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No way!

2028 CONMEBOL Update Copa Libertadores What a shocker! I did not expect to have a team in Ecuador become ineligible but Emelec only went and won their first ever Libertadores! They rode their luck a lot with three penalty wins but to their credit they beat two Brazilian and two Argentinian sides on their way. Copa Sudamericana We know how this one went, a first title for Cruzeiro and as third final loss for Huracán... Copa Libertadores Records Well with that shock Ecuador move ahead of Chile in the overall rankings and Argentina miss a chance to claw a title back on Brazil. CONMEBOL League Rankings With the recent success of Ecuador they move up to third in the rankings and would be the next country on Gabriel's journey! Most Reputable Clubs Emelec sneak onto the list and we are not too far away from it with Huracán either. National Champions Flamengo tie with Palmeiras as most succesful club in Brazil, with the big hitters also winning in Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay and Bolivia. Paraguay sees a first time winner with the impressively Deportivo Santaní who had just got promoted. Former Gabriel Libertadores Champions Botafogo: Had a slightly better time in the league as they finished 6th, but were knocked out early by Fluminense in both the Libertadores and Copa do Brasil. And to keep with tradition, they lost the State Championship final to Flamengo.

2028 Season Review Despite some of the disappointments this was a great season and much better than I expected. The goal was to keep qualifying for continental football, but I did not think we would make it to the Libertadores yet so it is great progress. We are also really competitive asgainst the bigger teams and beat both Boca and River this year which tells me we are close to getting to the top. Obviously losing the final of the Sudamericana was disappointing, but we did well to get there and it has really helped the finances. Squad by Appearances We have managed to keep trimming the squad, although a lot of that has been sending players on loan. It has enabled us to sign strong first team players and I am really happy where we are at with the midfield, where we have ton of options that I have rotated around. Up front is where our problem is and having three players on 15 goals as the top scorers, incluiding a midfielder shows that. Nicolás Ocampo is a youngster that has started making a claim for the first place, but he was inconsistent at first and then when he started playing better he got injured, so hopefully we see him further improve next year. Talking of youngsters there are a couple of others that are making a claim for the first team and the pipeline looks pretty good. Best XI That is a fair Best XI, other than the problems up front, right back is another area we need to improve as Mancuso didnt convince and de la Fuente is getting on a bit. Top Performers Our most consistent starter in midfield, Tobías had another great year, playing across DLP and the two centre mid positions. We have a great youngster in the position but it is hard to give him time when César keeps delivering. I give my strikers a hard time but Ignacio actually did quite well considering he mostly played as a DLF, which isnt much of a goalscoring position in my tactic. Finances We did make money but that was largely due to player sales and continental prize money. We will continue to rely on those for next season. Progress Great improvement this year, I am interested to see what this team can do in the Libertadores.

November 2028 Copa de la Liga Group B Overall Table Unfortunately the season ends in a whimper as we were not quite good enough when it mattered. Against both Cruzeiro and Talleres we took the lead but were unable to hold on to it. Against Cruzeiro we did manage to pull it back once but it wasnt enough as they went ahead again. Silver lining is the 4th place in the Overall Table which was the most important thing this season.

October 2028 Copa de la Liga Group B Overall Table We continue the good form into this month with some solid wins in the Copa de la Liga, including an impressive win against Boca in an even match. This puts us almost into the Quarter Finals but more importantly we have secured 4th place in the Overall Table which means Libertadores football next year. The only draw came as we rested the squad ahead of the second leg of the Sudamericana with Athlético Paranaense. Against them we drew the away leg despite them being better on the day and then at home Denil Castillo scored his first two goals for the club at a crucial time in the second half of another even game. They scored a late one to make the last 5 minutes nervy but we held on to reach the clubs 3rd Sudamericana final! Next Fixtures We play Cruzeiro in the Sudamericana final, who are another side not doing great in the Brasileirão, so we have a chance to finally win this trophy. We also close out the Group Stage of the Copa de la Liga and will likely have a Quarter Final to play later into the month.

September 2028 Copa de la Liga Group B Overall Table We were still pretty poor against Belgrano but then those 4 home games really helped us regain form and now we are back in contention to qualify from the Copa de la Liga Group Stage and have reclaimed the 4th place in the Overall Table. Next Fixtures It is crunch time with some tough games in the Copa de la Liga and the Copa Sudamericana Semi Final.

August 2028 Copa de la Liga Group B Overall Table This is a bit of a low after an excellent July. On the continental front it was positive as we finished the job against Melgar and then easily beat Vitória at home in the second leg after a decent away draw. Domestically though we made a very slow start in the Copa de la Liga, which has put a 4th spot and guaranteed Libertadores football under threat. In the Copa Argentina we narrowly lost to Boca in what I thought was an understandable loss, but the board and some players threw a bit of a stink. Transfers In Out Pllacchi comes in just as a back-up option as Navarro and Mosevich both wanted loan moves. I also promoted one youth player to make sure we have cover in central defence. I did not get the striker I wanted before the transfer window closed, but we have pre-arranged a deal for a very decent one that will come in January. Milestones Next Fixtures Athlético Paranaense await us in the Copa Sudamericana Semi Final, they should prove a lot harder to beat than Vitória but it is a problem for October. Focus in September is getting our Copa de la Liga campaign back on track and we have an excellent chance considering we have mostly home games.

July 2028 What a great month! In the Liga Profesional we started it by coming back from behind to beat Banfield and put some distance between us and them. Two straightforward wins against Newell's and Platense followed before what has to be the best result at Huracán so far. Holding our own against River and ending their 26 game unbeaten run at their place. With the Liga Profesional stage at an end we are fourth, which would be an automatic Libertadores place. If we have a good Copa da Liga then qualification could well be on the cards. In the cups we did well too. The game against Gimnasia (CdU) was comfortable and we progress further in the Copa Argentina. In the Copa Sudamericana we did well to hold on to a draw at Peñarol, before overpowering them back at our place. We got what I perceived as a favorable draw in the Last 16 with Melgar from Peru and the first leg was evidence of that as we beat them 3-0 and now just need another composed performance to make it into the Last 8. Transfers In Out We shifted a lot of unhappy fringe players, mostly on loan. Sebastián Meza was the exception as we managed to get a decent fee for someone that had become back-up goalie. Squad is a bit thin so I may look to bring some loans in myself for cover, as well as promoting the odd youngster or two. On the incoming front we continued the mid-season tradition of bringing players back from Europe. They come with high wages but are great quality compared to what we can get locally and also do not require a fee. He was a regular at Ajax so I was surprised they let his contract run down but very happy to get him in as he is significantly better than any defender we have at the club. Denil was released by Shakhtar and he challenges Reinhart for a starting DLP spot, but can also fill at centre mid for us. Next Fixtures We have a break before the Copa de la Liga starts. Before that we need to finish the tie off against Melgar, with Atlético Goianiense or Vitória waiting for us in the Quarters. Whilst both are Brazilian, they are not top tier sides so we could have a chance. In the Copa Argentina we will play the winner of Boca or Olimpo in the next round, which will most likely be Boca and therefore a very tough match.

June 2028 It is an all green month but we really had to work hard for it, coming back from behind both Villa Mitre and Unión (SF), the latter thanks to a goal with virtually the last kick of the game. We were also second best against Gimnasia (LP), but found something extra in the last part of the game to score two late goals and keep us in 5th place. Next Fixtures We are back to a busier schedule with Copa Sudamericana and Copa Argentina mid-week games.

May 2028 Liga Profesional Copa Sudamericana Group A The heavy schedule has started impacting us as we have struggled a little more in the league. We are still holding a great position though and with Sudamericana football only resuming in July we can put a bit of focus back in the league. Talking of Sudamericana, we finished in Second as expected as we had no chance against Vasco in Brazil. This means we play one of the teams that finished in 3rd in the Libertadores groups. Next Fixtures Peñarol is probably one of the harder teams we could have drawn, but at least they are not having a great season domestically so we have a chance. That is something for July though as we get a bit of rest and then can focus on the league for the rest of month.

April 2028 Liga Profesional Copa Sudamericana Group A I think we have done well this month considering the busy schedule. The game against Racing Club at the beginning of the month was the only one where we were well and truly outclassed, but we followed that up with two decent wins to continue in a good position. In the Copa Sudamericana we look set for second place. Vasco da Gama did beat us at home but it was an even game, I am glad we were competitive against a Brazilian side. Next Fixtures The busy schedule continues into May as we wrap up our Copa Sudamericana Group Stage campaign.

March 2028 We continued our good form with a convincing win against Belgrano and then did really well to draw at Talleres in what was a very even game. The game against Dep. Maipú however was disappointing and we were disjointed and missing a lot of passes. They scored on a counter and we never really threatened to equalize until the last 10 minutes when we pulled one back and could have scored a winner a few minutes later. On balance we were probably lucky to have drawn and with us all the way up in 4th I will take it. Next Fixtures The next couple of months will really test our squad as we enter the Copa Sudamericana and with that, suddenly have a very busy schedule.

Not too bad of a group, think we can finish second here.

February 2028 That's more like it. After we conceded a last minute equalizer against Defensa y Justicia I thought we would be in for another month of struggle, but instead the team rallied from it and produced some amazing performances, including a thrashing of Rosario Central and an impressive 2-0 against Boca at the Bombonera. We are sitting pretty in sixth, which is a Copa Libertadores place. Not likely to stay there, but we can dream! Transfers Out Just a youngster being loaned out to a team in the Paraguayan top tier. Next Fixtures Hopefully we can get wins in the home games and if we can get a draw at Talleres that would be a big bonus.

January 2028 It is not a great start, but it is 3 points more than we got last season. We did well to edge out Instituto and were awful against Argentinos Jrs. We should have gotten at least a point against San Lorenzo as we hit the post 3 times and missed a penalty, so that feels like an opportunity missed. Transfers Out Our transfer window is closed but we were still able to seal a couple of sales as our third choice keeper goes to Colombia and Cordero goes to Brazil on a nice $3M deal. He was unlikely to be a starter for us so I had to take that kind of money. Next Fixtures Not a lot of easy fixtures this month so hopefully we can get a couple of wins and not spiral into a bad run.