Pep Guardiola is a big fan of River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo and it's looking increasingly likely the Manchester City coach will be able to see his work more closely in the coming year.

"What Gallardo has done with River is incredible," Guardiola told an Argentine TV station. "Some things are inexplicable. Every year three coaches are named as the best in the world, and he's never among them. I can't understand it. It's as if there's nothing else in the world apart from Europe."

- FIFA Club...

The all-Brazilian semifinal of the Copa Libertadores always held promise -- and Wednesday's first leg certainly did not disappoint.

In the battle between the two best footballing sides in the land -- Gremio and, especially, Flamengo -- fought out a pulsating 1-1 draw, punctuated with enough talking points for the discussion to last all the way to the rematch in three weeks' time.

Champions in 2017, Gremio are appearing in the semifinals for the third consecutive year. They are a well established...

Before their team's home game against historic rivals Boca Juniors, three River Plate fans each held aloft a large inflatable number -- a nine, a one and a two.

It was a reference to a date: Dec. 9, 2018, when the two Buenos Aires giants met in the final of the Copa Libertadores and River won 3-1.

Oct. 1 will not be seen as a date of equal significance. This, after all, was only the first leg of the semifinal. But River's 2-0 win on Tuesday puts them right on course to make it through to this year's...