Liga de Quito will try to take full advantage of the 2,850 metre altitude when they entertain Velez Sarsfield in the semi-finals of the Copa Sudamericana in Quito on Thursday.
Liga de Quito of Ecuador will strive to move closer towards their second Copa Sudamericana finals appearance when they take on Velez Sarsfield of Argentina in the first leg of the semi-finals of the competition at La Casa Blanca stadium in Quito on Thursday.
Liga, who won the competition in 2009, reached the semi-finals after eliminating Libertad of Paraguay after a penalty shoot-out. The Ecuadorians have a great deal of experience under their belt when it comes to these instances, after having become one of the most competitive teams in South America in recent years.
According to Edgardo Bauza, the coach of Liga, Velez will be very difficult opponents.
"From my criteria, two very good teams will confront one another, we will try to win the match and see which possibilities we will go to Buenos Aires with," said Bauza.
Bauza recognized that Velez may have started slowly, but since have become one of the strongest teams on the continent, by assuring that "Velez didn't start well and the reason for that was because some players arrived and others left, but their structure has always stayed the same."
Meanwhile, Ricardo Gareca, the coach of Velez, affirmed to the press that he will put "always the best on the field," in reference to the fact that he has utilised his first choice starting eleven for both the Copa Sudamericana and the Argentine Apertura championship. "Liga are very prestigious rivals and one of the best teams of the last few years," added Gareca.
Coming into the semi-final, Liga de Quito were beaten 2-0 by Independiente Jose Teran in the Ecuadorian League, with Bauza selecting a second-choice side, however, Velez, with all of their key players on the field defeated Belgrano de Cordoba 3-1 in the Argentine Apertura.
For the clash, Bauza will be unable to count with the services of injured key player Luis Bolanos, scorer of Liga's bizarre winner in the 1-0 win over Libertad in the first leg of the quarter-finals. Injuries have also kept out Nolberto Araujo and Ulises De la Cruz. Meanwhile, Juan Manuel Martinez, Victor Zapata and David Ramirez are also likely to miss the game for Velez after sustaining injuries.
Against Velez, Liga de Quito will intend to take full advantage of the 2,850 metre altitude of the Ecuadorian capital, which has played in their favour in the past. The two sides met in the round of 16 stage of the 2011 Copa Libertadores, with Velez winning 5-0 on aggregate.
Liga, who won the competition in 2009, reached the semi-finals after eliminating Libertad of Paraguay after a penalty shoot-out. The Ecuadorians have a great deal of experience under their belt when it comes to these instances, after having become one of the most competitive teams in South America in recent years.
According to Edgardo Bauza, the coach of Liga, Velez will be very difficult opponents.
"From my criteria, two very good teams will confront one another, we will try to win the match and see which possibilities we will go to Buenos Aires with," said Bauza.
Bauza recognized that Velez may have started slowly, but since have become one of the strongest teams on the continent, by assuring that "Velez didn't start well and the reason for that was because some players arrived and others left, but their structure has always stayed the same."
Meanwhile, Ricardo Gareca, the coach of Velez, affirmed to the press that he will put "always the best on the field," in reference to the fact that he has utilised his first choice starting eleven for both the Copa Sudamericana and the Argentine Apertura championship. "Liga are very prestigious rivals and one of the best teams of the last few years," added Gareca.
Coming into the semi-final, Liga de Quito were beaten 2-0 by Independiente Jose Teran in the Ecuadorian League, with Bauza selecting a second-choice side, however, Velez, with all of their key players on the field defeated Belgrano de Cordoba 3-1 in the Argentine Apertura.
For the clash, Bauza will be unable to count with the services of injured key player Luis Bolanos, scorer of Liga's bizarre winner in the 1-0 win over Libertad in the first leg of the quarter-finals. Injuries have also kept out Nolberto Araujo and Ulises De la Cruz. Meanwhile, Juan Manuel Martinez, Victor Zapata and David Ramirez are also likely to miss the game for Velez after sustaining injuries.
Against Velez, Liga de Quito will intend to take full advantage of the 2,850 metre altitude of the Ecuadorian capital, which has played in their favour in the past. The two sides met in the round of 16 stage of the 2011 Copa Libertadores, with Velez winning 5-0 on aggregate.
