South America’s Everton putting their Premier League counterparts to shame as they chase Copa Libertadores glory
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EVERTON have a shot at glory this week - in South America’s Champions League.
This, of course, is not the Everton of Goodison Park fame. It is a team from Chile, from the elegant seaside resort of Vina del Mar.
The Chilean Everton are not one of Chile’s big clubs, though they enjoyed some glory days in the early 1950s and have four league titles to their name, the last in 2008.
The club was founded in 1909 by a group of English immigrants. The name is a tribute to the original Everton, who were well known in South America after a tour - and Everton’s home city was a familiar name on the other side of the Atlantic, as the port of Liverpool was the principal point of contact with the Americas.
There is a team called Liverpool in Uruguay. This year there is even a chance of a South American version of the Liverpool derby.
Liverpool are in the local version of the Europa League, the Copa Sudamericana. Their chances of progress to the group stage are not good.
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Last week they lost 1-0 at home to Uruguay’s River Plate, and will have to overturn that result on Wednesday.
At the same time as that match, Everton will be defining their fate in the local Champions League, the Copa Libertadores.
This is the final qualifying round. Everton have already got past Monagas of Venezuela 3-1 on aggregate.
Now they have to get past tougher opposition - Estudiantes of Argentina, the team whose club president is former Premier League midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron.
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Last week in Vina del Mar Estudiantes won by the only goal. Wednesday’s return match is eagerly awaited. It is the biggest international game the club have staged in their famous old stadium since it was remodeled and reopened.
A passionate atmosphere is guaranteed. Everton will have to dig very deep to come through.
If they manage it, they can count on six big paydays in the group phase of the Libertadores.
And if they fall short, at least there is the consolation of a place in the Copa Sudamericana, with the possible meeting with Liverpool.
Boosted by a weekend win over Chilean champions Universidad Catolica, Everton are likely to be bold.
Coach Francisco Meneghini is one of many whose career was given a boost by .
From the Argentine city of Rosario, Meneghini was at school with one of Bielsa’s daughters.
She set up a meeting, and Bielsa took the young Meneghini under his wing.
While he was in charge of the Chilean national team, Bielsa gave Meneghini a job on his staff as a performance analyst.
He later stepped up to assistant, and since 2018 he has been in sole charge. Everton is his third club, all of them in Chile.
At just 33, the coach is younger than some of his players. Captain Julio Barroso played with Lionel Messi in Argentina’s 2005 Under-20 team, and is 37.
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The coach has responded with a simple strategy to make himself look older. He has grown a beard. It may not be necessary for long.
Ninety minutes of high stakes football on Wednesday might well make Meneghini age naturally.