After missing the first leg due to suspension, the in demand attacker will be back in the team for the second leg of his side’s Copa Libertadores final showdown against Olimpia in three days’ time.
The Paraguayan side took an unexpected two goal lead in the first leg in Asunción, with the impressive right-back Alejandro Silva and midfielder Wilson Pittoni providing the goals, but the second leg at the Mineirão in Belo Horizonte will give Atlético a chance to turn things around on home soil.
The return of Bernard should give the side more dynamism in attack, and could help Ronaldinho return to form after the indifferent performance he gave in the first leg. But it’s the pace of Bernard on the counter-attack which Galo missed, as this meant that the hosts weren’t scared to attack the Brazilians when the time was right.
Bernard provides his team with an incisive weapon on either flank, and can also pose threat in behind the defence if he drifts into the middle, playing off the shoulder of former Manchester City and CSKA Moscow centre forward Jô.
Ronaldinho’s through balls tend to look more effective when there’s someone like Bernard buzzing around in front of him, and even if the latest Brazilian sensation isn’t in the goalscoring mood, he always has the ability to set up his team-mates.
If this is to be Bernard’s last game for his hometown club then he definitely won’t want to leave on the losing side, and despite his importance to the team, others in the side will need to step up to the mark if they are to make up the deficit.
A place in the highly coveted Club World Cup is an added reward for the winners, and the prospect of playing in this competition later in the year may be the only way Atlético Mineiro can persuade Bernard to stay at the club beyond this week’s Libertadores final.
The European vultures are circling as they often do when talent emerges in Brazil, and there are reports surfacing every day that one of Porto, Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham, or Liverpool are favourites to sign Bernard. And, of course, if a Brazilian player is available you can never rule out Shakhtar Donetsk – the Ukraine’s very own Brazilian side!
The second leg of the Copa Libertadores final kicks off in the early hours of Thursday morning at 01:50 BST.
Keep an eye out for a new regular column from James, and in the meantime follow him on Twitter (@JDNalton) and visit his personal blog the Botafogo Star.
