“This already looks like the Copa Brasil Libertadores,” complained users on Twitter, given the number of Brazilian teams in the round of 16 – six. But in the end, Palmeiras and Atlético Mineiro eliminated each other, and Flamengo and Atlético Paranaense unexpectedly lost to Olimpia and Bolívar de La Paz. Thus, the draw for the quarterfinals was composed of 3 Brazilians, 2 Argentines, 1 Bolivian, 1 Paraguayan and 1 Colombian. Last year, it was reduced to 5 Brazilians and 3 Argentines, which made the tournament completely lose interest for fans from eight countries. But it is not the fault of those who arrive, but those who do not evolve. The best example is Bolívar. The club from La Paz, wrapped in a glittering present, assembled a highly qualified team and advanced to the quarterfinals. And fight.

We continue with Bolívar. He won the first leg 3 to 1 against Paranaense with solvency, not height. In Curitiba, he held on well to keep the advantage, but suffered a very serious game from the Peruvian referee Kevin Ortega. He overturned a valid hit that tied the game at one. VAR told him “we see no fault”, however, he insisted that Ronnie Fernández made an illegal charge against Thiago Helena. He previously awarded a non-existent penalty to Paranaense due to a play that defender Bentaberry did not see. The Brazilians won 2-0, they went to penalties, and there was nothing Kevin Ortega could do. There was only one missed penalty and that was Thiago Helena’s, which hit the crossbar. Bolívar will have to face Inter Porto Alegre and it’s not unreasonable to think it will be an even series.

Another highly questionable refereeing was that of Uruguayan Andrés Matonte, who did not award a monumental penalty from Rivero’s Enzo Díaz to Inter Porto Alegre’s Fabricio Bustos. They were 0-0 and could have been decisive. But Matonte, despite the clarity of the plot, said no. It is clear that, when the referee wants, there is no VAR that pays off, he does his own thing.

Fortunately, harsh arbitration rulings did not prevent justice from being served. They ranked those who did more.

Boca crushed La Bombonera in Édinson Cavani’s debut (good intentions and poor play), although he barely drew 2-2 with Nacional from Montevideo (the first leg ended 0-0). Despite continuous involvement, Boca does not manage to assert itself with the game, it does not show firmness even though it has the fewest goals against it in the Cup, only 4 in 8 games. But as Perogrullo would say, “A bottle is a bottle” and it is never thrown away.

For Independiente del Valle, this time, the coin fell on the other side. He was eliminated by a discreet team, but combative and physically distributed, like Pereira. IDV seemed to have the easiest key of the eight, he was left out against Pereira who put ten men in his area almost all night.

A missed penalty by the Hoyos towards the end shows that goalkeepers have to wait until the last moment. If possible, without moving. This creates doubts among contractors. Doubts, apart from the pressure the striker already has. In the definition of shots from twelve passes between Inter-River we saw the Uruguayan goalkeeper Rochet (excellent during the game) pick his stick and jump before the ball goes out. That was done before. Penalty Stopping Specialists (I drew it Martínez or the fantastic Brazilian Diego Alves, who contained 75% of the shots) have the recipe: hold out until the last moment before the launch. If the shot is not too strong or cornered, they defend it.

Buenos Aires, Argentina. Racing players celebrated their victory against Atlético Nacional from Medellín. Photo: EFE

Pereira wandered for almost eight decades in the First League without ever being able to shout champion. He got it last December. They beat Independiente Medellín in the final. And for the first time they entered the Cup, with a modest salary they faced Boca, Colo Colo, made it to the round of 16 and now turned the doll that was a big favorite: IDV. This was not in anyone’s plans. Pereira first defends, then defends and finally defends. And it places on grass a value that should not be missing in any order of life if success is desired: attitude. Of course now it’s Palmeiras and it seems like a sign is coming saying “end of the road”. But this is football and anything can happen.

Palmeiras, two-time champion in 2020 and 2021, semi-finalist in 2022, threatens to reach the top again, always led by Portuguese Abel Ferreira. A very tough team in defense, which holds the whole backbone: its goalscorer Weberton (for this chronicler the best in Brazil above Alisson and Ederson), the great captain Gustavo Gómez, Raphael Veiga, Dudu, Rony. They have been there for years and play with their eyes closed. He is a great candidate to meet Boca or Racing in the semi-finals.

Racing and Olimpia showed fantastic greatness. If there is a cup team, it is called Olimpia de Paraguay, with three crowns, seven finals and as many semi-finals. However, on Thursday night, he afforded his fans one of the greatest joys in 64 years of long cup disputes. Bad at the local tournament, mired in debt, minimally lost to Flamengo in Rio. A light rubro-black classification was expected from Rio de Janeiro. And after 6 minutes at Defensores del Chaco, Flamengo’s goal. More favoritism. But a vine, a claw, an Olympic heart appeared to turn things around: 3 to 1 a good Paraguayan, with three goals headed, although the third was the Argentine, Facundo Bruera. All three were fatal blows to the head.

No less emotional was Racing’s 3:0 victory over Nacional from Medellín, who won 4:2 in the first match in Colombia, and Racing trampled Nacional and wiped it off the field. 3-0 which perhaps deserved to be wider. Kudos to the Academy, which will certainly play two epic games with Boca. The cup is beautiful. (OR)