With the Copa Libertadores already entering its second week, South American giants Flamengo and Boca Juniors need to make up for lost time after getting off on the wrong foot. Here are the details:
Changes in Command at Flamengo
Rio de Janeiro giants Flamengo have made two coaching changes since lifting the trophy at the end of October.
Dorival Junior's contract was not renewed and he was replaced by Portuguese coach Vitor Pereira, almost certainly with an eye on a dream Club World Cup final against Real Madrid. However, the sad truth is that Flamengo did not get that far, losing their semi-final to Al Ahly of Saudi Arabia.
With Pereira seemingly chasing his tail as he tried to find a way to balance his team, Flamengo also lost a national and continental supercup, and the final straw came just over a week ago when they squandered a 2-0 first leg lead against Fluminense and lost the Rio State Championship final 4-3 on aggregate.
Pereira was fired last Tuesday. Then Flamengo lost 2-0 to a fourth division team in the first leg of a cup tie. Immediate action was called for, so they were quick to announce Jorge Sampaoli. The Argentine is undoubtedly talented, and his attack-based model of play seems to fit well with Flamengo's trademark attacking spirit.
But it could work well in the short term. Sampaoli has worked in Brazil twice before and done well. Flamengo lost to Aucas of Ecuador in their first Libertadores match. But on Thursday they are at home to minnows Ñublense of Chile, playing the competition for the first time. It's hard to think of a smoother start to Sampaoli's time in charge of Brazil's biggest club.
🏆 Today marks the end of CONMEBOL #Libertadores Group Stage 2! 👀
🗓️ The schedule with times and TV of the 4⃣ games this Thursday#GloriaEterna pic.twitter.com/19R3oswvEa
- CONMEBOL Libertadores (@Libertadores) April 20, 2023
Boca Juniors Amid Uncertainty
Another big club that has gone through a coaching change is Boca Juniors of Argentina, who fired Hugo Ibarra shortly before the Libertadores kicked off. His replacement is Jorge Almirón, who enjoyed a splendid time with Lanús (winning the Argentine league title in 2016 and reaching the Libertadores final the following year), but has done nothing of note since. He does have one advantage.
Boca's Libertadores group looks straightforward. In the opening match away to Monagas of Venezuela, Boca saw both center backs sent off, but still managed to return home with a 0-0 draw. On Tuesday they host Pereira, a modest Colombian opponent.
For Boca Juniors, time is against them. It must make up for lost time, particularly against seemingly small opponents like Deportivo Pereira. It remains to be seen if Almiron can find some of the magic that took him to the top of Argentine soccer almost a decade ago.
