Copa Libertadores 2022 starts with favoritism for Argentine and Brazilian clubs

With matches in Montevideo, Barinas and Trujillo, The Copa Libertadores 2022 will search among 47 participating clubs for a new champion from this Tuesday, giving free rein to 155 games until crowning at the end of October, in Guayaquil, the successor of the Palmeiras of Brazil.

The Cup, which It will not have variants in relation to last year’s competition schemewill start with a first phase (elimination) in which six teams will fight for three places to access phase 2, where 13 clubs are previously seeded.

The first phase will open Tuesday night in Montevideo with the clash between Montevideo City Torque and Barcelona SC. A day later, the Venezuelan Deportivo Lara will host Bolivian Bolívar in Barinas and the César Vallejo University of Peru will receive the visit of Olimpia from Paraguay in Trujillo.

The second legs are scheduled for the following week this month.

phase 2, with 16 teams distributed in 8 keys, will be held between February 22 and March 3, while the phase 3, where you will find the 8 winning teams from the previous round fighting for four places in the group stage, will go from March 8 to 17.

The four of them losing teams of phase 3 will qualify directly to the group phase of the Copa Sudamericana 2022, the second club tournament in importance of Conmebol that starts on March 8.

The group stage (8 keys of four teams) of the Libertadores will be drawn in Luque -a neighbor of Asunción- on a date to be announced by Conmebol. According to the calendar of the matrix of South American football, this It will start on April 5 and end on May 26.

historical hegemony

Brazil, with nine teams (seven places assigned and the current champions of the Libertadores and the Sudamericana) and Argentina, with six, are the countries with the most representatives.

reviewing history, title betting of the sixty-third edition of the Cup point again as usual to the main teams of the two South American powers.

Not in vain, Argentines and Brazilians maintain an absolute supremacy in the competition, inaugurated in 1960. Between formations of both countries have won 46 of the 62 editions of the contest.

In addition, 26 of the last 30 champions were divided between clubs from these countries, with the exception of the Colombian Atlético Nacional in 2016, the Ecuadorian Liga de Quito in 2008, Once Caldas of Colombia in 2004 and Olimpia of Paraguay in 2002.

Boca Juniors, with six titles In his showcases, he aspires in this edition to get the long-awaited seventh Cup to equal his compatriot Independiente as the top winner of the Libertadores.

At his side will be his archrival River Plate, with four titles, and also former champions Students from La Plata (4) and Vélez Sarsfield (1).

Brazil will send to the field palm trees and the former champions flamingo (two), Atletico Mineiro (1) and Corinthians (one). Athletico Paranaense, finalist in 2005 and current champion of the Copa Sudamericana, and Fluminense (finalist in 2008), are also part of the grid. (D)