Estudiantes Campeón

After a 0-0 draw in the first leg at home, Estudiantes were underdogs heading into the deciding match of the Copa Libertadores. Cruzeiro had been strong at Estádio Mineirão, and had created plenty of chances away from home. Tonight's match remained scoreless until early in the second half, when Cruzeiro's Henrique scored a deflected goal to give the home side an advantage. At that point, it would have been difficult to imagine Estudiantes winning, at least without at least having to go to penalties. But Los Pincharratas answered almost immediately, with Gata Fernandez touching in Cristian Cellay's brilliant centering ball. The next 15 minutes passed with both sides threatening, until Veron's corner was met by the head of Mauro Boselli, giving Estudiantes a 2-1 lead they managed to hold.

It is Estudiantes' fourth Copa Libertadores win, and their first since 1970, when Juan Ramon Veron captained the team. Tonight, his son Juan Sebastian captained the side. La Brujita was all over tonight, performing well in virtually every phase of the game, playing a key role in route to winning his first Libertadores title at the age of 34. The victory means Estudiantes, whose win may come as a shock to some (they didn't finish in the top 5 of this season's Apertura or Clausura in Argentina), will compete in the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi. They'll likely be seen as the main challengers to FC Barcelona.

En unión y libertad

Pretty gigantic couple weeks in Argentine football. After Velez' controversial title win, leaping ahead of Huracan thanks to a 1-0 victory against El Globo, we still have three crucial two legged ties to worry about. On the domestic front, Belgrano will meet Rosario Central and Atletico Rafaela will meet Gimnasia de la Plata to determine who will get the final two places in next season's Primera Division. Meanwhile, in the Copa Libertadores, Estudiantes will meet Cruzeiro in one of the competition's more interesting recent finals. Still unconfirmed whether Juan Sebastian Veron will be able to play for Estudiantes, but hopefully he's deemed fit.

...All the Words Past the Margins

A random assortment of stuff

- It's mostly been a lot of "meh" at Wimbledon so far, but today's match between Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick was quite an enjoyable exception. Five sets, all of them close, with a very high standard of play. Roddick's victory sets up a semifinal with Andy Murray, who he's beaten just twice in eight attempts. Tommy Haas upset Novak Djokavic in four sets to set up a semi with some guy named Roger.

- So, it looks like Ben Gordon (and Charlie Villanueva) might end up in Detroit. This is just a bit lamer than getting Bosh, Wade, or LeBron, I guess.

- Nacional-Estudiantes and Inter-Corinthians tonight. Estudiantes beat Nacional 1-0 in the first leg of their Copa Libertadores semifinal, and Corinthians take a 2-0 advantage into tonight's second leg of the Copa do Brasil final. Both ties are still pretty wide open, so it should be pretty good stuff. Basically, it's just sort of nice to have meaningful club football.

- Rudy to return to Europe? Alright, probably not. But, still, it seems sort of bizarre for this rumor to even exist.