Boca Juniors Vs. Corinthians, 2012 Copa Libertadores Final: Preview And TV Schedule

Boca Juniors are looking to become the second team to ever win the Copa Libertadores seven times, while Corinthians attempt to win the trophy for the first time in their history. Two of the biggest clubs in South American football contest the first leg of the 2012 Copa Libertadores final on Wednesday night at La Bombonera, having sacrificed their domestic campaigns to get here.

At 34 years old, Juan Roman Riquelme is still the man at the center of the Boca attack. Three of the club’s six Libertadores titles have been won with him in the team, most recently in 2007. He’s such a key player and so lacking in fitness at this point in his career that he was rested in Boca’s final league game of the season, even though they had a chance to win the Argentine Primera title. They lost that match to All Boys, falling down to fourth in the table.

Corinthians have lost four games out of six so far in the Brasileirao as they’ve concentrated almost exclusively on the Libertadores. They were fantastic defensively against defending champions Santos in the semifinal, shutting out their rivals on the road. Neymar scored at the Estádio do Pacaembu to level the tie, but Danilo netted a second-half winner for his club. The Corinthians board has been so serious about their pursuit of the Libertadores this year that his goal may have saved Tite’s job.

Both teams have strong defenses and strikers who haven’t performed very well as of late, so don’t expect a wide open goal-fest of a final. It wouldn’t be surprising at all to see a 0-0 draw or a 1-0 win for either side in the first leg on Wednesday night.

Game date/time: Wednesday, 8:50 p.m. ET

Venue: La Bombonera, Buenos Aires, Argentina

TV: FOX Deportes (U.S.), Premier Sports (U.K.)

We’ll have live coverage throughout the match in our Boca Juniors vs. Corinthians, 2012 Copa Libertadores Final StoryStream. For more from around the world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on twitter.