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On the pitch, last week was a splendid one for Brazilian football.

meant that Brazil did not have a single team eliminated in the group phase - while Argentina lost three.

The Brazilian sides also managed to avoid each other in the second round, creating the possibility of the competition's last eight featuring five teams from the same country.

Off the field, though, the picture is not so impressive, with planning for the giving cause for concern.

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The time has arrived in South America when fans all over the continent will need a calculator in one hand and the phone number of a cardiologist in the other.

This is the last week of the group phase of the , the continent's equivalent of the Champions League. Of the eight groups, four have been completed, while the rest have their last round coming up on either Tuesday or Wednesday.

The action has been tight and competitive. Of the 32 teams, only two are still unbeaten. Of the 16 places available in the knockout phase, nine have been taken. Thirteen teams are chasing the remaining places - with varying degrees of desperation.

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, who joins the club next year when he turns 18?

Sao Paulo are certainly happy. The deal enables them to sell a player who has yet to appear in their first team, - he scored 118 goals in 160 appearances for Sao Paulo between 2001 and 2004 - and still have some money left over.

Whether Chelsea can feel as pleased with themselves, only time will tell.

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The countdown is on towards the , this year's top senior international competition. Over the next couple of months, though, the focus will be firmly on club football, with the closing stages of domestic championships, the and the Libertadores.

In the wake of the two recent Fifa dates, this would seem to be the appropriate moment to look back at the recent international friendlies and reflect on how South America's teams are preparing for the Copa.

Preparation is the key word, because the way the Copa now fits in the calendar turns it into a warm-up tournament. South America plays a three-year cycle of World Cup qualifiers and the Copa comes just before the wheel starts turning.

National teams all over the continent are stressing that their main priority in this year's Copa is to emerge from it with a team ready to fight for a place in the next .

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