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| Luis Suárez (C) of Nacional heads the ball during a Copa Sudamericana quarter final first leg match between Nacional and Atletico Goianiense at Gran Parque Central on August 02, 2022 in Montevideo, Uruguay. |
Luis Suarez went on as a substitute in his first match since returning
to Nacional, but couldn’t help his Uruguayan club avoid a 1-0 home loss to
Brazil’s Atletico Goianiense in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana
quarterfinals.
The 35-year-old Suárez joined Nacional after his contract with Atletico
Madrid expired in the hope of remaining fit enough to play for Uruguay at the
World Cup, which kicks off November in Qatar.
Luiz Fernando scored the only goal of the match in Montevideo in the
23rd minute.
Nacional almost equalized near fulltime after a play by Suárez on the
left flank put Juan Ignacio Ramirez in a good position to finish, but the ball
hit the post.
The return leg will be played next Tuesday in Goiânia, in Brazil’s heartland.
Winning the Copa Sudamericana, the second most prestigious club
tournament in South American soccer, is a key objective for Suárez and his
club.
Suárez’ previous stint with Nacional was in 2005-06.
He also played with a lot of success for Ajax, Liverpool and Barcelona
during his time in European soccer.
The veteran striker has scored 68 goals in 132 matches for the national
team.
Uruguay is in Group H at the World Cup along with Portugal, Ghana and
South Korea.
Another South American soccer star had his debut for Brazil’s Flamengo
in the Copa Libertadores.
Arturo Vidal of Chile went on as a substitute in the 73rd minute of his
team’s 2-0 win at Corinthians in the quarterfinals of the region’s top club
tournament.
The 35-year-old Vidal had already played for Flamengo in the Brazilian
championship after joining from Inter Milan on a free transfer earlier this
month.
The second leg between the two Brazilian teams will be played in Rio de
Janeiro next Tuesday.
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