Uruguayan champions Nacional climbed to the top of the Apertura championship after thrashing Rampla Juniors 3-0 at the Parque Central stadium on Saturday. Los Tricolores proved too strong for their opponents and won the match courtesy of two goals from Sebastian Coates and another from Oscar Javier Morales.

Nacional started the game strongly, but had to wait until the 24th minute for veteran midfielder Morales to put them ahead.

Eight minutes later Juventus target Coates doubled their lead, and from then on it was one-way traffic as the three-time world champions showed why they are the favourites to retain their title from last season.

After the break Nacional continued to be the better side, and put the result out of Rampla´s reach in the 73rd minute, with another strike from Coates.

It was Nacional´s seventh consecutive victory at the Parque Central.

Defensor Sporting climbed into third place, after drawing 1-1 with Racing at the Franzini stadium. Alvaro Navarro scored for Defensor, while Martin Cauterrucio converted for the visitors.

Finally, the ten-men of Atenas held Central Espanol to a 1-1 draw in San Carlos.

Gregory Sica

Southamericanfutbol.com

Nacional joined Liverpool at the top of the Uruguayan Apertura championship standings after beating Cerro 2-0 at the Parque Central stadium on Sunday. Liverpool were held to a goalless draw by Central Espanol, a result that favoured Nacional.

Los Tricolores dominated proceedings and won the match courtesy of goals from Nicolas Lodeiro and Gustavo Varela.

Lodeiro put Nacional ahead in the 8th minute with an unstoppable crossed shot.

Cerro had an opportunity to draw level in the 22nd minute when they were awarded a penalty kick, but Claudio Dadomo´s effort was saved by Rodrigo Munoz.

Nacional were awarded a penalty of their own seven minutes from full time, but Uruguay U-20 international Santiago Garcia missed it.

In second half injury time former Schalke 04 midfielder Varela scored Nacional´s second goal.

Penarol, Uruguay´s most popular club, fought out a 1-1 draw with Defensor Sporting at the Centenario stadium on Saturday.

Jhonatan Ramis put Penarol in the lead in the 54th minute, but former Nacional striker Marcelo Guerrero earned Defensor a point with a strike ten minutes later.

In other matches, Wanderers beat Danubio 3-2, Cerro Largo thrashed Rampla Juniors 3-0 and Racing thumped Atenas 5-0.

Gregory Sica

Southamericanfutbol.com

Defending champions Nacional climbed into third place of the Uruguayan Apertura Championship after thrashing Central Espanol 5-1 in a round nine match at the Parque Central stadium on Wednesday night.

After a scoreless first half, Central Espanol went ahead in the 49th minute after a strike from Ismael Espiga.

But Eduardo Aranda drew Nacional level six minutes later, to the delight of the home fans.

In the 65th minute Juan Tejera reduced Central Espanol to ten men, and from then on it was one way traffic as Nacional completely ripped apart their opponents.

Santiago Garcia put Los Tricolores ahead in the 67th minute, and his Uruguay U-20 team-mate Nicolas Lodeiro extended their advantage five minutes later.

Further goals from Sergio Blanco and Gustavo Varela put the result well beyond Central´s reach.

To add to Central´s woes, Espiga reduced them to nine-men in the 84th minute.

Meanwhile,  Liverpool remain top of the standings after crushing River Plate 4-1 away at the Saroldi stadium.

In Wednesday´s other matches, Wanderers beat Cerro 3-1, Racing defeated Cerro Largo also 3-1, and Fenix and Cerrito fought out a goalless draw.

Gregory Sica

Southamericanfutbol.com

Nacional and Penarol couldn’t win on the weekend, as Danubio moved to the top of the league standings after five rounds.

Uruguayan champions Nacional were beaten 1-0 by River Plate at the Centenario stadium on Saturday night. Jorge Zambrano converted a penalty kick in the first half to hand River the three points. It was a fiery encounter with five players receiving their marching orders.

If it were any consolation, Nacional were without several of their key players who are participating in the U-20 World Cup in Egypt with Uruguay.

Defensor Sporting defeated Fenix 2-0 despite playing with ten-men ever since the second minute of the match. Midfielder Diego De Souza scored both of Defensor’s goals.

Penarol, Uruguay’s most popular club, dropped down to eighth-place after being held to a frustrating 2-2 draw by Liverpool at the Centenario stadium. Marcel Roman and Jonathan Ramis gave Penarol a two-goal lead, however, two goals from Emiliano Alfaro rescued Liverpool a point.

Danubio climbed to the top of the table after edging Cerro Largo 3-2 in a highly entertaining encounter. Hamilton Ricard, Carlos Grossmuller and Diego Ifran scored for Danubio, while Fabricio Nunez scored both of Cerro Largo’s goals.

In other matches, Central Espanol beat Cerro 2-1, Rampla Juniors edged Tacuarembo 1-0, Racing and Cerrito drew 1-1, and finally Wanderers and Atenas fought out a goalless draw.

Gregory Sica

Goal.com

Southamericanfutbol.com

Nacional defeated Defensor Sporting 3-0 in the third round of the Uruguayan Apertura Championship on Sunday. The Uruguayan champions won the game with second half goals from Angel Morales, Matias Cabrera and Mario Regueiro.

Liverpool ousted Danubio 1-0 at the Belvedere stadium with a strike from Mathias Riquero in the second half. With the win Liverpool climbed atop the league standings with 9 points.

At the Luis Troccoli stadium, Cerrito beat Cerro 2-0 with goals from Mauren Franco and Juan Manuel Ortiz. Cerrito moved into fifth place with six points.

Meanwhile on Saturday, Uruguay’s most popular club, Penarol, lost 2-1 to Racing at the Centenario stadium. Liber Quinones and Gaston Machado scored for Racing, while Julio Mozzo pulled a goal back for Penarol.

It was confirmed that Julio Ribas will no longer be the coach of Penarol, and is likely to be replaced by former Penarol legend Pablo Bengoechea.

In other matches, Cerro Largo edged Central Espanol 1-0, Wanderers beat Fenix 2-0 and Tacuarembo beat Atenas by the same score.

Marcelo Guerrero of Defensor and Mauren Franco of Cerrito lead the scoring charts, with three goals each.

Gregory Sica

Goal.com

Southamericanfutbol.com

Uruguay may never win a World Cup again, but the emergence of fresh young players has given the tiny South American nation a glimmer of hope for the future as it looks to regain its status as a leading soccer nation. One player that has been part of this revolution is Nacional center back and Real Madrid target Diego Godín.

At only 21, he has already cemented himself a starting position in the national team and several brilliant performances suggest he’s ready to follow the footsteps of several Uruguayan defenders that have found success in Europe’s toughest leagues.

But for now, Godín’s main priority is to help Nacional regain some of its pride with a good Copa Libertadores campaign, which it got underway in grand style last Wednesday, with a 3-1 victory over defending champion Internacional of Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Godín has also set his sights on this year’s Copa América and the 2010 World Cup. He is almost assured of a starting role for Uruguay as it looks to revive some of its past glory.

I caught up with the talented defender on Monday and we touched on several issues, including Nacional’s Libertadores aspirations, the future of Uruguayan soccer and his sudden rise to prominence.

SI.com: Many have compared you to former Juventus defender and Uruguay captain Paolo Montero.

Godín: To be compared with Paolo is an honor. But I think there is still a long way to go before I become as good a player as he is. I have to keep on working hard and improving every day.

SI.com: Your performances with Nacional and the national team have attracted interest from several top European clubs, including Real Madrid. If you had the choice, in which league would you prefer to play?

Godín: I think most of the European leagues are very strong and competitive. Obviously the leagues that we take more notice of here are the English, Spanish and Italian leagues. They are very nice leagues to play in and are all very strong. Any of these leagues would seduce any player.

SI.com: What can we expect from Nacional this year, both in the Copa Libertadores and the Uruguayan Championship?

Godín: At the moment we are only thinking about the Libertadores. We have a very important match coming up on Wednesday and it’s important that we get a positive result. We started off very well and we hope to keep on progressing in the competition. We didn’t start the Uruguayan league in the best way, but we expect to lift our heads, and we know by winning some matches we will be back in the hunt.

SI.com: Does the possibility to take part in the upcoming Copa América and World Cup qualifiers motivate you?

Godín: Of course, representing one’s country is the best thing that can happen to any soccer player. I prepare myself for that every day on the field. I try to make the most of the opportunities I’ve been given and I hope to continue to do so.

SI.com: Up to now, what has been your most important achievement as a soccer player?

Godín: Representing the national team. But to play in the Copa América and the World Cup qualifiers will be the best thing that could possibly happen to me.

SI.com: Which players did you look up to when you were growing up?

Godín: Montero is one of them. Obviously, even though I was small, I always admired [Uruguayan legend] Enzo Francescoli. He was a great player. Nowadays the player I like most is [Fenerbahçe's Uruguayan defender] Diego Lugano — he is a great person and an even better player.

SI.com: Do you think the victory over Club World Cup champion Internacional means Uruguayan soccer is back, or is it too early to tell?

Godín: I think the win was great for all the Uruguayans to win back respect. But we know the Copa Libertadores has just started. We have to do double the work to pass the first phase, but I think we are heading in the right path. The only way Uruguayan soccer can win back its respect is by winning these kinds of matches.

SI.com: Did eliminating Boca Juniors in last year’s Copa Sudamericana help give the side a winning mentality?

Godín: We know it was an important match, like the match against Inter. And we know that we can be on the same level as the best teams of the continent. These wins have given us lots of confidence, but it is only the start. Our main objective is to win an international title. But we know that there are plenty of important teams around, and we shouldn’t give anyone a head start.

SI.com: Nacional is in what has been deemed the Group of Death alongside Inter, Vélez Sarsfield and Emelec. Does Nacional have what it takes to reach the knockout phase?

Godín: I think so. Like I said, we started off well vs. Inter. Now we have a very difficult match to play against Vélez in Buenos Aires. And match by match, we’ll see how things go. I think we are at a good level and we will be very disappointed if we fail to reach the next round. One of the objectives is to pass the round, and then to see how far we can go.

SI.com: What can we expect when you face Vélez on Wednesday?

Godín: It’s going to be a difficult match. Vélez is a very strong team and has some good players. They are going to attack a lot and we are going to try to wait for an opening, defending ourselves well. We aren’t going to have many chances, but we will try to take advantage of the few we have, in order to get a good result.

SI.com: From what you have seen so far, which clubs do you feel are the main candidates to win the Libertadores?

Godín: Nacional is one of them. I have a lot of faith in us, and I think we have a good enough squad to reach the decisive stages of the competition. Then there are the teams that are always there: São Paulo, and other Brazilian teams like Inter. Vélez is another candidate, same as Boca. There are lots of strong teams, but this has just started. I think after this week’s matches, we will have a better idea of who are the biggest contenders.

SI.com: Why has it been so difficult for Uruguayan clubs to do well in South American club competitions in the last few years?

Godín: It’s difficult because the Uruguayan market isn’t as competitive as the others. The Uruguayan soccer player tries to emigrate quickly, and the good players go overseas before they are fully developed. This means the best players don’t stay in the country long, and this is where the quality is lost. The other teams, like the Argentines, are always very competitive, because they keep on rebuilding. Most of them count with very talented players. I think that’s one of the main reasons.

Gregory Sica

Article at Si.com

Southamericanfutbol.com

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — It has become perhaps the most unexpected rivalry in the western hemisphere. This was originally supposed to be a piece dedicated to the achievements of Sport Club Internacional, the reigning Copa Libertadores champion. But what I witnessed here last Wednesday changed my mind.

Enter Club Nacional de Football, the most exciting team in South America at the moment. The Uruguayan outfit put on a remarkable display as it tore apart the champs 3-1 in both teams’ 2007 Libertadores openers.

Nacional may not have a reputation with most soccer fans around the world, but it has a strong one in South America. The club has won 41 league championships and three Libertadores titles, including a finals victory over Internacional in 1980.

But much like the Uruguayan national team, Nacional’s achievements are classified as prehistoric. It hasn’t had anything to cheer about in terms of international hardware since 1988, the last time any Uruguayan club won the Libertadores.

Despite all this, Uruguay’s two representatives in this year’s tournament are looking particularly strong — Defensor Sporting cruised past Argentina’s Gimnasia La Plata 3-0 in its group opener last week, too. Is this a sign that Uruguayan soccer is heading in the right direction?

The question is whether Nacional has what it takes to be a real contender. Most people will tell you that Uruguayan clubs can’t compete with the likes of Boca Juniors, River Plate, São Paulo, Internacional and Santos — the elite clubs of the continent. But based on their early form, the Tricolores have been the revelation of the competition so far, and could be poised to make history.

Earlier this week, winger Gonzalo Castro told me, “The win gives us the confidence to keep on going. Despite going a goal down, and with a man less, we were able to reverse the situation and win the match in the final 20 minutes.

“The result has had people talking,” he added. “It’s funny to see that all of a sudden we are considered as title contenders. This has done a lot of good for Uruguayan soccer in general, but we must keep on going as it is still early. Nacional has the ambition to return where it belongs.”

Taking down the defending champs is one way to prove it. Nacional knows it’s capable of beating the best clubs on the continent. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the heroics of Inter keeper Clemer, the Uruguayans could have won by a greater margin against the same side that defeated European champion Barcelona in the final of the Club World Cup last December.

But which is Nacional’s real face? Last Saturday the Tricolores followed up their victory with a 3-0 league thrashing at the hands of Uruguayan champion Danubio. They’ll need to recover from that defeat quickly in order to confront their biggest test yet: Vélez Sársfield, in Buenos Aires on Wednesday. How Nacional performs in that match will give us a better idea if it’s the real deal or not.

“It’s going to be an open match,” Castro said. “Vélez plays with an attacking incentive, so we will try to damage them on the counterattack and then look to close the result. I think we have enough quality to win the three points.”

If Castro sounds confident, he has reason to be: Nacional actually has made some decent noise in recent South American competitions. Last year it did fairly well in the Libertadores before being eliminated by Inter in the cruelest of circumstances.

Both clubs had already met twice in the group stage, and fate matched them up again in the knockout phase. In the second leg at the Beiro-Rio Stadium, Nacional should have gone through to the quarterfinals instead of the Brazilians, but had two clearly legitimate goals disallowed. Inter advanced on aggregate and went on to win the tournament.

Nacional also has experienced misfortune in the Copa Sudamerica. Last year it grabbed all the headlines after eliminating Argentina’s Boca Juniors in the round of 16. Boca was the overwhelming favorite after winning back-to-back titles but couldn’t get the better of the Uruguayans. Nacional was arguably the best team in the competition at that point but was eliminated because a number of players from its starting lineup — including Castro — were out with the mumps for the quarterfinals against Atlético Paranaense.

“We did well last year, but unfortunately couldn’t progress further because the situation was completely out of our control,” Castro recalled. “Hopefully this doesn’t repeat itself; we will do our best and see how far we can go [in the Libertadores].”

Will luck be on Nacional’s side this year? Maybe, but getting out of its group of death will be an achievement in itself. The win against Inter was crucial as the Tricolores look to reach the next phase; if they pull off wins in their next two home games, they should almost be assured of qualification.

One vital factor is the huge home support Nacional receives from its fans. Even the Inter fans who came here last week will tell you that for once, their players were intimidated. And Nacional wasn’t even playing at the 75,000-capacity Centenario Stadium, but at the much smaller Parque Central, site of the first World Cup game back in 1930.

But standing in Nacional’s way is a factor that has affected Uruguayan clubs in recent years: They’re forced to sell their best players in order to survive, and on many occasions during the decisive stages of continental competitions like the Copa Libertadores. If that’s the case this year, Nacional will be hard-pressed to win the trophy.

“Years ago, clubs didn’t have this problem,” Castro said. “The best players in the country played in the local competition. Now they play in Europe or Argentina, and the situation is just getting worse. I think the reason Nacional is doing well this season is because we have kept the basis of last year’s team.”

This current Nacional squad has the potential to put Uruguayan soccer back on the map. It has already shown it’s more than capable of mixing it with the best, and is well aware that a continental title is the key to winning back its respect. The next few weeks are crucial in determining whether it will be able to keep its Copa dream alive.

Gregory Sica

Article at Si.com

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