Liga of Ecuador Take the 2008 Copa Libertadores
History is Made as Fluminense Go Out on Penalties
Both Liga of Quito and Fluminense of Rio de Janeiro were looking for their first ever Copa Libertadores title in 2008’s competition but it was the team from Ecuador that prevailed triumphing over the two legs after extra time and a weary-legged penalty shootout.
Aggregate Scores From Two Legged Final
After extra time the score stood at an aggregate 5-5, with Liga having won convincing at altitude in Quito 4-2 and then losing the second leg in Brazil’s monumental Maracana stadium 3-1.
Despite losing the first game in Quito, the team from Niteroi were understandably upbeat about their chances of taking the title for the first ever time, playing in front of a partisan crowd and with two invaluable away goals to their name. But the return leg did not play out according to Fluminense coach Renato’s plans. He may have predicted a home win, but he never envisaged the thriller that unfurled. This was a great game for the non partisan football fan.
Fluminense Run Out of Ideas
Luis Bolanos of Liga scored inside of 5 minutes to silence the raucous crowd of 79,000 lining the Maracana but then the team from Ecuador failed to capitalize on their lead. Thiago Neves of Fluminense scored a hat-trick and the home side looked a safe bet to take the tournament. But, Fluminense, known as big occasion chokers lived up to their billing and ran out of ideas in the face of a defiant opposition. Towards the end the Fluminense players were visibly waning and this looked a shell of the team that had won all previous home encounters in the competition.
Penalty Shootout
Fluminense then failed to notch up another goal all through the final half an hour of normal play and additional time falling to Liga on penalties 3-1. Liga goalkeeper Jose Cevallos pulled off an astonishing string of saves, blocking three of the four shots to win the cup and take it back to Ecuador.
A Competition to Remember
By all accounts the final of the 2008 Copa Libertadores has been a classic pitching two teams with no past experience in the competition’s final against one another. No team from Ecuador has ever won the cup, only Barcelona of Guayaquil has come close finishing as runners up in both 1990 and 1998.
Liga - On to Win the World Club Cup?
Where do Liga go from here? Well, to begin with they have the World Club Cup versus the Champions League winners Manchester United. Coach Edgardo Bauza will already be plotting which team to field and how to hold onto his players as this competition will have catapulted some into the international imagination – Joffre Guerron has already been sold to Getafe in Spain.
