Legendary Maracana stadium holds final of Libertadores Cup 2008
3/7/2008 17:36
Rio's world-famous Maracana, which held the final match of FIFA 1950 World
Cup and will host the final of FIFA 2014 World Cup, will be the stage last night
of its first final of a Libertadores Cup.
Brazil's Fluminense will play
against Ecuador's LDU for the most important football title in Latin America.
All tickets were sold in the first day of sales, June 21.
Fluminense fans
from all over the country and abroad traveled to Rio to attend the game. On
Tuesday, about 2,000 fans watched the team's last practice before the game in
Fluminense's stadium in Laranjeiras.
Most fans said they have confidence in
the team's tradition of overcoming difficulties in decisive moments.
To win
the Libertadores Cup title, Fluminense must win by a margin of three goals. A
victory by a margin of two goals would lead to extra time. If the tie remains,
there will be a penalty shootout.
Maracana's management made arrangements to
make the first Libertadores Cup final in the stadium even more memorable, and
announced the distribution of 60,000 Fluminense flags to the fans in the
stadium.
The head coaches of Fluminense and LDU said they are confident, but
they both face problems with important players. LDU's goalkeeper Cevallos and
Fluminense's striker Washington spent the past days recovering from injuries,
and there were rumors of their replacement, but both are confirmed as starting
players for the match.
The teams that will play last night are the same that
started the first leg match of the finals on June 25 in Quito.
Xinhua
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