Quieres Futbal, Este Noche?

Not sure if I spelled that right, but I was trying to be clever and ask if you "want soccer tonight?" in Spanish. (Sorry, besides probably butchering that phrase I also couldn't figure out how to insert the upside down question mark. Forgive me, amigos). But if you are in the mood for some footy and are in the U.S. and have cable television, I recommend turning on Fox Sports en Espanol to watch the second leg of the Copa Sudamericana quarterfinal between River Plate and Defensor Sporting of Montevideo, Uruguay. You don't even need to understand Espanol to comprende. Okay, I'll cut it out now. It's really annoying, I know.

The two sides tied the first leg 2-2 in Montevideo last week and are now at El Monumental in Buenos Aires to settle matters. If River advance, they'll face Arsenal de Sarandi in the semis, due to a rule that prohibits teams from the same country facing each other in the finale. If Defensor win, they would face Millionarios of Bogota, Colombia. Millionarios scored a major upset in the quarters, knocking out Sao Paulo, who lead the Brazilian league and will in all likelihood win it when it wraps up in a few weeks' time. If the Uruguay side win, Arsenal would face Club America of Mexico City, the other semifinalist. The game could also have implications on my weekly top 25. If River advance, they're probably in, which would be quite an accomplishment for a team many had written off just a month ago.

I've written about the Copa Sudamericana, the "UEFA Cup of the Americas," before, including this primer a few weeks ago. Check it out if you want some background. But hurry up, the game's about to start...