Caracas eliminate River Plate in Libertadores Cup
By Brian Homewood
RIO DE JANEIRO, April 6 (Reuters) - Caracas FC beat former Libertadores Cup champions River Plate 3-1 to dump the Argentines out of the competition despite having had four players suspended on the eve of the match.
The Venezuelans, forced to play away from their own stadium under a controversial ruling, qualified from Group Six at River's expense after beating them for the second time in Thursday's late game in the Colombian border town of Cucuta.
Caracas's 1-0 win at River Plate last month was the first by a Venezuelan side in Argentina in the competition's 47-year history.
River's elimination is almost certain to lead to speculation about the future of coach Daniel Passarella, who captained Argentina's World Cup-winning team in 1978 and was their coach in France 20 years later.
