Threatened by relegation in the Brasileirão, Sport begins this Thursday, October 26, the battle for a place in the semi-final of the 2017 edition of the South American Cup. On the Island of Retiro, in Recife, will face the Junior of Barranquilla, Colombia. The kickoff is scheduled for 21:45.
In the quarterfinals, tournament regulations require round-trip rounds using the away goal scoring criterion as a tie-breaker if necessary. The second clash is scheduled for November 2 on Colombian soil.
Sport’s recent performance
Despite being close to claiming the right to play in what could be the first international title in its history, the Lion may not put on the field the Colombian title holders. The possibility of sending a mixed team to the field was raised by the coach himself Vanderlei Luxemburgo after the defeat Sunday, October 22, for Atlético-PR.
At the Arena da Baixada, the rubro-negro from Pernambuco took 2 to 1 and was in a delicate situation after 30 rounds of the Brazilian Championship. With 35 points (nine wins, eight draws and 13 losses), Sport occupies the fifteenth place in the standings. It has only two points more than the victory, seventeenth placed and first in the relegation zone.
Although the fall to Serie B is a real threat, it is difficult to imagine that Luxembourg will get the support of fans and even the board to use this strategy. Thus, the most probable is that the Sport faces the Junior with a team very close to the one that is considered titular.
This, however, is not enough to give great motivation to the fans. After all, in the last eight matches played by the Lion, including Sula, the team got only one victory. Even the house factor was not as beneficial as one could expect in the Brasileirao. The rubro-negro, in the last five home matches for the Brazilian Championship, drew four times and suffered a defeat.
However, in the South American Cup, Retiro Island has been extremely positive for Sport, who managed to survive so far in the tournament thanks to the results obtained as principal, but not without experiencing many dramatic situations.
In the first phase, for example, he thrashed the Danube in Uruguay, 3-0, in Recife. With the great advantage, the then technician Ney Franco decided to spare holders of the game back. It picked up from 3 to 0 and only was not eliminated thanks to the defenses of the goalkeeper Magrão, that secured the victory in the decision by penalties.
A similar situation was experienced in the second round against Arsenal de Sarandi. In the capital of Pernambuco, Sport won by 2-0. In Argentina, they lost 2-0, but the goal scored by André in the 38th minute of the final stage guaranteed the classification.
In the round of 16, the duel was national, but also repeated the script of the previous stages. Sport hit the Ponte Preta, 3-1 on the Island of Retiro. Lost in Campinas by 1 to 0 and it took a suffocation in the end that for very little did not cause the elimination.
The current form of the Junior of Barranquilla
The Junior opened his participation in the South American Cup already in the second phase and also needed a lot of drama to guarantee its survival in the duel against the also Colombian Deportivo Cali. After two 1-1 draws, the classification was set for penalties.
In the quarterfinals, against the Paraguayans Cerro Porteño, Junior returned to Barranquilla with the goalless draw and asserted his field command scoring 3-1 in the return match.
In the Colombian Championship, the Liga Aguilla, the Junior is very well in the fight to reach in advance the classification for the decisive phase. However, he missed the opportunity to lead by beating Santa Fe 1-0 at home, even having the chance to play the final ten minutes with one more athlete. Parked in the 31 points (ten wins, one draw and four losses) occupies the third position. It has 11 points more than Independiente of Medellin, first outside the zone of classification.
History of the bouts between Sport and Júnior de Barranquilla
This will be the first match between teams.
PREDICTION: Sport win @ 1.80
