Santa Fe hosts Vasco in Copa Sudamericana quarterfinals without Brazilian club's top scorer

Almost 30 years ago in Bogota, the lights went out in the middle of a penalty shootout between Santa Fe and Vasco da Gama. The blackout added to the drama of that 1996 Copa CONMEBOL semifinal, which the Bogota club ended up winning. Three decades later, the two sides meet again, this time in the quarterfinals of the Copa Sudamericana, and the stakes carry a similar sense of urgency, even if for very different reasons.

The first leg is set for Tuesday, September 8 at El Campin stadium, at 5:00 p.m. Colombia time (7:00 p.m. in Argentina, Uruguay and Chile). Santa Fe hosts the match unbeaten in its last six outings in Colombian soccer, sitting seventh in the league table. Vasco, on the other hand, arrives in Bogota with its mind elsewhere: fighting to avoid relegation in the Brasileirao.

The Rio de Janeiro club's domestic situation is pressing. With 12 rounds left, Vasco sits 17th with 25 points, in the direct relegation zone. The team has won just one of its last five matches and comes off a 1-0 loss to Fluminense at the Maracana. Coach Pedro Emanuel makes no secret of it: the domestic league is the priority.

Right now our attention is on the Brasileirao, the league. I'm weighing some ideas about what I plan to do, but I won't dodge this topic, because our next match against Gremio is extremely important for us.Pedro Emanuel

That priority translates into notable absences for the match against Santa Fe. Of the four Colombians on Vasco's roster, only two will make the trip: midfielder Johan Rojas and forward Marino Hinestroza, both usually substitutes. Defender Carlos Cuesta and winger Andres Gomez will stay behind in Rio de Janeiro. Also missing will be Adson, the most decisive scorer and playmaker the team has had in this Sudamericana campaign, with four goals and three assists.

Adson, like many others, with only two days between matches, travel and everything else, wasn't at one hundred percent, but nobody is right now. Neither am I, so the players aren't either. We know it, we're trying to manage it.Pedro Emanuel

On the Bogota side, Pablo Repetto is well aware he's facing a team with real pedigree in this competition, regardless of its poor form in Brazil. Vasco reached this stage by eliminating Olimpia with a 0-0 draw at home and a 4-1 rout in Paraguay, so nobody in Bogota is taking anything for granted.

We have another series against Vasco. They'll be favorites again too, not quite like it would be against River, but we're confident we can do it and we're going to fight, we're going to fight.Pablo Repetto

At Santa Fe, some names are riding a hot streak. Uruguayan forward Franco Fagundez has scored in four straight matches wearing the red shirt, netting against River, Junior, Millonarios and Fortaleza. In midfield, Santiago Sosa, who joined the club this year, has established himself as one of the squad's most consistent performers.

The home side arrives with morale dented after a 2-2 draw with Fortaleza, a result that denied it a late win, though it still secured a spot among the top eight in the Colombian league in a group with several teams separated by the same points.

With Vasco short on options and Santa Fe needing to rediscover its scoring touch, the Bogota club has a real chance to build an advantage in the first leg before the return match in Rio de Janeiro.