00:00American fans at home, we are going to explain to you two of the biggest competitions in the world with
00:04the Copa Libertadores as well as the Copa Sudamericana.
00:07So the Copa Libertadores is essentially the South American Champions League and started all the way back in 1960 under
00:14the governing body of Comebol and has featured some of the biggest clubs and players in the history of the
00:19sport.
00:20So we're talking about the legacy of Pele, arguably the GOAT with Santos. We're talking about Maradona and then clubs
00:26like Boca Juniors and River Plate in Argentina, as well as current legends like Marcelo, who just won the Copa
00:32Libertadores with Fluminense.
00:34It really is a very special competition.
00:36Yeah, super exciting. And if we want to take it back even further, we can go back 12 years earlier
00:41to 1948 when it was initially started as the South American Championship of Champions.
00:48Originally, it only featured teams that were champions of their respective leagues, but it's recently been expanded to include more
00:54teams to give more teams the opportunity to be represented.
00:57My favorite thing about the competition is that the name Libertadores is actually an homage to the history of South
01:04America and all the key figures who were important to their independence.
01:08And since we're speaking about South American club football, you cannot forget about the Copa Sudamericana, which is essentially, for
01:14those who follow European football, what can be compared to almost a Europa League in South America.
01:19But in my opinion, it's almost more passionate because these are clubs that represent some of the biggest cities in
01:24South America.
01:26Potentially, when you look at Europa League, you may get clubs representing some of the biggest cities in Eastern Europe
01:31and in kind of like the Balkans.
01:34But these are not cities with hundreds of millions of people living in the surrounding area.
01:38In the Copa Sudamericana, you're looking at clubs from Rio, from Sao Paulo, from Montevideo, from Buenos Aires, who are
01:43all competing in that tournament.
01:45So, yes, you can think of it as a Europa League, but Boca Juniors has two championships.
01:50This is a serious tournament that really matters.
01:52Actually, Pachuca, which is a Mexican club that no longer plays in it, in Mexican media, regards their Copa Sudamericana
01:58win as one of the greatest victories in Mexican history.
02:00So, when you look at South American football, yes, you have the top division, but the Copa Sudamericana, that's where
02:06some real passion lives as well.
02:07The Libertadores champions and Sudamericana champions are considered the top clubs in South American football.
02:13Winning is a great achievement for players and fans alike and increases global recognition.
02:17And we're even able to see some of them perform recently in the Club World Cup in the U.S.
02:21Now, these competitions are only in the qualifying phase right now, but the action is occurring on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and
02:27Thursdays on BN Sports.
02:29Once again, it is fairly early in the competition, so stay tuned for all the action, because once again, legends
02:34are made here.
02:35We'll see you next time.
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