Copa Libertadores

Copa Libertadores
Founded	1948 (precursor as the South American Club Championship); 1960 (current formation)
Region	South America (CONMEBOL)
Number of teams	32 (Group stage); 38 (Total)
Current champion(s)	LDU Quito
Most successful club	Independiente (7 times)
Website	Copa Libertadores
	Copa Libertadores 2009

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The Copa Libertadores de América, (currently sponsored by Spanish bank Banco Santander), is an annual football cup competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the most pretigious club trophy in South American football. Despite being a South American competition, Mexican teams have been invited since 1998. The name of the tournament is an homage to the Libertadores (Portuguese and Spanish words for Liberators), the main leaders of the independence wars of Latin America.

The competition has had several different formats since its inception. Initially, only the champions of South America participated. In 1966, the runner-ups of South American began to compete and today at least 3 clubs per country compete in the tournament while Argentina and Brazil each have 5 clubs qualify. Traditionally, a group stage has always been used but the amount of teams per group has varied several times.

The tournament consists of three key stages. In the present format it begins in early-February with one knockout qualifying round known as the first stage. The 6 surviving teams join 26 teams in the second stage, in which there are eight groups consisting of four teams each. The eight group winners and eight runners-up enter the final knockout stage, which ends with the finals in June.

The current champion is Ecuadorian club LDU Quito, while Argentine club Independiente is the most successful club in the cup history, having won the tournament 7 times. The cup has been won by 22 different clubs and won consecutively by 6 clubs, the last to have been Boca Juniors in 2001.

[edit] History

Main article: History of the Copa Libertadores

Estudiantes winning Copa Libertadores in 1969

Copa Toyota Libertadores Logo 1998-2007

Twelve years before the first official Copa Libertadores, an international club competition was set up containing representatives (often the league champion) from seven different South American countries. This was the South American Club Championship 1948, played in a league format in Santiago, Chile, and won by Vasco da Gama. It has been recognised as the precursor to the Copa Libertadores by CONMEBOL.

The first official Copa Libertadores was finally held in 1960 and won by Peñarol of Uruguay. As of 2008, 22 different teams have won the cup, within which, the Argentinian side Independiente, seven time champion, including four consecutive titles between 1972 and 1975, are currently the most successful club in the cup history. Another Argentine side Estudiantes de La Plata became the first club to win the Cup for three consecutive years between 1968 and 1970. Since then, only Independiente has achieved this feat, winning four titles between 1972 and 1975. Estudiantes and Independiente are also the teams that played the most consecutive finals, four.

Over the years the competition has kept alive a healthy sporting rivalry between the competing countries, especially between Brazil and Argentina, Argentina and Uruguay, Uruguay and Brazil, Colombia and Argentina, Peru and Chile. Episodes of violence are not rare and the pressure on the players on the field is tremendous.

From 1998 to 2007, the Copa Libertadores was sponsored by Toyota Motor Corporation, which is why the name during this period was Copa Toyota Libertadores.

[edit] Format

[edit] Qualifying

Replica of the Copa Libertadores obtained by Colo-Colo

As of 2009, most teams qualify to the Copa Libertadores by winning half-year tournaments called Apertura and Clausura tournaments or by finishing among the top teams in their championship. The countries that use this format are Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay and Venezuela. Peru and Ecuador have developed new formats for qualification to the Copa Libertadores involving several stages. Brazil is the only South American league to use a European league format instead of the Apertura and Clausura format. However, one berth for the Copa Libertadores can be won by winning the league cup in Brazil. Uruguay and Mexico also employ a second tournament that qualifies for the Libertadores ("Liguilla Pre-Libertadores" since 1974 and InterLiga since 2004 respectively).

The 2009 edition has the competitors distributed as follows:

The previous year's champion
5 from Argentina and Brazil, respectively
3 from Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela each
3 invitees from Mexico

[edit] Stages

The Cup has a qualifying round known as the first stage in which a number of clubs, currently 12, are paired in a series of two-legged knockout ties. The six survivors join 26 clubs in the second stage, in which they are divided into groups of four. The groups play in a league system, with each team playing home and away games against each team in their group. The top two teams from each group are then drawn into the knockout stage, which consists of two-legged knockout ties. From that point, the competition proceeds with two-legged knockout ties to quarterfinals, semifinals, and the finals. Between 1960 and 1987 the previous winners did not enter the competition until the semi-final stage (which was 2 groups of 3 teams each one), making it much easier to retain the cup.

[edit] Rules

Note that unlike European club competitions, the Copa Libertadores historically did not use extra time or away goals to decide a tie that was level on aggregate. From 1960 to 1987, two-legged ties were decided on points (teams would be awarded 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss), without taking goal difference into consideration. If both teams were level on points after two legs, a third match would be played at a neutral site. Goal difference would only come into play if the third match was drawn. If the third match did not produce an immediate winner a penalty shootout was used to determine a winner.

From 1988 through 2004, ties were decided on aggregate goals, with an immediate penalty shootout if the tie was level on aggregate after full time of the second leg. Starting with the 2005 event, CONMEBOL began to use the away goals rule. The exception is in the finals, where the away goals rule is not used and extra time is played if the tie is level.

[edit] Tournament results

Main article: List of Copa Libertadores winners

Season	Winner	Score	Runner-up
1960 Details	Peñarol	1 - 0 (H) / 1 - 1 (A) Points: 3 - 1	Olimpia
1961 Details	Peñarol	1 - 0 (H) / 1 - 1 (A) Points: 3 - 1	Palmeiras
1962 Details	Santos	2 - 1 (A) / 2 - 3 (H) Points: 2 - 2 Play-off: 3 - 0 (N)	Peñarol
1963 Details	Santos	3 - 2 (H) / 2 - 1 (A) Points: 4 - 0	Boca Juniors
1964 Details	Independiente	0 - 0 (A) / 1 - 0 (H) Points: 3 - 1	Nacional
1965 Details	Independiente	1 - 0 (H) / 1 - 3 (A) Points: 2 - 2 Play-off: 4 - 1 (N)	Peñarol
1966 Details	Peñarol	2 - 0 (H) / 2 - 3 (A) Points: 2 - 2 Play-off: 4 - 2 (N) a.e.t.	River Plate
1967 Details	Racing Club	0 - 0 (H) / 0 - 0 (A) Points: 2 - 2 Play-off: 2 - 1 (N)	Nacional
1968 Details	Estudiantes L.P.	2 - 1 (H) / 1 - 3 (A) Points: 2 - 2 Play-off: 2 - 0 (N)	Palmeiras
1969 Details	Estudiantes L.P.	1 - 0 (A) / 2 - 0 (H) Points: 4 - 0	Nacional
1970 Details	Estudiantes L.P.	1 - 0 (H) / 0 - 0 (A) Points: 3 - 1	Peñarol
1971 Details	Nacional	0 - 1 (A) / 1 - 0 (H) Points: 2 - 2 Play-off: 2 - 0 (N)	Estudiantes L.P.
1972 Details	Independiente	0 - 0 (A) / 2 - 1 (H) Points: 3 - 1	Universitario
1973 Details	Independiente	1 - 1 (H) / 0 - 0 (A) Points: 2 - 2 Play-off: 2 - 1 (N) a.e.t.	Colo-Colo
1974 Details	Independiente	1 - 2 (A) / 2 - 0 (H) Points: 2 - 2 Play-off: 1 - 0 (N)	São Paulo
1975 Details	Independiente	0 - 1 (A) / 3 - 1 (H) Points: 2 - 2 Play-off: 2 - 0 (N)	Unión Española
1976 Details	Cruzeiro	4 - 1 (H) / 1 - 2 (A) Points: 2 - 2 Play-off: 3 - 2 (N)	River Plate
1977 Details	Boca Juniors	1 - 0 (H) / 0 - 1 (A) Points: 2 - 2 Play-off: 0 - 0 (N) a.e.t. (5-4 p.k.)	Cruzeiro
1978 Details	Boca Juniors	0 - 0 (A) / 4 - 0 (H) Points: 3 - 1	Deportivo Cali
1979 Details	Olimpia	2 - 0 (H) / 0 - 0 (A) Points: 3 - 1	Boca Juniors
1980 Details	Nacional	0 - 0 (A) / 1 - 0 (H) Points: 3 - 1	Internacional
1981 Details	Flamengo	2 - 1 (H) / 0 - 1 (A) Points: 2 - 2 Play-off: 2 - 0 (N)	Cobreloa
1982 Details	Peñarol	0 - 0 (H) / 1 - 0 (A) Points: 3 - 1	Cobreloa
1983 Details	Grêmio	1 - 1 (A) / 2 - 1 (H) Points: 3 - 1	Peñarol
1984 Details	Independiente	1 - 0 (A) / 0 - 0 (H) Points: 3 - 1	Grêmio
1985 Details	Argentinos Juniors	1 - 0 (H) / 0 - 1 (A) Points: 2 - 2 Play-off: 1 - 1 (N) a.e.t. (5-4 p.k.)	América de Cali
1986 Details	River Plate	2 - 1 (A) / 1 - 0 (H) Points: 4 - 0	América de Cali
1987 Details	Peñarol	0 - 2 (A) / 2 - 1 (H) Points: 2 - 2 Play-off: 1 - 0 (N) a.e.t.	América de Cali
1988 Details	Nacional	0 - 1 (A) / 3 - 0 a.e.t. (H) Aggregate: 3-1	Newell's Old Boys
1989 Details	Atlético Nacional	0 - 2 (A) / 2 - 0 (H) Aggregate: 2 - 2 (5-4 p.k.)	Olimpia
1990 Details	Olimpia	2 - 0 (H) / 1 - 1 (A) Aggregate: 3 - 1	Barcelona
1991 Details	Colo-Colo	0 - 0 (A) / 3 - 0 (H) Aggregate: 3 - 0	Olimpia
1992 Details	São Paulo	0 - 1 (A) / 1 - 0 (H) Aggregate: 1 - 1 (3-2 p.k.)	Newell's Old Boys
1993 Details	São Paulo	5 - 1 (H) / 0 - 2 (A) Aggregate: 5 - 3	Universidad Católica
1994 Details	Vélez Sársfield	1 - 0 (H) / 0 - 1 (A) Aggregate: 1 - 1 (5-3 p.k.)	São Paulo
1995 Details	Grêmio	3 - 1 (H) / 1 - 1 (A) Aggregate: 4 - 2	Atlético Nacional
1996 Details	River Plate	0 - 1 (A) / 2 - 0 (H) Aggregate: 2 - 1	América de Cali
1997 Details	Cruzeiro	0 - 0 (A) / 1 - 0 (H) Aggregate: 1 - 0	Sporting Cristal
1998 Details	Vasco da Gama	2 - 0 (H) / 2 - 1 (A) Aggregate: 4 - 1	Barcelona
1999 Details	Palmeiras	0 - 1 (A) / 2 - 1 (H) Aggregate: 2 - 2 (4-3 p.k.)	Deportivo Cali
2000 Details	Boca Juniors	2 - 2 (H) / 0 - 0 (A) Aggregate: 2 - 2 (4-2 p.k.)	Palmeiras
2001 Details	Boca Juniors	1 - 0 (A) / 0 - 1 (H) Aggregate: 1 - 1 (3-1 p.k.)	Cruz Azul
2002 Details	Olimpia	0 - 1 (H) / 2 - 1 (A) Aggregate: 2 - 2 (4-2 p.k.)	São Caetano
2003 Details	Boca Juniors	2 - 0 (H) / 3 - 1 (A) Aggregate: 5 - 1	Santos
2004 Details	Once Caldas	0 - 0 (A) / 1 - 1 (H) Aggregate: 1 - 1 (2-0 p.k.)	Boca Juniors
2005 Details	São Paulo	1 - 1 (A) / 4 - 0 (H) Aggregate: 5 - 1	Atlético Paranaense
2006 Details	Internacional	2 - 1 (A) / 2 - 2 (H) Aggregate: 4 - 3	São Paulo
2007 Details	Boca Juniors	3 - 0 (H) / 2 - 0 (A) Aggregate: 5 - 0	Grêmio
2008 Details	LDU Quito	4 - 2 (H) / 1 - 3 a.e.t. (A) Aggregate: 5 - 5 (3-1 p.k.)	Fluminense
2009 Details

will be played by Estudiantes and Cruzeiro

Note: From 1960 to 1987, the winner of the finals was determined by points (2 for a win, 1 for a draw); whoever had the most points won the finals. If points were tied after two games, a playoff was played to determine the champions.

Key:
- (H) - Home match for the winner.
- (A) - Away match for the winner.
- (N) - Match at neutral venue.
- a.e.t. - Match decided after extra time.
- p.k. - Match decided by penalty kicks.

[edit] Statistics

[edit] By club

Team	Winner	Runner-up	Years won	Years runner-up
Independiente	7	0	1964, 1965, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1984
Boca Juniors	6	3	1977, 1978, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007	1963, 1979, 2004
Peñarol	5	4	1960, 1961, 1966, 1982, 1987	1962, 1965, 1970, 1983
São Paulo	3	3	1992, 1993, 2005	1974, 1994, 2006
Nacional	3	3	1971, 1980, 1988	1964, 1967, 1969
Olimpia	3	3	1979, 1990, 2002	1960, 1989, 1991
Estudiantes de La Plata	3	1	1968, 1969, 1970	1971
Grêmio	2	2	1983, 1995	1984, 2007
River Plate	2	2	1986, 1996	1966, 1976
Santos	2	1	1962, 1963	2003
Cruzeiro	2	1	1976, 1997	1977
Palmeiras	1	3	1999	1961, 1968, 2000
Atlético Nacional	1	1	1989	1995
Colo-Colo	1	1	1991	1973
Internacional	1	1	2006	1980
Racing Club	1	0	1967
Flamengo	1	0	1981
Argentinos Juniors	1	0	1985
Vélez Sársfield	1	0	1994
Vasco da Gama	1	0	1998
Once Caldas	1	0	2004
LDU Quito	1	0	2008
América de Cali	0	4		1985, 1986, 1987, 1996
Deportivo Cali	0	2		1978, 1999
Cobreloa	0	2		1981, 1982
Newell's Old Boys	0	2		1988, 1992
Barcelona	0	2		1990, 1998
Universitario	0	1		1972
Unión Española	0	1		1975
Universidad Católica	0	1		1993
Sporting Cristal	0	1		1997
Cruz Azul	0	1		2001
São Caetano	0	1		2002
Atlético Paranaense	0	1		2005
Fluminense	0	1		2008

[edit] By nation

Nation	Winners	Runners-Up	Winning Clubs	Runners-Up
Argentina	21	8	Independiente (7), Boca Juniors (6), Estudiantes L.P. (3), River Plate (2), Racing Club (1), Argentinos Juniors (1), Vélez Sársfield (1)	Boca Juniors (3), River Plate (2), Newell's Old Boys (2), Estudiantes L.P. (1)
Brazil	13	14	São Paulo (3), Grêmio (2), Cruzeiro (2), Santos (2), Palmeiras (1), Internacional (1), Flamengo (1), Vasco de Gama (1)	São Paulo (3), Palmeiras (3), Grêmio (2), Cruzeiro (1), Internacional (1), Santos (1), São Caetano (1), Atlético Paranaense (1), Fluminense (1)
Uruguay	8	7	Peñarol (5), Nacional (3)	Peñarol (4), Nacional (3)
Paraguay	3	3	Olimpia (3)	Olimpia (3)
Colombia	2	7	Atlético Nacional (1), Once Caldas (1)	América de Cali (4), Deportivo Cali, (2), Atlético Nacional (1)
Chile	1	5	Colo-Colo (1)	Cobreloa (2), Colo-Colo (1), Unión Española (1), Universidad Católica (1)
Ecuador	1	2	LDU Quito (1)	Barcelona (2)
Peru	0	2		Universitario (1), Sporting Cristal (1)
Mexico	0	1		Cruz Azul (1)

[edit] Topscorers

Main article: Copa Libertadores de América Topscorers

The competition all-time goalscorer is still striker Alberto Spencer of Ecuador. He played as a striker for Peñarol during their golden age in the 60s, scoring 48 goals in 70 games, and for Barcelona of Guayaquil, scoring 6 goals in 7 games. In total, he scored 54 goals in the Copa Libertadores. Despite this, he remains a relatively unknown figure outside of South America, thus providing an excellent contrast to George Best, who despite his abilities was relatively little-known outside of the United Kingdom.

Rank	Footballer	Country	Years	Club(s)	Goals
1	Alberto Spencer	Ecuador	1960-70 1971-72	Peñarol (48) Barcelona (6)	54
2	Fernando Morena	Uruguay	1973-86	Peñarol	37
3	Pedro Virgilio Rocha	Uruguay	1963-70 1972-74 1979	Peñarol (25) São Paulo (10) Palmeiras (1)	36
4	Daniel Onega	Argentina	1966-70	River Plate	31
5	Julio Morales	Uruguay	1966-81	Nacional	30