The Strongest break Copa Lib curse with rare away win
Judging by past performances in South America's premier club competition, it has been somewhat difficult for Bolivia's The Strongest to live up to the team's boastful moniker.
Contrary to what the name might suggest, the La Paz side has never made a serious impact in the Copa Libertadores -- but Wednesday the club finally managed to put to bed the competition's worst away record by far with a memorable scalp.
Brazilian giant Sao Paulo was taken down 1-0 in the Pacaembu, with Matias Alonso's diving header silencing the home fans. It was the club's first win in 48 Libertadores away clashes, a dismal run that stretched back to 1982 and included 41 defeats and just seven draws.
To put that into perspective, just two members of the current squad were alive when the last victory occurred: veteran goalkeeper Daniel Vaca and Pablo Escobar, a Bolivian football icon nicknamed "the patron of goals" in a nod to his (in)famous Colombian namesake.
Clubs from La Paz, as well as the Bolivian national side, are traditionally tough opponents on home turf because of the dizzying altitude in the nation's capital. Once sides like The Strongest come closer to sea level, however, the gulf in class is more apparent, and no Bolivian team has ever lifted the Libertadores.
In Wednesday's other fixutures, Toluca made a strong start to their Copa Libertadores campaign by defeating Brazilian side Gremio 2-0 at Estadio Nemesio Díez. Despite losing Moises Velasco to a red card in the 36th minute, the Red Devils relied on Enrique Triverio's second-half brace to open Group 6 with three points.
Brazilian giants Corinthias also opened Copa Libertadores group play in the winner's circle after edging Cobresal 1-0 in stoppage time thanks to a costly own-goal by Miguel Escalona.
Information from FOXSoccer.com's newswire services contributed to this report.
