The battle of Porto Alegre

Tonight, a Brazilian team will be crowned the champion of South America. Right now it looks like this team will be Internacional, who had a very important 2-1 away win over Sao Paulo in the first leg of the final, last week. To make matters worse for the visitors, key midfielder Josue will not play after being sent off in the first match, and forward Ricardo Oliveira may also be dropped from the squad after not receiving proper authorization from his team, Betis, to extend his loan by one week so as to appear in the final match.

Sao Paulo must win by at least two goals in order to win the title in regulation. A Sao Paulo win by a single goal takes the game to extra time, with a possible penalty shootout deciding the title should no team score in the extra 30 minutes. Inter only needs a draw at home to win its most important title ever. No matter who wins the match, the final will certainly be an epic battle between two three-time Brazilian champions.

If Inter can play as seriously as it has last week, without falling into the over optimist mode of its own fans, then it should win the title. After all, the team has only lost once at the Beira-Rio Stadium this year. Sao Paulo must play its best game of the year to stand any chance of winning. But that, in football, is also a very possible outcome.