The next in our guide to the Copa Libertadores 2016 guide will be the five participating Brazilian teams, Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, Clube Atlético Mineiro, Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense, Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras and São Paulo Futebol Clube.
Corinthians Paulista
The Champion of Brazilian League 2015 lost five of their starting players before this season began. Among those, experienced Renato Augusto and Jádson who left to booming Chinese League and Supert-talent Malcolm who joined the French team Girondins Bordeaux which means it will be difficult for coach Tite to form a competitive team. The strength of the team is still a huge question mark due to the non existing experience of some of the players. Their start into the Copa Libertadores looked quite hopeful with two 1:0 wins against Santa Fe and Cobresal.
Key player – Elias
Clube Atlético Mineiro
The second Brazilian team Atlético Mineiro was the runner-up in the Brazilian league 2015 and on paper look the most prepared team for the Copa Libertadores. New coach Diego Aguirre was able to hold together the team from 2015. They just lost defender Jemerson who moved to AS Monaco, but have replaced him well with Ecuadorian Erazo, nicknamed “El Elegante”. Their big name addition is undoubtedly former Real Madrid player Robinho who came back from his Chinese adventure adventure and will line up with with Luan and the Argentines Lucas Pratto and Dátolo to form a frightening offense. They started well with two wins into the Copa Libertadores.
Key player – Rafael Carioca and Juan Cazares
Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense
Gremio, who finished third in Brazilian League 2015, substituted legend Felipe Scolari with Roger Machado last summer, like always they will be one of the strongest contenders from Latin America’s largest country. Gremio have maintained a relatively unchanged team and have added powerful midfielder Wallace from Chelsea to replace Galhardo who moved to Anderlecht. Miler Bolaños will boost the attack significantly if he can continue the form he has shown at Emelec and with the Ecuadorian national team during the last 3 years. Grêmio started with an impressive 4:0 against Quito but lost in the second team in Toluca.
Key player – Luan
Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras
Palmeiras, who won the Brazilian Cup in 2015 in the final against Santos, were one of the most surprising teams in Brazil in 2015. Palmeiras had a streak of good form during the season however couldn’t hold their form and lost position over position in the table. Fortunately it went very well for them in the Brazilian Cup in which they beat Santos in the final. With the good signings of young Erik and Rodrigo from Goiás and Jean from Fluminenese, the team should be better than last season and be able to enter quarter finals in Copa Libertadores. They started with four points into the tournament, winning against Rosario Central and drawing against Uruguayan River Plate. Despite a good start, to progress they will have to improve as the reality of the win against Rosario Central was that they were outplayed throughout the game.
Key player – Lucas Barrios
São Paulo Futebol Clube
São Paulo, who finished fourth in Brazilian League 2015, is the Brazilian team with the biggest question mark about their form. With star striker Alexandre Pato leaving for London, São Paulo had to search for a quality striker and found Argentine Calleri from Boca Juniors. It will be decisive if the new Argentine head coach Edgardo Bauza (ex- San Lorenzo) will adapt to Brazil, a country that has traditionally seen a lot of foreign coaches fail. São Paolo lost their first game in the Copa Libertadores against the Stongest from Bolivia. If Calleri can continue his form from last season in Argentina then São Paulo may be in luck as the young starlet was instrumental in Boca’s title winning campaign and it was this form that led to his impending move to Inter Milan.
Key player – Ganso
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