Copa Libertadores

Copa Libertadores, the most riveting club tournament on the planet, will decide on a new champion this Saturday. Although two-time winners Palmeiras is out of the picture this time, two Brazilian teams will be determining the title for the third year straight.

The contenders? Flamengo and Athletico Paranaense.

Flamengo, the favorite

Considering their history and the players in the team, the Rio de Janeiro giants are the big favorites in the final. 

A news crew from Teleamazonas Ecuador experienced a terrifying moment while covering the upcoming Copa Libertadores final between Flamengo and Athletico Paranaense.

Reporter Vanessa Robles was on live TV reporting outside of the Monumental Stadium in Guayaquil, the host city of Saturday's final, when two men on a motorcycle approached her and her team, attempting to steal phones, cameras and other electronic devices. 

On Wednesday night, a Flamengo fan was arrested by Brazilian police moments before his team faced Vélez Sarsfield in the Copa Libertadores semifinals. His crime? Kissing an ESPN reporter on her cheek without consent. 

And while for some this might sound excessive, the truth is that it's not. 

The match between Palmeiras and Atlético Mineiro in the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals on Wednesday night gave us one of the worst tackles we’ve seen in 2022.

After an entertaining first leg where they tied 2-2, the second leg promised more considering the stakes at play. But what we thought would be an interesting match began with a horrible red card.

Former Liverpool and Barcelona forward Luis Suárez has re-joined Uruguayan team Nacional on a free transfer, returning to the Montevideo-based club after 16 years in Europe.

The 35-year-old, who left LaLiga side Atlético Madrid at the end of last season, said on social media on Tuesday he had reached a pre-contract agreement with Nacional, where he started his professional career in 2005.

"Proud to wear my shirt again at @Nacional," Suarez wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. "Thank you all for the support! See you soon."

The road to the 2022 Copa Libertadores Final at El Monumental in Guayaquil, Ecuador, gets serious this week with the start of the Round of 16 across South America.

The first team to get a shot at back-to-back champion Palmeiras is Paraguay's Cerro Porteño, but they'd need one of the tournament's greatest ever upsets to knock out Abel Ferreira's side. Atlético Mineiro is probably up next for Palmeiras in the quarterfinals, although the Galo must first overcome Ecuador's Emelec. 

Deportivo Táchira became the first Venezuelan team to win a game in Bolivia for Copa Libertadores after beating Independiente Petrolero 2-1 on Tuesday night, in Sucre, at 9,219 feet above the sea level. Of course, all of Táchira's players need to be credited for the feat but especially the goalkeeper Christopher Varela who scored the first goal of the match from his own box.