Palmeiras starts as a favorite against Ath. Paranaense, from Felipao, in the Brazilian semifinal of the Copa Libertadores
Verdao, who are the current two-time champions, are favorites and have accumulated a historic streak of 21 games undefeated in the continental tournament
The Ath. Paranaense clings to the Scolari factor to try to surprise a rocky and very favorite Palmeiras, champion in the last two editionsin the first leg of the first semifinal of the Copa Libertadores which will be played next morning in Curitiba (02:30 am CEST, at the Arena da Baixada).
The veteran ‘Felipao’, 73 years old, has straightened out the course of a Furacao, who as much as he is a specialist in KO tournaments (he is the current champion of the South American Cup) will have to contribute something more to unseat a Verdao with aura of unattainablewho is the leader of the Brasileirao with a margin of 7 points ahead of Flamengo and who has the confidence and the tactical arguments to play to the limit in key matches.
“We need two heroic games & rdquor ;, judgment Scolari shooting epic, after having eliminated Estudiantes de La Plata with a goal in the second match in Argentina from the ‘menino’ Vitor Roque, a 17-year-old striker who is going to star. “We are very aware of the potential of Palmeiras in their way of working and their concepts, but we hope that they will be two very close matches”adds the gaucho technician.
The Albiverde from São Paulo by the Portuguese Abel Ferreira is to take off your hat. It reaches the semifinals, being the team with the longest unbeaten streak in the history of the Libertadores: there are already 21 games. His weak point is perhaps not having a ‘9’ in accordance with the quality of the squadbut makes up for it with the explosiveness of Dudu (incomprehensibly does not count for Tite in the Seleçao to the despair of the crooked Palmeirense) and of Rony (which arrives due to skyrocketing morale after scoring an anthological Chilean goal on Saturday at the Maracana against Fluminense).
In the other semi-final, from Wednesday to Thursday morning, Vélez Sarsfield, who is the only non-Brazilian semi-finalist, will host a Flamengo team that is in great form.