Danubio, the poorest and most loser side in Libertadores?

Commonsense in football journalism says it's ill-advised to write about poor and loser sides in any given competition; unless, of course, the poor and loser is a big club whose misery illustrates decadence and deterioration. Uruguayan side Danubio FC qualified to this Libertadores as reigning champions of their domestic league, and yet, their continental record this year can't be poorer: all games lost, the bottom place of their group already guaranteed with one match to go, fourteen goals conceded.

Having watched all of Danubio's losses so far, however, something keeps telling me I'll regret it for long if the chance to write about them is simply let pass by. That is because Danubio is not a poor and loser side: it is merely a too young one, if not entirely juvenile, that ran with the awful luck of being seeded within this Libertadores's Group of Death along current monarchs San Lorenzo and Paulista powerhouses Corinthians and Sao Paulo FC. In any other group, the odds could have been rather good to make a decent stage and even dream with progression.

Their boss, Leonardo Ramos, went bold and courageous enough as to field a three-man defensive line in which the most experienced member was the sweeper, Matías de los Santos, with just 22 years old. To the latter's right was Federico Ricca, 20 years old, and to the left was Cristian González, 18. When De los Santos was unavailable, Ramos picked Joaquín Pereyra, 20.

Training Athletic de Bilbao, Marcelo Bielsa used to say that, as a coach, it was cynical to field youngsters in order to expose and prove them unable to compete in tough scenarios. Well, in the case of Danubio, Cristian González endured a true nightmare in Montevideo trying to cover Corinthians' experienced striker Paolo Guerrero. The Peruvian himself had endured a difficult first half under the supervision of impressive Federico Ricca; by the second half though, Guerrero moved towards González and Corinthians finally found the path to victory in Uruguay. What did Leo Ramos do afterwards? He gave confidence to González and his young folks as undisputed starters for the subsequent matches.

Brazilian supporters of both Corinthians and Sao Paulo might cast my interpretation of Danubio as highly partial and over-romanticized as the Uruguayan side showed lots of dirtiness that went unpunished by apathetic referees. It is true. There is no innocence in their youth: with clenched teeth, more often than not the Danubio players indulged on unnecessary challenges and blatant aggressions which made many of them well-deserving of straight red cards. Killer children. Uruguayan ones who see in violence, either in physical, verbal, or in footballing terms, the only way to lift their club from the humbleness of the Uruguayan league and make it compete with South América's finest.

One feels he will regret not writing about the likes of Ricca, González and De lo Santos as they can well turn into the future Uruguayan centre-backs plying their trade in some European superclub. The same can also apply to the correct holding midfield duo of Fabricio Formiliano and Nicolás Milesi. Albeit Danubio is neither Peñarol nor Nacional (not even Defensor Sporting for that matter), notable former players include Marcelo Zalayeta, Álvaro Recoba and Edinson Cavani.

Danubio, the poorest and most loser side in Libertadores? Not at all, they are by far the most refreshing side in Libertadores and well worth watching them.