Less than two months after the cries of the crowd from the 2019 Libertadores final have died down, it is time for the 2020 version to get underway.

It was on Nov. 23 when Flamengo of Brazil struck twice right at the end to steal the title from under the noses of Argentina's River Plate. The game took place in Lima, in the stadium of Universitario -- who kick off this year's action on Tuesday night then they travel to Venezuela to take on Carabobo.

It is the opening game in a convoluted, six week...

Can Gabriel Barbosa buck the trend?

With 45% of the vote, the Brazilian striker has just been announced as South America's player of the year in the prestigious annual survey organized by the El Pais newspaper in Uruguay. He has enjoyed a wonderful year: top scorer in the Copa Libertadores with nine goals, including the two in the last few minutes of the final against River Plate that turned defeat into victory, and top scorer in the Brazilian Championship with 25 goals in Flamengo's joyful...

Watford's next game -- at home on New Year's Day against in-form Wolves -- could be the European debut for newcomer Joao Pedro. The 18-year-old Brazilian, who recently arrived from Fluminense, was presented to the crowd before the last home game, and now is eligible for selection. Some Watford fans see him as a possible saviour, the striker whose goals will haul the side to Premier League safety, but that surely is asking too much, too soon from the teenager.

Back in May, Pedro went from unknown...

The Club World final loss last week to Liverpool was Flamengo's last game of the year. And, unlike Europe, the competition is seen as one of the highlights of the South American calendar. So much that the loss to the English side is still being debated and re-debated in the Brazilian media.

Could Flamengo have won? Did they deserve better? And what does it all mean? Such issues are being endlessly discussed, with a key fault line forming around one question; was this year's clash of European and...

Plenty of goals had been predicted. They did not come. Even so, Liverpool's 1-0 win over Flamengo did not disappoint. It was a fine game, by far the best Club World Cup final since the current format was adopted in 2005 -- and for that, Flamengo deserve enormous credit.

True, it was not exactly a game of equals. Flamengo -- winners of the Copa Libertadores and the Brazilian league -- rode their luck a little. They could have been steamrolled in the opening five minutes. After 40 seconds Roberto...