Hall of Fame Run

Had success with both club and country. Let's start with Algeria in this post, just to change things up.

Confederations Cup
Went into this group not expecting a whole lot. We felt like we could get points off South Korea, but getting anything against the host (Brazil) and the current world champions (Russia) was unlikely. So I went in with a plan to at least get everyone on the pitch for at least one match, save for one goalkeeper. The first team would play the first and third matches (Brazil and Russia), and the second team would run out against Korea.

Against Brazil, it didn't take long for the hosts to remove the drama. Alípio would find the net in the 11th and 21st minute, but graciously waited until the 49th to complete his hat trick. Abdelkader Ghezzal would score a consolation goal in the 79th, but we crumpled to a 3-1 defeat in the first match.

Things went a little better for the second teamers against South Korea. We knocked on the door for the first 45 minutes, but we were not allowed in the net until the first minute of first half stoppage when Idir Quali used his pace to get through and open our account. Farid Derouaz added some insurance with a spot kick in the 83rd. Korea would get one back in the 90th, but we held on for all 3 points in a 2-1 win.

Like us, Russia split the first two games but they had a 1 goal lead in the differential. So we had to win to advance. Abdelkader Ghezzal would shock the Ruskies in the second minute, heading in a cross and we had a ball game. From there on Russia would pound on our defense. It was like a firing range, and our keeper was called upon often. Fawzi Chaouchi was given a 9.5 rating for his efforts between the sticks. Finally, in the 80th minute, we caught a break when Chezzal was fouled in the area and Hassan Yebda cooly slotted home the penalty for the killer goal. We completed the 2-0 win and Chaouchi etched his place in Algerian lore with a heroic effort. Playing a fresh squad against Korea helped us out as we were less fatigued for this match than Russia.

In the semifinal we met Argentina. I had to make a tough decision before this match. Continue the all out/in rotation or play a tired squad. I decided to rotate the players, except for the Chaouchi. The second team had earned a shot at this with their effort against South Korea. Also, win or lose, we were looking at either Germany or Brazil again next, so I wanted to have a fresh squad for that one as well. It looked like the strategy had paid off, as we forced extra time after 90 minutes of scoreless football. We would go into the second overtime period, and I had waited until then to make my substitutions. I got all the players I wanted in for the shootout, but sadly the dreams crashed when Sergio Agüero scored in the 111th minute. Then, that ogre Carlos Tevez unplugged our life support with a second in the 115th. A tough pill to swallow. Once again, Chaouchi put in an outstanding effort, and was indeed named man of the match. But late dramatics by a superior team diminished it and we would be reduced to the third place game.

Brazil, after having bowed out to the Germans in the other semifinal on an extra time goal themselves, sacked their manager and so I guess they were coaching themselves. There was no reason for me to believe we could reverse the result from the first match, a 3-1 Brazil victory. The only difference between now and then was that we were in better match condition. Not sure why, perhaps because of fitness, but this match was much more even than Russia and Argentina. In those, we were bombarded for the most part but in this match against Brazil we were holding our own, limiting their chances and creating some of our own. In fact, in the 47th minute, Sofiane Hanni found himself on the flank all alone with the ball, which he crossed to the far post where was in open space for the finish and a 1-0 lead. Brazil's situation went from bad to worse when Luisão was sent off in the 70th with his second yellow. Brazil, desperate to equalize, sent their keeper Julio Cesar up on a corner kick in the second minute of stoppage. They failed to convert and the ball was hoofed up to Sofiane Hanni who passed the ball into the open net and Algeria shocked Brazil and the world for third place in the Confederations Cup.

Germany defeated Argentina in the final, 2-0, and Carlos Tevez got what he deserved with a red card in the 24th. Algeria didn't win any awards, but certainly helped Alípio win the top goalscorer, as we allowed 3 of his 4 goals. The best player award went to Agüero, no doubt in part thanks to his goal against us. I don't know what kind of tournament Germany's René Adler had, but it must have been incredible to beat out Chaouchi. Our keeper had ratings of 7.3 (vBrazil), 9.5 (vRussia), 8.7 (v Argentina), and 6.9 (vBrazil). I guess he was hurt by not playing against South Korea and Brazil too fatigued to test him in the second match. He was man of the match twice.

I went and looked this up, Adler had a very average tournament by comparison, this was a grave injustice. His ratings were: 6.9 (New Zealand 4-1), 7.0 (USA 2-0), 7.2 (Argentina 0-2), 6.7 (Brazil 2-1e), 6.9 (Argentina 2-0). Oh well, Sepp Blatter probably made the decision himself.

Copa Santander Libertadores
In the semifinal, my Palmeiras squad was paired off against Cruzeiro, the side who were able to hold off my late season charge in the league last year. The first leg was at home, and we took full advantage, banging three set piece goals, all by Maurício and took a big 3-0 advantage on the road with us. Cruzeiro made things a little nervous for us in the 12th minute when Wendell closed the gap to 3-1, but Ciro and Maurício Ramos scored goals in the 30th and 86th to make it a dominating 5-1 aggregate scoreline.

In the final, we drew Argentine powerhouse River Plate. We played the first leg at home, and thanks to some time off in the league schedule I was able to field a fully fit first team squad. We played pretty well, and Ciro sandwich his brace around a River goal by Cristian Fabbiani and so heading to Argentina, we were up 2-1. A lot of tense moments in the return leg. We created many more chances than the Argentinians, but struggled to finish them. Leonardo (no, not the evil nemesis of Tab Ramos) scored a goal for the dark side in the 23rd minute. On this day, our finishers would shine in stoppage time. Ciro got a goal in the second minute of first half stoppage to regain our aggregate lead 3-2. But River would fight back, leveling the score in the 75th on a strike from Lucio Iribarrern. We looked destined for penalties at that point, until Maurício Ramos headed in a set piece in the third minute of stoppage time and became the hero, winning the tie and the cup, 4-3 on aggregate.

Meia Cleiton Xavier won the award for best player of the tournament. He only scored one goal but had a staggering 11 assists. The golden boot went to Cruzeiro's Kléber, who had 15 goals. We had two players named to the Dream Team, Cleiton Xavier (M) and Renan Ribeiro (GK).

Campeonato Brasileiro da Série A
We've only played 7 matches so far, but 4 wins and 3 draws, while not a great start, is enough to have is a logjam tie for second, 1 point adrift. We have a game in hand on every club in the league except Náutico, who lie in 14th place. Now that continental play is over, we can focus our attention here and hopefully improve our form.

By the way, the win in the Copa Libertadores officially put me to the top of the American managers hall of fame, hence the title of the post.