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Latin American Roundup Sanchez proud of Pumas despite eliminationPosted: Monday December 16, 2002 10:49 AMMEXICO CITY (Reuters) -- UNAM coach Hugo Sanchez said Monday he was proud of his team despite their semifinal elimination in the Mexican Apertura championship at the weekend. Sanchez, the former Real Madrid and Mexico striker, is attempting to build a title-winning team at the club which has not reached the Mexican championship final since 1991. "I feel proud, I feel happy to have seen the attitude of my players, the determination of the directors, the massagists, the kit managers, the team staff, the stadium employees and the supporters in general," he was quoted as saying by the Notimex news agency. "The image that we have once again has made me happy and proud. "All we need now is to crown this with a final and a title, because I believe that we deserve it. I will not rest in my attempt to continue guiding my team so that we can reach a final." The team known as the Pumas were beaten 5-2 on aggregate by Morelia in their semifinal, having reached the last four with a team of mainly young, little-known players in whom Sanchez has deposited his confidence. Sanchez has already achieved one milestone by qualifying the Pumas for next year's South American Libertadores Cup for the first time. Sanchez was one of the four candidates considered to coach the Mexico national team after the World Cup, but pulled out of the race saying he wanted to finish the job at UNAM. The post was eventually taken by Ricardo Lavolpe, his bitter arch-rival. Cardozo double takes Toluca to Mexican finalMEXICO CITY (Reuters) -- Paraguay striker Jose Cardozo scored twice, hitting the target for the 15th consecutive game, to take Toluca to the Mexican championship final at the weekend. Toluca's opponents will be Morelia, who overcame Hugo Sanchez's UNAM team despite going down 2-1 in their second leg tie on Sunday. The irrepressible Cardozo took his tally to 35 goals in 23 games in the championship and 49 this year as Toluca beat Santos Laguna 2-1 to complete a 7-4 aggregate win. Santos, who surprisingly knocked out defending champions America in the quarterfinals, took a 28th minute lead through Mexican international striker Jared Borgetti. But Cardozo equalized three minutes later when he coolly put away a chance created by Uruguayan Vicente Sanchez and finished the job eight minutes from time when he fired home from close range. UNAM, coached by former Real Madrid and Mexico striker Hugo Sanchez, trailed 4-0 from the first leg against Morelia but narrowed the deficit when Uruguayan Mariano Lemos scored from a rebound after half an hour. But their chances of a historic comeback faded when Adolfo Bautista added to his two goals in the first leg by equalizing eight minutes later after the Pumas' defence got into a mix-up at a corner. Alvaro Gonzalez, another Uruguayan, put the Pumas back in front one minute before halftime but Morelia goalkeeper Moises Munoz repeatedly denied the home team any further goals as they pressed after the break. UNAM's frustration boiled over when Fransico Fonseca was sent off in the 58th minute. Bautista admitted that Toluca were favorites for the final. "They are a goal-scoring machine," he said. EcuadorBarcelona snatched a last-minute equalizer to draw 1-1 at home to El Nacional and set up a dramatic finale to the championship next weekend in which both teams plus defending champions Emelec all have a chance to win the title. The result kept both Barcelona and El Nacional level on points at the top of the championship's final stage with one match each to play while Emelec are a further point behind after losing 3-0 at Deportivo Quito. El Nacional, a team founded by the Ecuadorean army, set out to defend against Barcelona with Brazilian coach Paulo Massa fielding six defenders and four midfielders. The visitors survived long periods of pressure and then snatched a 72nd minute lead through teenager David Quiroz. Barcelona finally broke through in the 89th minute when Cristian Chaparro equalized following a goalmouth scramble. Emelec missed a chance to go top when they crashed in Quito. Argentine Cristian Carnero, the championship's leading scorer, scored twice to take his tally this season to 24 goals and Ecuadorean international midfielder Edison Mendez added the third to complete a miserable afternoon for the Electrics. Emelec defender Pavel Caicedo and Quito striker Johnny Baldeon were sent off for fighting. Emelec are at home to Aucas next Sunday, El Nacional face Deportivo Quito in a derby and Barcelona are away to Liga de Quito. Barcelona and Deportivo Quito have already guaranteed a top-three finish and a place in next year's South American Libertadores Cup. ChileColo Colo, who came out of administration on Friday after being declared bankrupt at the start of the year, celebrated by winning 2-1 away to Cobreloa to reach the final of the Clausura championship. Chile's most popular club completed a 4-1 aggregate win in their semifinal, having also won the first leg 2-0 in midweek. They also qualified for next year's Libertadores Cup, ending a three-year absence from South America's top club competition. Cobreloa, who finished top of the qualifying stage under former Chile coach Nelson Acosta, got the perfect start when Fernando Cornejo put them ahead in the second minute. But the match, played in the copper-mining town of Calama deep in the Atacama desert, turned after Cobreloa defender Boris Gonzalez was sent off on the hour after being booked for a foul and then dismissed when he protested the decision. David Henriquez equalized in the 71st minute and Manuel Neira made it 2-1 four minutes later. Colo Colo's opponents in the final will be Universidad Catolica, who overcame arch-rivals Universidad de Chile in a Santiago derby. Catolica went through when Chilean international defender Pedro Reyes put through his own net in the second half as he attempted to intercept a cross for the only goal of the two-leg tie. After the match, Universidad de Chile president Rene Orozco criticized his players and promised wage cuts for next season. But coach Victor Hugo Castaneda retorted that his team had done well to reach the last four, as they had not been paid for two months. "We deserved more backing from the directors," said Castaneda. ColombiaMedellin joined provincial club Pasto in the final of the Clausura championship after beating Tolima 3-1 away to finish top of semifinal group A. Tresor Moreno and Mauricio Molina put Medellin 2-0 ahead after only 35 minutes and Tolima were in further trouble when Justiniano Pena was sent off one minute later. Cesar Rivas pulled a goal back before halftime but a breakaway goal by William Vasquez in the second half settled the match for Medellin, who have not won the title since 1957. Medellin finished one point ahead of Deportivo Cali, whose 2-1 win at Bucaramanga was in vain. Pasto had already wrapped up group B in midweek and may have relaxed as they went down to a 3-0 defeat at America. VenezuelaThe Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF) has postponed the final two rounds of the championship's first stage until mid-January due to a 14-day old general strike in the country organized by opponents of President Hugo Chavez. Caracas FC have a three point lead over Italchacao. The decision has caused some confusion as to whether the foreign players -- mainly Argentines and Colombians -- will be able to finish the tournament as most have contracts which run until the end of this month. PeruJuan Aurich, whose players have blamed late payments and even "empty stomachs" for their poor form this season, will play in the second division next year after losing 4-0 to Deportivo Wanka in the second leg of their playoff on Sunday. Wanka were at full strength, their players having called off a strike which led to several first-team players boycotting the first leg in midweek which Juan Aurich won 2-1. Wanka, based in the Andean city of Huancayo, quickly wiped out the deficit when Marco Ruiz scored in the third minute. Edilberto Salazar added the second five minutes before halftime and Juan Montenegro and Colombian Hector Valoyes completed the scoring in the second half. The bottom two teams in the overall standings of the 12-team championship (the first and second stages combined) are relegated. Coopsol went down automatically after finishing last, while Wanka and Juan Aurich played off after finishing level on points in tenth place. UruguayFenix beat Plaza Colonia 2-0 to lead the playoff which will decide Uruguay's third and final representative in next year's Libertadores Cup. The eventual winners will join champions Nacional and Penarol, who won the qualifying stage of the championship, in South America's top club tournament. German Hornos, who finished the regular season as top scorer with 25 goals, scored both goals, although Danubio protested that his second effort was offside. Fenix have six points from two matches, two more than Defensor Sporting who they meet in their final game on Thursday when a draw will be enough to take them into the Libertadores for the first time. Defensor came from behind to beat championship runners-up Danubio 2-1. Diego Perrone put Danubio ahead before Defensor hit back with headed goals by Sebastian Taborda and Brazilian Eliomar. Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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