World Cup 2009 LDU (Quito) Runner-up

2008/12/21



The year 2008 has certainly been one to remember for Manchester United Football Club. Champions of England, champions of Europe and now champions of the world due to their 1-0 victory over Liga de Quito in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup.

They did it the hard way. Completely dominating possession and play in the first half, United were in control of the game. That was until Nemanja Vidic elbowed Claudio Bieler in the face - and the Red Devils ended up seeing red. However, despite their numerical disadvantage, United still tried to play positively rather than try and close the game out and rely on the lottery of a penalty shoot-out, which saw them qualify for the competition after defeating Chelsea on spot-kicks in Moscow seven months ago.

Inspired by the prompting of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, Sir Alex Ferguson's side were rewarded Rooney, the adidas Golden Ball winner fired past the outstanding Jose Cevallos in the 73rd minute, which proved to be enough. Yet the English side were forced to rely on the heroics of Edwin van der Sar who pulled off two world-class saves to frustrate Damian Manso, who claimed the adidas Bronze Ball.

Third place went to AFC champions Gamba Osaka, who prevailed by a single goal over Pachuca in a tight match for third place. A well taken strike from Masato Yamazaki proved to be the difference between the two sides; with Osaka's victory blighted only by the tournament's first sending off, an injury-time red card for substitute Takahiro Futugawa.Yet the squad together with their enthusiastic supporters, who sang from start to finish at each of their three games in this competition, celebrated the win with gusto - which equaled Urawa Reds' achievement this time last year.

The tournament opened with a Trans-Tasman derby between Oceania champions Waitakere United of New Zealand, and Asian runners-up Adelaide United of Australia. After conceding goals in the third and fourth minute in the previous event, Waitakere underlined the progress they had made in the meantime by opening the scoring against Adelaide after 34 minutes at Tokyo's National Stadium, following a goalkeeping error. Adelaide, however, equalised before half-time, and captain Travis Dodd provided the winner for the Australians seven minutes from the close, to book a quarter-final rematch with Asian champions Gamba Osaka.

Before that, there was the other quarter-final to be contested, at the same stadium. Egypt's Al Ahly, the African champions, shocked their Mexican opponents Pachuca by going into a two-goal lead before half-time. Yet a spirited Pachuca fightback levelled the scores, forcing the match to extra time, where the Mexicans made their territorial dominance count with two more goals, from Damian Alvarez and Argentinian star Christian Gimenez.

Gamba Osaka, playing in front of a passionate crowd in Toyota City, went into an early lead against Adelaide with a well-worked goal from Japan international Yasuhito Endo. Adelaide, however, made a match of it in the second half, and only two late near-misses from Dodd and substitute Robert Younis prevented the match from going to extra time.

It was time for the big two to make their entry, and the first to do so were South American champions Liga de Quito, who had beaten the more fancied Argentinian and Brazilian clubs to win the Copa Libertadores. And the Ecuadorians showed it was no fluke by racing into a two-goal lead against Pachuca, and holding firm in the face of tremendous pressure from the Mexicans in the second period, with goalkeeper Jose Cevallos making two outstanding saves.

The long-awaited entry of European champions Manchester United sparked the event's most thrilling match. Faced with ‘home' side Gamba Osaka, Sir Alex Ferguson's men were committed to attack from the outset, and were rewarded with first-half goals for Nemanja Vidic and Cristiano Ronaldo, both headers from Ryan Giggs corners. Yet Gamba had created chances of their own in the first period, and gave the English side a momentary fright when Masato Yamazaki pulled a goal back on 74 minutes. But then the United substitutes took over: England star Wayne Rooney scored twice in four minutes, sandwiched by a goal from Darren Fletcher, to give the Europeans an unassailable 5-1 lead. Yet Gamba refused to give up, and notched two consolation strikes before the whistle blew to signal the end of an unforgettable match.

Adelaide United emulated the feat of their Australian colleagues Sydney FC in 2005 by defeating Al Ahly in the play-off for fifth place. A brilliant individual goal from Cristiano in the seventh minute was enough for Aurelio Vidmar's side to prevail. There was also joy for the Australians after returning home as they scooped the FIFA Fair Play Award.

Final standings/Participants
1st - Manchester United (ENG)
2nd - Liga de Quito (ECU)
3rd - Gamba Osaka (JPN)
4th - Pachuca C.F. (MEX)
5th - Adelaide United FC (AUS)
6th - Al Ahly (EGY)
7th - Waitakere United (NZL)

Stadiums/ Host cities
National Stadium (Tokyo), Toyota Stadium (Toyota) and International Stadium (Yokohama).

Top scorers
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) 3 goals; Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Masato Yamazaki (Gamba Osaka) and Christian Gimenez (Pachuca) 2; Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) 1 - along with 12 others.

Total number of goals: 23, an average of 2.88 per game.
Total attendance: 355,515, an average of 44,439 per game

In a Liga of their own by FIFA.com

Two goals in the first 25 minutes were enough for Copa Libertadores winners Liga de Quito to book themselves a place in Sunday's final.
In torrential rain at the Tokyo's National Stadium, well-taken strikes from Claudio Bieler and Luis Bolanos gave the team from Ecuador the chance to become club champions of the world, but they were made to work against a passionate Pachuca side, who in truth, had more of the ball and created a greater number of chances.
The first goal came with the game barely four minutes old, with Bieler taking advantage of a fortunate rebound to steer the ball past Miguel Calero. The goal seemed to rock the Mexicans who started full of confidence following their fine comeback over Al Ahly.
Pachuca had a quick chance to level matters, when Jose Cardenas and Damian Alvarez combined well down the left, but despite Christian Gimenez and Bruno Marioni being well positioned, the ball failed to break for either and the danger was cleared.
Marioni was desperately unlucky not to equalize in the 19th minute. Francisco Torres' corner was swung into the box with the Argentinian striker lurking in eight yards from goal at the near post. His acrobatic flying header merited a goal, but he was left frustrated as his effort was blocked.
Just five minutes later, the winners of the 2008 Copa Libertadores doubled their advantage - and what a goal it was! Julio Manzur gave away a free kick on the edge of the box after handling the ball and up stepped Bolanos to take the set piece.
The Liga de Quito players formed a wall directly in front of Pachuca's, completely blocking the keeper's line of sight. Bolanos curled the ball past both screens and into the top right corner.
Pachuca then found themselves in the same situation as Saturday, but could lightning strike twice. From the time of the second goal until the end of the match they certainly had the lion's share of possession, but they were unable to make it count.
Alvarez blasted the ball at the keeper when well placed. Torres tested the keeper with a low shot and from the loose ball an under-pressure Cardenas headed wide with the goal at his mercy.
At the other end, Renan Calle's 35-yard free kick looked to be dipping under the crossbar until Calero tipped the ball over. A 3-0 lead at half-time would have certainly flattered Edgardo Bauza's side, but there was no doubt that they took their chances when it mattered.
The second half, in contrast, failed to offer as many goals, incident or drama as the first. Virtually all of the play took place in the Liga de Quito half and had it not been for some profligate finishing from Alvarez, Gimenez and Marioni, Pachuca might have found their was back into the game.
Arguably the best chance of a stop-start second 45 minutes came in added time when Liga de Quito's Reinaldo Nava found himself with just the goalkeeper to beat and spooned the ball over the bar.
As a result, that miss did not matter. Liga de Quito booked their place in Sunday's final while Pachuca have to lift themselves to take part in the match for third place.

More tears at the Maracana

(FIFA.com) Thursday 3 July 2008



As strange as it may seem, Rio de Janeiro, one of the most passionate footballing cities on the planet, had never before hosted a Copa Libertadores final. And no matter whether you were rooting for Fluminense or LDU, it turned out to be a truly unforgettable evening.The spectacle began long before kick-off as the Flu faithful staged one of the most stunning displays of devotion ever seen at the Maracana. The excitement continued when the two sides marched out, serving up a thrilling duel that ended with the disbelieving home fans expressing their grief as one. It was an outcome that prompted inevitable comparisons with Brazil's fateful FIFA World Cup™ defeat by Uruguay at the famous old stadium in 1950, a defeat that stunned a nation and spawned the word Maracanazo.
This latest shock at the Maracana was made all the more frustrating for Fluminense fans by the fact that their idols chalked up a seventh win in seven home games in the Libertadores this season. The hosts' storming comeback, spearheaded by hat-trick hero Thiago Neves, was all in vain, though, as LDU dashed their dreams in a penalty shootout and turned the Tricolor Carioca title party into a wake.
"What can I say?" said an understandably subdued Fluminense coach Renato Gaucho at the post-match press conference. "The fact is I don't know what to say. It will take me a few days to understand what really happened here as it's a very, very bitter blow. I didn't even try speaking to the players because they're in no condition right now. I'll leave that for Friday. I only came to the press conference because I'm a man and I don't want people saying I hid myself away after we lost."
Excitement in the standsEven though the Tricolor Carioca needed to win by three clear goals to make the trophy theirs, their supporters were abuzz with a mix of confidence and excitement as the match approached. For a whole five hours, the Maracana shook to the sound of the club anthem, sung with passion by the 80,000 followers, a reminder that this was no ordinary occasion.After that it was time for the pyrotechnics to begin. For five minutes the entire ground was bathed in colour as flares were lit in the stands, an amazing spectacle that had even the Ecuadorians in the crowd nodding in appreciation. "The Brazilians deserve to win for that alone," joked an LDU supporter who had made the long trip from Quito.
But little did the Fluzão faithful know that the visitors would rain on their parade. When Thiago Neves scored his third of the evening to level the tie with a little over 30 minutes remaining, that same sense of excitement and anticipation rippled around the terraces once more.
But the longer LDU held on and the longer the decisive fourth goal failed to materialise, the greater the anxiety that gripped the capacity crowd. By the time the referee blew for the end of extra time, the air of resignation in the stands had become palpable. Flu had thrown everything at the Ecuadorians and still it had not been enough, and when Jose Francisco Cevallos denied Washington to complete a hat-trick of penalty saves, a solemn silence took hold of the stadium.
Heads bowed, the Fluminense diehards slowly made their way towards the exits. Even two hours after the game, many of them were still shuffling around outside, lost in a dream that had ended in the cruellest of fashions.

The continental press salutes Liga de Quito and points out the coup at the Maracaná

The Latin American press today highlighted the historical victory of Liga de Quito in the Libertadores Cup, at the same time that some newspapers in Brazil described as a "tragedy" the defeat of Fluminense in the penalty shoot out in a dramatic final at the mythical Maracaná stadium of Río de Janeiro.
From the greatness of their humility, Liga de Quito yesterday became the first Ecuadorian team to conquer the Santander Libertadores Cup, after overcoming Fluminense by 3-1 in penalty kicks, with a brilliant performance by goalkeeper José Cevallos. The Ecuadorian team will participate in the next FIFA World Cup of Clubs that will be disputed in Japan.
"Liga of America", "Historical" and "A coup by Ecuador at the Maracaná", were some of the headlines chosen by the newspapers to refer to the winning team of the 49th edition of the Libertadores Cup, coached by Argentinean Edgardo Bauza and in which Joffre Guerrón, Patricio Urrutia, Luis Bolaños and others played vital roles.
Ecuadorian newspapers pointed out that Liga de Quito is "in the summit of the sky with an illuminated one 'Pepe Pancho' Cevallos", considered the hero of Maracaná, for stopping three of the penalty shots fired by the players of Fluminense. Morning daily Hoy pointed out that the Ecuadorians seized the Rio carnival that was prepared for the Brazilians and that "The music and the rain of pyrotechnics faded at the end of the match, after the historical performance of Cevallos".
El Comercio, of Lima, Peru, highlighted that "Liga de Quito was proclaimed champion of the Libertadores, for the first time their history", and El Expreso asserted that Bauza's men "made history in both national and South American football", when winning the Cup at the Maracaná.
On the other hand, El Universo of Guayaquil underlined that Liga is a "Giant of America!" that gave a coup at the Maracaná, and La Hora wrote that those more than 3.500 Ecuadorian supporters present at the mythical stadium were silenced by the localm supporters, although they were the first and the last to celebrate, Luis Bolaños?s goal first and later the title. The Ecuadorian manager, Sixto Vizuete, joined the national celebration and said that Liga's victory was possible due to "the personality and the improvement' of the country?s footballers."
On the other side, the Brazilian press compared the defeat of Fluminense with the defeat of 1950, when the host national team lost the World Cup of that year before Uruguay. O Globo commented in similar terms the defeat of the 'Flu', while O Dia referred to the match as a "Tri-colored tragedy" and pointed out that "Guerrón silenced the 86.000 Brazilians at the Maracaná." Newsdaily Extra pointed out that "The dream has ended", and Lance assured that Fluminense suffered a "defeat that was not deserved".
The Argentinean press considered that Liga de Quito "was never before closer to heaven " with its victory in the Libertadores after a "extraordinary final" before Fluminense, while the newspapers of Mexico described the victory of the team as "miraculous" and "historical." Fluminense eliminated Boca Juniors of Argentina, champion of the Libertadores in 2007, in the semifinals of the 2008 edition.
In Chile, newspapers exalted the victory of the Quito combine and considered that Cevallos was the "hero" of the Maracaná and that Ecuador, "finally, is the owner of America." The Bolivian press, in turn, coincided in highlighting that it "Liga makes history" and pointed out that the splendid champion of the continent will be a rival of Bolívar in La Paz in the next South American Cup. The Peruvian newspaper Bocón pointed out that Liga "made history" when treating Fluminense to a coup.
CONMEBOL.com y EFE

Liga gives a coup at the Maracaná and is Champion of America!

03 / 07 / 2008



Historical. Simply historical, was what Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito of Quito did before Fluminense in the mythical Maracaná stadium. The team coached by Argentinean Edgardo Bauza became strong in the penalty shoot out definition, after losing 3 to 1 in the 120 minutes of play, and supported by the great catches of its experienced goalkeeper José Cevallos, became champion of the Santander Libertadores Cup for the first time in its history. In turn, it is the first time that an Ecuadorian team wins the maximum continental competition and will play the World Cup of Clubs.



In regulation time, Luis Bolaños put the university students in advantage in the first five minutes. But then a triple by Thiago Nev, a figure in this match, tied the series 5 to 5 and sent things, first into additional time, and later to conclude in the above mentioned penalty kicks. In that instance Cevallos became big, stopping three of the four shots and taking advantage of the certainty of his partners - they converted three of four shots-, to place the Quito team in the highest place in America,
Liga opened the count, Fluminense turned it around by the hand of Thiago Nev
It could not have begun better for the Ecuadorian team. They scored their first in just five minutes of play. Joffre Guerrón climbed from the right, arrived to the bottom, threw the center behind and Luis Bolaños, beat Fernando Henrique?s resistance with a dry finish off, to silence 90.000 people that filled the Maracaná .
But the happiness of the university team lasted little . In minute 9, the locals warned with a one on one incredibly lost by Washington. Two minutes later, a finish off by the great figure of the night, Thiago Nev, took goalkeeper Cevallos by surprise and tied things. Renato Gaúcho?s men were always after the advantage that would give them tranquility to confront the rest of the match.
Additional time, definition by penalty kicks and a lot of drama
In the complement, Renato Gaúcho sent Dodó into the field for Ygor, to give the team more offensive weight. It was a sign of what those 45 minutes would be like. A constant search for goals by the local team and a lot of people in defense by the Ecuadorians.
But in spite of putting a lot of people in the rival side of the pitch and overturning the development of the match into the visitor?s pitch, Flu was not be able to penetrate the strong university defense. Then they appealed to finish offs from far away from the area. One by Arouca that made Cevallos respond well, was a warning of what was coming.
The locals went in search of the goal that would send the match into additional time. It had to be Thiago Nev the one in charge of conquering, thanks to a masterful free shot, the 3 - 1. The Ecuadorians, felt the blow and retretaed their lines, allowing the local team to attack without worrying in the bottom.
So much was negledted in the bottom, and a half turn from Argentinean Bieler, smashed on Fernando Henrique?s post who didn't end up containing the shot. The locals continued insisting from, half distance, this time through Conca who collided with the hands of Cevallos, and in the rebound Washington could not score the consecration goal.
Things became dramatic. Both went in search of the goal that would give them the Cup, and in each attack it seemed the match broke. But that didn't happen. It didn't happen due to the physical fatigue both groups felt and to the nerves that a definition like this causes in the players. None was able to break the parity and the match went on to extra time.
Edgardo Bauza attributed the victory to the "personality" of the team to prevent the title from escaping
The coach of Liga de Quito, Argentinean Edgardo Bauza, admitted tonight that the final of the Libertadores "seemed as if it could have escaped" and he eulogized the "personality" of his team that made the final victory possible. "We suffered a lot and we won well. Our rivals were natural candidates, but we took things ahead with great courage", Bauza said to local media, amid the celebration on the grass of Maracaná stadium.
"After the third goal it was very difficult to tolerate and in the last minutes we were veru nervous", he detailed. The coach also showed an ?enormous satisfaction? for obtaining the first Libertadores title for Ecuador. "Now it?s time to enjoy", he said.
Joffre Gerrón: We have entered big history
The Ecuadorian fielder of Liga declared that the squad that won the Libertadores Cup ?was going into history" since it is "the first Ecuadorian team to win this title. Guerrón assured that the most decisive thing was "the desire" that the team showed and that they were able " to remain calm" and, mainly that "thanks to God", they scored the penalty kicks.
The newly signed player of Spanish Getafe applauded the rival of the final, Fluminense of Brazil and highlighted that it is "a good team that did not give up and played an excellent match."
Argentinean forward Claudio Bieler said that this is an ?unique moment, because Liga is ?a very humble team that never fell?. "We already made history reaching the semifinals and we didn't want to leave with empty hands. This title is for Ecuador that needs is so much" , he said.
José Cevallos, a hero when stopping three penalty kicks, dedicated the victory to the Ecuadorian people and said that the key to the match was that they knew how to "maintain" the result in the second half. " Our goal didn?t happen and neither did their?s".
Carlos Villacís, vice-president of the Ecuadorian Football Federation: "Liga?s title is the fruit of the progress of Ecuadorian football?
The vice-president of the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF), Carlos Villacís, assured EFE today that the title of champion of the Libertadores of America Cup reached by Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito of Quito (LDUQ) is the fruit of the "progress" that has made football grow in the country.
"As president in charge of the Federation (in absence of Luis Chiriboga) and as another Ecuadorian, I am happy, pleased, proud, because this handful of Ecuadorians representing Liga de Quito have won the first Libertadores Cup for Ecuador and that confirms the progress reached by Ecuadorian football?, Villacís added.
The manager assured that he suffered just as any other fan in the penalty shoot out definition that ended in favor of the Ecuadorian champion.
"I assume that all Ecuadorian followers of any other club, didn?t abandon the jersey?s of their favorite team, but put Liga?s jersey on for the day to give force to the champion that represented all of Ecuador and this is a good demonstration to the world that Ecuadorian football has grown a lot", he insisted.
Villacís affirmed that the "force, firmness and refusal to surender" of the players during the 120 minutes and then in the penalty shoot out, were the reasons why Liga de Quito achieved this title, but that, if there was a player to highlight, that was the goalkeeper, José Francisco Cevallos.
Renato Gaúcho: "The winners are also hit by K.O."
The coach of Fluminense, Renato Gaúcho, appreciated the support of the fans after their defeat in the final of the Libertadores Cup and regretted that " winners are also hit by K.O.". Renato applauded his team, because it was "brave" and because it "fought", in a press conference after the match that "Flu" won by 3-1, but that lost in the penalties kicks.
"Unhappily we received a goal in the beginning, then we looked for victory but the ball didn't go in. In the penalties we uses our best strikers, but it wasn?t their night", the coach of the vice champion of the Libertadores analyzed. The trainer assured that he went to the press conference to avoid speculations of the press and suggested that the referee was not right when not whistling a doubtful penalty on Washington it has more than enough and for not warning the rival goalkeeper so he wouln?t waste so much time.
CONMEBOL.com y EFE