Pachuca's dream of advancing to the final of the FIFA Club World Cup fell short at the last hurdle when they lost 2-0 to LDU de Quito early this morning. Claudio Bieler and Luis Bolaños scored for the South American champions in the opening half hour. I haven't been able to watch the entire match, but from watching match highlights and reading match reports and interviews it appears that Liga deserved their win. They will seek to regain South American supremacy in the tournament final on Sunday.
This match closes the book on a golden era for Pachuca -- five domestic championships, three CONCACAF Champions Cups, a SuperLiga, and a Copa Sudamericana in the last ten years. I think that Pachuca were the best team in the Americas during 2006-2007, and had the best chance of any of the minor confederation club champions to break through to the Club World Cup final. It will be at least a year before Pachuca will be able to return to this stage, but with their stable of good young players they should be able to write another successful chapter in their long history.
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