Brazilian champions Fluminense face the possibility of playing the teams that have knocked them out of the Copa Libertadores in the past three season’s in the draw for the group stage of the competition this Friday.
Fluminense, who will be seeded in pot 1, have targeted the Libertadores as a priority for next season as the club have never won the prestigious South American title, and are willing to sacrifice the Carioca state championship as a result.
But they face the daunting possibility of being drawn into a ‘group of death’ with Boca Juniors, of Argentina, Libertad, of Paraguay, and LDU de Quito, of Ecuador.
LDU beat Fluminense in the 2008 final of the Libertadores, and beat them again a year later in the Copa Sul-Americana final. In 2011 Libertad knocked the Rio de Janeiro giants out in the second round and then Boca Juniors eliminated Abel Braga’s side at the quarterfinal stage this season.
