Recent past scares Universidad de Chile players
Striker Olivera remembers that the team was eliminated from the Copa Sudamericana, at home, by Fluminense
By From the team at Flamengo's official website - Cooperativa.cl - in
One day before taking the field against Flamengo, the Universidad de Chile players can't stop thinking about this Thursday's (20.05) decision. Concerned about the quality of the Brazilian team, the Chilean team's players say they won't repeat the 'mistake' of 2009, when they were eliminated by the Rubro-negro's rival, Fluminense, in the Copa Sudamericana.
And everyone on the La "U" squad points to one reason for last year's poor performance: nervousness. Therefore, they hope they have enough maturity to hold off the red-and-black team, which boasts a wealth of experience.
"We hope to be more mature than them. We know that Flamengo and Fluminense are different teams, but both come from Brazilian football. We can't miss this opportunity, as we did in the South American," said striker Olivera, in an interview with the Chilean news portal Cooperativa.
He also knows that attention will have to be his team's strong point if they want to secure a spot against the Brazilian champion.
"Flamengo is strong at home and away. They're coming with everything they have to achieve qualification. I hope we can hold off their momentum and play our best, like we did in the first match of the quarterfinals," he analyzed.
Unable to count, once again, on coach Gerardo Pelusso on the bench, Olivera guarantees that the 'absence' will not be greatly missed by the team.
"Pelusso has already given us all the instructions to face Flamengo. We know we're playing against a team used to decisive matches, but we also have an experienced squad that has already played in international tournaments," he explained.
The Chilean team's coach, who also missed the Maracanã match, appealed his suspension, but CONMEBOL, South American football's governing body, upheld the suspension. Pelusso had complained about the referee of the match between La "U" and Alianza Lima in the Copa Libertadores round of 16.
The Chilean team's coach even threatened to kill the referee at the end of the match, as he had disallowed a goal for Universidad de Chile. However, the referee reversed his decision after much discussion and allowed La "U" to score.
And everyone on the La "U" squad points to one reason for last year's poor performance: nervousness. Therefore, they hope they have enough maturity to hold off the red-and-black team, which boasts a wealth of experience.
"We hope to be more mature than them. We know that Flamengo and Fluminense are different teams, but both come from Brazilian football. We can't miss this opportunity, as we did in the South American," said striker Olivera, in an interview with the Chilean news portal Cooperativa.
He also knows that attention will have to be his team's strong point if they want to secure a spot against the Brazilian champion.
"Flamengo is strong at home and away. They're coming with everything they have to achieve qualification. I hope we can hold off their momentum and play our best, like we did in the first match of the quarterfinals," he analyzed.
Unable to count, once again, on coach Gerardo Pelusso on the bench, Olivera guarantees that the 'absence' will not be greatly missed by the team.
"Pelusso has already given us all the instructions to face Flamengo. We know we're playing against a team used to decisive matches, but we also have an experienced squad that has already played in international tournaments," he explained.
The Chilean team's coach, who also missed the Maracanã match, appealed his suspension, but CONMEBOL, South American football's governing body, upheld the suspension. Pelusso had complained about the referee of the match between La "U" and Alianza Lima in the Copa Libertadores round of 16.
The Chilean team's coach even threatened to kill the referee at the end of the match, as he had disallowed a goal for Universidad de Chile. However, the referee reversed his decision after much discussion and allowed La "U" to score.