We’re gonna play a game. After I cover all of the league titles across South America, we will count all of the red cards handed out. The question you have to answer is: will the number of red cards be more or less than the age of the youngest goalkeeper to take part in a final?

For context: There are 21 matches to be considered, and the youngest keeper is 16 years old. Place your bets now.

This final brought together the two most dominant teams in Colombia in recent years. In each of the last 5 seasons, the final included either Independiente Santa Fe, Deportivo Cali, or both. Last year’s final was between these same two sides with Cali being crowned champions.

Leg 1: Independiente Santa Fe vs Deportivo Cali FC
Match Highlights

First Half
18’ Both sides had attacking opportunities early, but Sante Fe drew a good save from Luisa Agudelo in the 18th minute. The play was flagged for offside, but VAR would have overturned it had the ball gone in.

38’ The sides continued to trade chances, and Cali had a great opportunity to take the lead late in the first half when a freekick from a dangerous spot bounced around in the box and fell to Lorena Cobos, but her snapshot attempt went over the crossbar.

Second Half
47’ From the kickoff, Sante Fe were on the offensive. They had a shot in the opening minute of the second half that skimmed the crossbar as it went over. A couple minutes later, they intercepted a ball in midfield and quickly work forward. A good interchange of one-touch passes (well, almost all one-touch passes) led to an easy finish and a 1-0 lead for Santa Fe. Katherine Valbuena began the play with the interception and ended the play with her cool finish.

Santa Fe would have the ball in the net a couple minutes later, but it was called back for a foul in the build up.

80’ As the second half progressed, Santa Fe got a little more conservative to maintain their lead, and Cali got more sustained attacking pressure. In the 80’ a ball is laid off to Paola Garcia, whose blast from distance goes just wide.

82’ Minutes later, Cali’s hopes of a comeback would take a hit when, after VAR review, defender Jessica Bermeo would see red. To be honest, it was a pretty straightforward call.

90’ Despite being down a player, Cali would work a chance late, but Ingrid Guerra’s header was blocked and rebound attempt sent high.

Final Score: Independiente Santa Fe 1-0 Deportivo Cali FC

Leg 2: Deportivo Cali vs Independiente Santa Fe
Match Highlights

First Half
1’ Deportivo Cali came into the second leg needing to overturn a deficit, and they nearly had that done in the opening minute when Guerra beat the keeper to Melanin Aponza’s cross, but her header was just wide.

22’ It took Santa Fe some time to really get into the match, but they worked a good opportunity in the 22’ when a nice dummy from Karla Viancha opened a good shooting opportunity for Daniela Garavito, but her shot was saved by Agudelo.

Then, we start entering peak CONMEBOL, where the beautiful and the ugly meet for glorious chaos.

34’ First, VAR recommends review for a possible red on Santa Fe player Karla Viancha. She clearly clashes with Stefania Perlaza, but Perlaza tries to sell the foul a bit too much. The ref, ultimately, decides not to award a red.

42’ Moments after, tempers would get heated when a Santa Fe bench player kicks away the ball that had gone out of play, earning a yellow for delay. From that restart, Cali worked the ball to the left, and Guerra fed a nice ball to Cobos, who timed her run perfectly. Cobos turned her defenders and slipped the ball into the near post to give Cali the 1-0 on the night and even the tie at 1-1.

Second Half
46’ The second half started with some pitch-side interference, but not by players or fans. Instead, some film equipment is left by the Win Sports crew.

In the 59th minute, the ref would award a penalty to Cali, but VAR would overturn the call, as replays showed the ball did not hit a Santa Fe hand in the box. Also, there was an offside in buildup.

82’ Already on a yellow, Katherine Valbuena (wearing a different number than in the first leg) commits a really stupid foul on Kelly Ibarguen, pulling her shirt to prevent her from getting by, and earns her second yellow to see red. Truly a baffling foul to commit on a yellow.

90’ Here’s the thing about that foul from Valbuena, as the ref is attempting to find Valbuena to give her a second yellow, Mariana Silva grabs the ref and gets in her way, so the ref hands Silva a yellow before continuing on to Valbuena.

As the match clock hits 90, Silva and Kelly Caicedo tussle in the corner, and Silva falls to the ground as if she’s been hit in the face. The replays show that Caicedo did not, in fact, catch Silva in the face, but for their participation in the tussle, the ref shows them both a yellow. The ref seemed to forget that Silva was already on a yellow, but the Cali players didn’t. After conferring with VAR, the ref would show Silva red, taking Santa Fe down to 9 players.

But with little time remaining in the match, Cali would not be able to make the advantage pay off, and penalties would decide the champion.

Shootout
The key moment in the shootout comes from the opening shot, which Luisa Agudelo saves. Agudelo shit talks before the take then saves it, and you know I love a shit-talking keeper. All other takers score, meaning Loren Sanchez wins the title with her take (and would win the Matt Doyle Face of the Week honors, if we awarded them here).

Final Score: Deportivo Cali 1-1 Independiente Santa Fe (Cali win 5-4 on penalties)

Deportivo Cali win their second straight league title, and third overall.

(Red Card Count: 3)

Leg 1: Cruzeiro 2-2 Corinthians
Full Match

First Half
The first leg started with Corinthians in control of the match. In the 6’, Corinthians took the lead on a goal from Gi Fernandes. The ball is worked down the right wing and someone (I just can’t tell because the field is shadowed) played a floating cross into the box that Fernandes touches perfectly into the far-side netting on the half volley. I think a little criticism of Camila Rodrigues, in Cruzeiro’s net, is warranted for being slow to react, but the finish gets the bulk of the credit. Along with the goal, Corinthians forced a couple saves out of Rodrigues and put another shot wide as they provided all the attacking pressure in the opening minutes.

Cruzeiro would grow into the match, and they found an equalizer in the 28’ when Marilia outjumped her defender and the onrushing keeper to head into an empty. It was great work from Marilia to win the header, but again, criticism should go to Nicole in goal. She was never likely to beat Marilia to the ball, and leaving the goal exposed meant Marilia just had to get her header on target.

Aside from the opening 15 minutes, the first half was fairly even. Corinthians were probably the slightly better side, but Cruzeiro got their equalizer and forced a couple saves out of Nicole. The teams went into half 1-1.

Second Half
Cruzeiro had more control in the second half and tilted the field in their favor, but Corinthians took the lead in the 74’ as the ageless Gabi Zanotti showed us that we can all maintain some flexibility at 40 with a nice volley. Originally flagged for offside but awarded after a VAR review. But once play resumed, it took Cruzeiro little time to find a second equalizer. A half-cleared corner was put back into the box and expertly headed in by Isabela to make it 2-2.

Neither team would find a winner in the remaining minutes of the first leg, so the teams headed to the second leg even at 2-2.

Scrap of the Match: Normally, I will post a highlight of a match, but I’ve got a few above, and since South American footy is always good for a dust up, I figured I’d include my favorite here. From Leg 1, it was definitely the double headlock Jhonson put on two Cruzeiro defenders that stood out to me. It earned her a yellow card and the ire of Cruzeiro captain Isa Haas within three minutes of entering the pitch.

Leg 2: Corinthians 1-0 Cruzeiro
Extensive Match Highlights Recorded with a phone / Highlights

I’ve found getting a full match replay or even a proper highlight summary difficult so far. Someone posted a near complete recording of the match taken with their phone, so I’ve used that to get a feel of the match. I did eventually find a proper replay of match highlights, so I’ve linked that as well.

First Half
Corinthians opened the second leg as they started the first, with the bulk of possession and offensive opportunities. Cruzeiro did get forward from time to time, but the field was definitely tilted in favor of Corinthians. That being said, the first really dangerous opportunity fell to Cruzeiro. A freekick likely midway through the first half was knocked around the Corinthians box before it fell to a Cruzeiro player whose shot clanged off the crossbar and was cleared.

Second Half
Corinthians got out on the attack early in the second half, and they made an opportunity pay off. In the 49’ a corner was not fully cleared, and Corinthians was able to work it into the box a couple more times before a save from Camila Rodrigues fell to Thais who easily put away the match and championship winner.

Cruzeiro pushed for an equalizer and had a very good opportunity late when a cross to the far post found a Cruzeiro player, but her volley attempt went wide.

In the end, Corinthians held on to win the 2025 Serie A1 championship. The club’s 6th consecutive title, and 7th overall. For Cruzeiro, this was their first appearance in the league final, but topping the league and making this first appearance is certainly something to build on.

(Red Card Count: 3)

Colo-Colo 1-0 Universidad de Chile
Match Highlights / Fan Video of Final with Extensive Gameplay

Colo-Colo have been the dominant team in Chilean WoSo since the formation of the current league in 2008. They’ve not been the only powerhouse, but they’ve been the one team to consistently compete for the championship. Coming into the 2025 season, Chile’s top division had run 24 seasons since 2008 (due to vacillating between a single season the apertura/clausura split seasons). Colo-Colo has won the league title in 16 of those 24 seasons. By comparison, Everton, the club that rivaled Colo-Colo for the first 8 seasons of the league, were relegated in 2025.

Universidad de Chile are no slouches, themselves. They were runners up in the inaugural season of the league and won the league twice. The most recent of those was in 2021, making them the last team not named Colo-Colo to win the title.

But make no mistake, despite having the second best record this season, Universidad de Chile were still playing David to the Goliath this is Colo-Colo. Coming into the final, Colo-Colo were on a perfect season.

Their regular season record:

Wins: 26
Draws: 0
Losses: 0

Goals For: 133
Goals Against: 5

They won all of their quarterfinal- and semifinal-round matches, outscoring their opponents 12-0 over the four fixtures. So, despite their quality, La U were always going to be underdogs in this final.

First Half
To that script, Colo-Colo came out dominating the match. The opening half was a series of attacks for Colo-Colo, forcing multiple saves from Oriana Cristancho in net for La U. As for Universidad de Chile, aside from forcing a couple routine saves from Torrero in the Colo-Colo net, they struggled to get any sustained pressure.

The breakthrough came after a series of corners from Colo-Colo. The last one was only partially cleared. Yessenia Lopez was first to the loose ball and put it into the side netting for the 1-0 lead.

Second Half
Universidad de Chile were able to get a bit more offense, but they still struggled to make Torrero do more than make routine saves. In general, Colo-Colo still looked the more likely to score, but they were less aggressive getting forward with the lead.

In the 74’ minute, Universidad de Chile had a wonderful opportunity to equalize from a freekick, but Su Helen Galaz puts her header just wide.

In the end, Colo-Colo would hold on to their lead and win their 4th straight league title.

Post Script: This matchup featured two players I’m fairly high on: Mary Valencia and Oriana Cristancho.

At 22 years old, Mary Valencia is a young striker with a knack for scoring goals- notching 16 goals in 2024 for Santiago Morning and 25 goals in 2025 with Colo-Colo. She was also second in the Golden Boot race at the 2025 Copa Libertadores, with 5 goals in 6 matches. Watching Valencia, I don’t see a player that is going to create a lot of goals for herself. She doesn’t have blistering pace. She isn’t going to dribble through a group of defenders, and though she can work some combination play, that isn’t her forte. Instead, Mary Valencia that rare Platonic ideal of the poacher. She is always in the box: making runs, following shots, and just sniffing for opportunities to put the final touch on the ball. And when you do find her in the box, she’s putting the ball on target way more often than not. If she’s not scoring, she’s at least making the keeper work.

She’s young and her game can continue to develop, but if a bigger club wanted to take her in with the hopes that she’s going to score a bunch of goals, they’d better have players on the squad to feed her chances. If they do, even if she’s coming off the bench, Valencia can wrack up the goals.

Oriana Cristancho is Universidad de Chile’s goalkeeper, and at 16 years old, she is the dictionary definition of potential. When you watch her play, she has good footwork, generally reads the game well, and has good reactions. She’s also prone to a dropped shot or poor communication or an overly aggressive step. But again, she’s 16 years old, and she turned 16 in October of 2025. She is very much still a kid, and where she has the most room to grow (communication, command of area, and decision making), they are exactly the qualities you’d expect to be the weaknesses of a teenager. The problem with potential is that it is a bet on the future. Having a lot of potential doesn’t mean it will be realized. But Chile could have a proper heir-apparent for Christiane Endler when she decides to hang up her gloves.

(Red Card Count: 3)

The 2025 season in Argentina was split into two tournaments: an Apertura and a Clausura; however the Apertura was just a round-robin league with every team playing each other twice and no playoff tournament to crown a champion. The Clausura, however, involved 17 teams split into two groups. The teams in each group played each other once, and the top 6 in each group progressed to a playoff round.

Newell’s Old Boys Win League
NOB’s Goal Highlights Throughout League

Since this was a standard league, there wasn’t a clear final, but I’ll highlight the winning goal in Newell’s final match of the season, against rivals Rosario Central - a freekick goal by Mariana Larroquette from a very tight angle.

This was the first time Newell’s Old Boys won the league. I struggled to find a good video of the trophy lift, so I’m adding a gif of the team celebrating with flares, and I’ll link to NOB’s instagram vid post of the trophy lift.

The Clausura was contested by Racing Club and Belgrano. Both sides had previously made league final appearances, but neither team had won. So a new champion would be crowned. With Newell’s winning their first league title in the Apertura, this would be the first time that two consecutive titles would be won by first-time champions since the literal first two seasons in 1991 and 1992. I doubt this is a full changing of the guard in Argentina, but getting more depth of quality will certainly help the league.

Leg 1: Racing Club 1-0 Belgrano
Full Match

As is prone for finals, this first leg was defined more by hesitant attacking and aggressive tackling than it was open, flowing football. Racing Club did force a good save from Agustina Sanchez in the opening minute after a turnover.

Although the match was largely bogged down in second gear, Racing Club were able to take the lead early in the second half on a goal from Rocio Bueno. It’s a funny goal because it has pretty buildup, but it kinda feels like an ugly goal? I don’t know, and Racing Club don’t care. They had the 1-0 lead.

Belgrano were never really able to threaten the Racing Club net, and the first leg finished 1-0 for Racing Club.

Scrap of the Match: If you’ll recall the bloodbath that was the Paraguay v Uruguay World Cup Qualifier, you’ll note that the starting keepers in that international match were Alicia Bobadilla for Paraguay and Agustina Sanchez for Uruguay. They also happen to be the starting keepers for Racing Club and Belgrano, respectively. So, perhaps this match was destined to be more on the physical side. Destiny or no, it certainly didn’t disappoint, as the ref handed out 9 yellows (and a red for someone on the Racing bench). Two of the yellows came from this encounter between Adriana Sachs for Racing Club and Mayra Acevedo for Belgrano.

Leg 2: Belgrano 2-0 Racing Club
Full Match

Belgrano came into this second leg needing to overturn their one-goal deficit, and they started the match with that in mind. The had multiple shots in the opening 5 minutes including the opening goal, as Lourdes Rodriguez finds Mayra Acevedo to give Belgrano the 1-0 lead on the night and to even the score in the two-legged tie. Acevedo makes a good run between the defenders and does well to use her body to direct the ball into the net. The best angle is probably on the Belgrano Instagram account. After taking the lead, Belgrano continued to get forward and attack. Their second would come in the 30’. A freekick was not fully cleared, and Belgrano was able to recycle possession wide left. Again, Rodriguez found herself on the end line, centering a pass that eventually fell to Julieta Paz to easily finish. Just like that, Belgrano turned the tie around with a 2-0 lead on the night.

Despite the turnaround in fortunes, Racing Club never really got into the match. Belgrano maintained their control of the match through the second half. This got easier in the 68’ when Milagros Otazu saw red. I believe it was a second yellow, but the video only showed the red, so it may have been a straight red. Belgrano would hold onto their 2 goal lead, and Las Piratas would take home their first league title.

Scrap of the Match: Definitely have to focus in on Milagros Otazu’s ongoing conflict with the shins of Belgrano players that eventually got her sent off in the second half.

Post Script: Newell’s Old Boys and Belgrano face off on December 21st to determine who, from Argentina, will qualify for the 2026 Copa Libertadores. The match can be watched live on YouTube.

(Red Card Count: 5)

Leg 1: Alianza Lima 0-0 Universitario
Leg 2: Universitario 0-2 Alianza Lima (Match Highlights)

After a scoreless first leg, the two sides moved to the Estadio Monumental to determine the winner of the Apertura and participant in the 2025 Copa Libertadores. Universitario had a great chance to take an early lead but put an open-net sitter wide. Alianza would win a penalty in the first half to take the lead. Universitario would fail to fight back, and Alianza found a second goal to ensure the win.

Alianza lifted the Apertura trophy and took part in this year’s Copa Libertadores.

Leg 1: Universitario 0-0 Alianza Lima
Leg 2: Alianza Lima 1-1 Unversitario (2-4 on penalties) (Full Match)

The Clausura mirrored the Apertura in many ways. The opening match ended in a goalless draw. The home team, in this case Alianza, should have taken the lead but failed to score on a penalty with a shockingly wide miss. Universitario would open the scoring in the 78’ minute with a lovely counter, but Alianza would equalize in the 7th minute of 7 minutes of second half stoppage time on a line drive cross that was expertly headed into the net. That left a penalty shootout to determine the winner. Camila Rodriguez would make two saves to help Universitario to the Clausura title.

This means Universitario qualify for the 2026 Copa Libertadores.

Scrap of the Match: Technically, this isn’t a scrap, but the disrespect from Maryory Sanchez when she throws the ball away from Catalina Usme to start the shootout certainly gave me a chuckle.

Alianza Lima 3-1 Universitario (Full Match)
Universitario 2-2 Alianza Lima (Full Match)

With different champions of the Apertura and Clausura, the season champions were to be determined by one more two-legged tie between Alianza Lima and Universitario. However, unlike the earlier battles, this one was settled fairly early.

In the first leg, Alianza had the better of play and scored two goals in the first half to get a strong lead. Universitario got one back early in the second half from the penalty spot and had more of the play in the second half, but Alianza would hold out and score a third goal late to take a strong advantage into the second leg.

In the second leg, Alianza would get on the scoresheet first under pretty controversial circumstances. A long ball over the top found Yomira Tacilla, who touched the ball before stepping on the Universitario keeper. The keeper was clearly in pain, but the ref did not blow the whistle. Tacilla retrieved the ball and scored. By letter of the law, it was a fair goal, but it never should have happened. This put Alianza three goals up in the tie.

Minutes later, an Alianza player bumped an Universitario player well after she’d passed the ball, but the ref only called a foul. With the earlier no-call, Universitario’s bench got understandably upset, and this resulted in their head coach, Andres Usme (brother of Catalina Usme), receiving a red card.

As Andres Usme exits the field, it seems to draw attention to fans sitting in a little stand. The match is being played at what looks like a training facility for Universitario. There’s a lengthy argument between the ref and the Universitario players. Play has absolutely stopped. Now some guy that looks like a league official is walking on the pitch. And there are bouncers…and police? (Sorry, this is basically me typing as I’m watching.)

Ok, from what I can gather, there were concerns from Alianza about the match being played at this location because of recent incidents. There was an agreement to have no fans at the match. However, there were small contingent of Universitario fans that got in. These aren’t ultras or anything. But when it was made clear they were there, probably from getting mouthy from the calls, the ref decided to enforce the rules. So security was brought in to remove the fans and block future entry. The fans exited calmly, so there was no real incident, but it was very bizarre.

Play restarted and in the 45’ Catalina Usme scored another penalty on a… well… questionable foul. Although it brought them even in the match, Universitario were still down two goals in the tie. The match remained a contested affair until the end. Both teams would score late, with Universtario getting the stoppage-time equalizer before the final whistle. Alianza’s 3-1 win in the first leg carried the tie and made the club the 2025 champions of Peru.

Scrap of the Tie: For all the bizarreness in the second leg, the scrap of the match happened in leg 1. It was a bit surreal to experience in broadcast order. It starts with Sandy Dorador on the ground, holding her face and Fabiola Herrera walking over to her. The ref approaches and shows them both a red card. This gets Dorador to immediately sit up and proclaim her innocence before falling back to the ground and rolling around while holding her face. Then we cut to a shot of the incident. We see Dorador approach Herrera then turn. Herrera gets close and seems to lift her arm toward Dorador’s face, but there doesn’t seem to be any aggressive movement. Dorador, clearly agitated, turns and slaps Herrera’s hand away then falls to the ground clutching her face. The replay is from a distance, so it is hard to tell if Herrera does anything serious, but we can later see that Dorador is bleeding from her lower lip. Of course, she has braces, so the bleeding could have been caused more by the braces than anything Herrera did. We can only watch the drama and wonder.

(Red Card Count: 8)

Independiente del Valle were the powerhouse of the league in 2025. They finished the season a perfect 22-0-0 with 70 goals for and only 7 conceded. They also won both of their semifinal legs without conceding.

Their closest rivals were Liga de Quito, who finished 14 points behind Las Dragonas but scored 75 goals; 29 of which were scored by golden boot winner Cecil Aldana (who signed with Independiente del Valle in the offseason).

Leg 1: Independiente del Valle 2-0 Liga de Quito
Full Match

Liga de Quito began the match without fear, matching Independiente del Valle, including putting multiple shots on target. Even through the first half hour, Las Dragonas would break the tie in the 30’ on a goal from Guerra who fought to win a deep throw in and put it into the far corner. The sides would continue an even match. Looking at an acceptable road result, Liga de Quito would concede an own goal in second half stoppage time when Lomas would mis-head her clearance into her own net.

There were a lot of positives Liga de Quito could take from the match, but the two-goal deficit was a very large hill to climb in the second leg.

Leg 2: Liga de Quito 1-1 Independiente del Valle
Full Match

The second leg had all the drama early. Liga de Quito got on the attack quickly and had the lead in the 6’ on a goal from Rosa Flores. Then, before the match could restart, VAR called the ref for a possible red card for violent conduct by Independiente del Valle keeper, Mendoza, for hitting Cecil Aldana in the face. The ref agreed, and suddenly Las Dragonas were down a goal and a player. Independiente del Valle got their backup keeper subbed into the match, and 8 minutes after the goal, we finally kicked off.

Literally two minutes later, Liga de Quito would have poor Lomas sent off for DOGSO on what was an atrocious call. The Dragonas player (in red/black in highlight) clearly initiates contact. If there was a foul, it was Lomas that got fouled. I’m not sure why VAR didn’t, at least, recommend a review, but the ref’ing crew held their ground. Independiente del Valle would score on the ensuing free kick, which Suarez touched onto the crossbar but Riveros was first to the rebound to even the score at 1-1.

Let’s just say the rest of the match was not nearly as eventful as the opening 25 minutes, and it ended 1-1. Liga de Quito would end Independiente del Valle’s perfect season with the draw, though they remained undefeated. And this would be little consolation for the injustice of the horrible refereeing decision.

Independiente del Valle lifted their second consecutive league title.

(Red Card Count: 10)

Paraguay’s league is a standard, round-robin season without a playoff tournament at the end. The 2025 season was won by Club Libertad. They finished the season even on points with Club Olimpia, but the head-to-head for the two teams favored Libertad thanks to this late winner from Natalia Villasanti

Libertad would lift their second consecutive league title and third overall.

After the season, the Copa Paraguay was held. This time, Olimpia would get their revenge, eliminating Libertad in the semifinals. Olimpia would face Guarani in the final.

Guaraní 0-2 Club Olimpia (Match Highlights)

Olimpia would take the lead early in the second half with and insanely clean strike from distance by Griselda Garay. Garay would put another rocket on target that was saved by the Guarani keeper into the crossbar. Claudia Martinez would put the match to bed late in the second half cleaning up a poor punch from Guarani’s keeper.

This was the second edition of the Copa Paraguay, and Olimpia’s first win.

To close out the season, Libertad and Olimpia met one last time in the Supercopa, which pits the league and cup champions against each other.

Libertad 1-1 Olimpia (2-4 on penalties) (Match Highlights)

Olimpia would jump out to an early lead on a 5’ goal from Claudia Martinez. Both sides would hit the post, and Olimpia would have a goal correctly disallowed for an offside. In the 78’, Libertad would equalize from the penalty spot after a handball in the box.

The match ended tied in regulation, so it went to penalties. Both keepers would make saves, but Gloria Saleb would make two saves to win Olimpia their first Supercopa title as well.

Trophy time.

(Red Card Count: 10)

Leg 1: Club Always Ready 2-1 Astor FC (Highlights from Always Ready)
Leg 2: Astor FC 2-2 Club Always Ready (Full Match)

I’ve been unable to find proper highlights of the first leg, but the Club Always Ready Facebook pages posted a highlight reel. It has the two goals scored by Always Ready but not the one scored by Astor.

In the second leg, Astor were able to get on the scoresheet first, but by the end of the first half, Always Ready had turned the match around by taking a 2-1 lead. Astor would find a second goal in the second half, but they couldn’t find the final goal needed to level the tie.

The title was the fourth for Club Always Ready, all of which have been won consecutively over the last four seasons.

(Red Card Count: 10)

Venezuela’s top flight brought together two teams that have been among the stronger sides since the league’s relaunch in 2022. Deportivo Tachira have been the strongest performer in the league phase, but they were eliminate by their finals opponents in each of the previous two seasons.

Academia Integral de Futbol Femenino (ADIFFEM) were formed in 2021 when clubs were beginning to reconnect with the easing of COVID restrictions, but only for boys teams. A father connected with a local player in Caracas and formed ADIFFEM as a larger project with the immediate goal of providing training for girls as well. A top-flight team was created as part of the organization, and they’ve been a force in Venezuela, advancing to the knockout rounds every season of their existence, including reaching the final in 2023 and winning the final in 2024. As noted above, in 2023 and 2024, ADIFFEM eliminated Tachira on their way to the final.

Leg 1: ADIFFEM 1-1 Deportivo Tachira (Match Highlights)

The first leg opened with an even battle between both teams, and Tachira took the lead in the 20’ minute from a powerful header from Leydi Urbina, and they would see that lead into the second half. But ADIFFEM would find their headed goal early in the second half, put in by Barbara Sandoval off a corner. The first would end 1-1, a good result on the road for Tachira.

Leg 2: Deportivo Tachira 0-3 ADIFFEM (Full Match / Match Highlights)

The second leg would not go as well for Tachira. ADIFFEM controled the match throughout. It would take them until the second half to score, but with goals in the 50th and 53rd minutes, ADIFFEM were well on there way to victory. The first goal came from a great counter after a turnover that Melanie Chirinos tucked away for the lead. The second came from a free kick that fell for Barbara Sandoval to hammer home. ADIFFEM would add a third in stoppage time to close out the match.

The win marked ADIFFEM’s second consecutive title. Three finals and two titles in four years of existence is not a bad haul.

(Red Card Count: 10)

In the end, the South American finals could only muster 10 reds in their 21 matches, so Oriana Cristancho, at 16 years old, takes the win.

Silliness aside, South American football has long carried a reputation of being this phenomenal mix of ridiculous and sublime, and source of that reputation is just as easily seen in the women’s game as it is in the men’s game. I won’t lie, I considered making this newsletter simply about South American WoSo, because I love watching it so much, but I was drawn to the soccer because of the way it serves as a window into the world, and I’d be remiss to deprive myself of exploring other regions.

I don’t plan to have a post next week because of the holidays, but I will be back the week after. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!