Skip to main content

Atletico Nacional Clinch Copa Libertadores

Colombian giants Atletico Nacional won the Copa Libertadores for only the second time in their history on Wednesday after a 1-0 victory over Ecuadoran minnows Independiente del Valle secured a 2-1 aggregate triumph.




Newly acquired striker Miguel Bora was the hero for Atletico, ramming home a low shot in the ninth minute as the Medellin-based side lifted South America's premier continental club competition for the first time since 1989.

Atletico are the first Colombian side to win the title since 2004, when Once Caldas stunned Argentine heavyweights Boca Juniors in the final.

The Copa Libertadores has been dominated by teams from Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay since its inception in 1960.

However this year's final was the first time since 1991 that no team from South America's traditional superpowers were represented in the final.

Instead the showpiece game was fought between Atletico and Independiente del Valle, the fairytale club who only gained promotion to Ecuador's topflight seven years ago.

Independiente had accounted for the scalps of Argentinian giants Boca Juniors and River Plate en route to the final.

However they were left with a daunting away trip to Colombia on Wednesday after being held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Quito last week.

Atletico seized control of the tie during a frenzied opening spell when Borja fired home a rebound from a free-kick after Independiente failed to clear.

The goal was to prove decisive and marked a remarkable Libertadores campaign for Borja, who was only signed by Atletico in June.

The 23-year-old flopped during a spell with Italian side Livorno in 2013 but resurrected his career during a loan spell with Colombian side Santa Fe, scoring 10 goals in 33 games.

He followed that with 19 goals in 21 games for Cortulua before being snapped up by Atletico in time for the Libertadores semi-finals in June.

Borja scored twice in each leg of Atletico's semi-final win over Brazilian side Sao Paulo and then bagged his fifth goal in Wednesday's win.

The victory means Atletico qualify for the Fifa Club World Cup in Japan later this year.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Security Alert; Bart Ransomware Bypasses Corporate Firewalls

A new ransomware variant has emerged that’s similar to widespread threats such as Dridex 220 and Locky Affid=3, but uses a security-evading technique that may allow it to attack organisations protected from other malware, according to computer security researchers. Ransomware has spread quickly in the last few months, as a number of payouts have attracted cyber-criminals to the technique.

BT And Nokia Strike 5G Research Deal

BT and Nokia have signed a research collaboration agreement together to work on next generation 5G technologies. Both companies say they went to work on finding potential customer use cases for emerging 5G networks, and will collaborate on proof of concept trials for 5G. “Nokia is delighted to be working with BT in laying the foundations for 5G adoption in the coming years, and in helping define how this technology will enable exciting and innovative experiences,” said Nokia UK head Cormac Whelan. Speed Nokia stand MWC 20165G networks should offer customers faster speeds and lower latency, and will become especially pertinent through the Internet of Things over the next decade. Commercial 5G networks will offer speeds of at least 1Gbps, and have 1,000 times more capacity than 4G networks. Such speeds would allow for the simultaneous streaming of data-heavy content such as virtual reality or live 360 degree video to any device, while greatly reduced latency would mean real-t...

Mourinho Officially Begins Work As United Manager Today

Jose Mourinho officially started work as Manchester United manager at the club's Carrington training base on Monday. The Portuguese travelled to Manchester by train on Sunday night and posted a video on Instagram showing his arrival at Picadilly station, saying: "I am here/UNITED we can". He arrived at Carrington with goalkeeping coach Silvino Louro on Monday morning.