Copa Libertadores: Boca win 6th Title

Boca Juniors lifted their 6th Copa Libertadores title last night behind two Juan Roman Riquelme goals as they defeated Brazilian side Gremio 5-0 on aggregate. They will join AC Milan and Pachuca in the 2007 FIFA World Club Cup.

Riquelme is a freakin stud. Argentina is going to miss having that guy run their midfield. When he first made his move from Boca to Barcelona, I knew that he would be awesome. Hell, it was only last year when he damn near single handedly carried Villarreal to the Champions League Final. Here he guides Boca to their 6th Libertadores championship.

CONMEBOL: Stacking the Deck?

I might be wrong about this, but I just read something regarding the Copa Libertadores that is either confusing or in my opinion, plain wrong.

CONMEBOL Executive Secretary Francisco Figueiredo stated that as in the recent past, Mexican clubs will be invited to the Copa Libertadores but will not represent the region in the FIFA World Club Cup if they win the Copa Libertadores.

I understand this as it makes sense. The Mexican clubs are not a part of CONMEBOL so if they do win, they shouldn't be the CONMEBOL representatives at the FIFA World Club Cup. CONCACAF used the same rules with it's invited guests to the Gold Cup in relation to the Confederations Cup. This I have no problem with.

The next thing that Figueiredo said I had a problem with.

Figueiredo said that the Copa Libertadore's final match cannot be played outside of South America, even if a Mexican club reaches the final. As the Copa Libertadores final is a two legged series which is played home/away, this strikes me as wrong and borderline criminal.

So if next season Pachuca reaches the finals and faces Sao Paulo, one leg would be played in Sao Paulo, but the other leg which should be a Pachuca home game will be played somewhere else? I thought the entire idea of having two legged, home/away series was to give each club a home match that would be at their advantage. How would Pachuca get any type of advantage?

Unless CONMEBOL is switching the Copa Libertadores final to a single match similar to the UEFA Champions League final that will rotate from different CONMEBOL member cities each year, I suspect that this decision is the direct result of Pachuca winning the Copa Sudamericana last season. CONMEBOL is looking at outside ways to ensure that CONMEBOL clubs always win their pre-eminent club tournament.

Something about this doesn't sit well with me. This looks like another reaction to Pachuca's victory last season. I feel that their first step was grouping the CONCACAF clubs that are taking part in the Copa Sudamericana against each other this upcoming tournament, rather than allowing them to face off against CONMEBOL clubs. Instead after the second round, half of the CONCACAF clubs invited will be out of the tournament, reducing the number of non-CONMEBOL clubs that could challenge for the title.

I don't know, but if CONMEBOL wants to have its clubs win it's tournament's championships, then maybe stop inviting outside guests?