Cienciano heads to Rio with 6-1 cushion over Botafogo to close out Sudamericana round of 16

Some results read twice because they're hard to believe. Cienciano's 6-1 win over Botafogo in Cusco is one of those. Now, carrying that lead with them, "Papa" travels to Rio de Janeiro to close out the Copa Sudamericana round of 16 series with a mission that's simple to explain and much harder to pull off: don't lose by a landslide.

The second leg is set for this Thursday, August 20 at Estadio Nilton Santos, kicking off at 7:30 PM in Peru, Colombia and Ecuador (8:30 PM in Chile, 9:30 PM in Argentina and Uruguay). Botafogo needs the kind of comeback that gets remembered for years; Cienciano just needs to manage a lead that seemed unthinkable a month ago.

That first leg wasn't a close result that got padded late. It was a demolition with names attached: Matias Succar scored a hat trick, Neri Bandiera added two goals, and Marcos Martinich rounded out the scoring. Six goals against a Brazilian club in international competition is something no South American team had ever managed before, and that gives the result a weight that goes beyond the standings in this particular matchup.

How both teams arrive

Botafogo never quite shook off the blow. After Cusco, they fell 1-0 to Vitoria in the Brasileirao, with coach Franclim Carvalho sticking with most of the starters who suffered through the rout. The absence of Arthur Cabral, the team's top scorer with two goals this season, was felt in the first leg, and his return to the starting lineup is one of the factors that could change the look of the Rio attack. Also looming as a threat is Danilo Santos making runs into the box, one of the pieces Fogao will lean on to try to dictate terms from the opening whistle.

Cienciano, meanwhile, arrives with its focus split between two fronts. On the domestic front, things haven't been going well: the club sits third from last in the Clausura with just 4 points, seven off the lead, and over the weekend drew 0-0 with Deportivo Garcilaso in the Cusco derby while playing with ten men from the 68th minute after Succar, the very man who scored the hat trick in the Sudamericana, was sent off. That suspension costs him the start in Rio, though it opens the door for Carlos Garces, who has served his own suspension and is available again. Up front, Cienciano can also call on Alejandro Hohberg and Cristian Souza, two players capable of giving further trouble to a Brazilian defense that's still reeling.

The tie is all but settled on paper, but soccer has a way of reminding everyone that nothing is final until the whistle blows. Botafogo needs the kind of epic comeback people talk about for years; Cienciano just needs to hold onto what it built in Cusco to reach the Sudamericana quarterfinals.