Barcelona of Ecuador had three things working against them on Tuesday when they kicked off at home to Defensor of Uruguay in the qualifying round of the Copa Libertadores.

One was the torrential rain which had fallen on the city of Guayaquil, making the pitch slow and heavy. Another was the traditional defensive grit and organisation of the Uruguayans.

Even so, Barcelona managed a 1-0 victory on the night. And it would have been enough to take them through to the third and final qualifying round,...

Europe plays its two continental competitions simultaneously; the Champions League and the Europa League are both well into the qualifying rounds, and will come to a climax at the end of the season in a little over nine months' time.

South America does it differently. The first half of the year is set aside for the main event, the Copa Libertadores, with the second string competition, the Copa Sudamericana, kicking off this week and ending in early December.

Arguments can be made in favour of both...

It hasn't taken long for South America to get back into the swing of footballing things after the World Cup. The leagues in Brazil, Colombia and Chile have already started up again, and on Tuesday it was time to settle down and enjoy something fans across the continent (especially the south of the continent) had been waiting a couple of months for; the Copa Libertadores semifinals are finally upon us.

It's felt like a wide-open Copa all year, and that's reflected in the spread of semifinalists;...