THE Copa Libertadores da America and the more important club competition from soccer gives South America and one of the most prestigious in the world. The tournament is sought after by all South American teams, as it guarantees a place in the FIFA Club World Cup. The Copa Libertadores champion also competes in the Recopa Sudamericana.
Libertadores, as it is popularly known, is organized annually by the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol or CSF) and has the participation of teams from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Teams from Mexico have also participated in past editions.
History of Libertadores
Based on the desire to create a tournament to bring together the champion clubs from each country in South America, the traditional competition had its origins in the CSF Congress, held in the Rio de Janeiro, in 1958. But, before being made official, there was a lot of planning and projects until the final decision was reached.
The matches between teams from different countries began to be held, in South America, in the year of 1900, through Competence Cup, which brought together clubs from Buenos Aires and Rosario, Argentina; and Montevideo, Uruguay.
Rosario Central Team (ARG) in the competition of the Competence Cup in 1913. (Credit: Public Domain)
A few years later, during the months of February and March of 1948, was played to America's Champions Cup, made up of the champion clubs from their countries in the previous year. The idea came from the Chilean Luis Valenzuela, who was president of the Federation of Chile and CSF, and the president of Colo Colo/CHI, Robinson Álvarez, who expressed his decision to organize the event in Santiago.
In 1958, the Brazilian José Ramos de Freitas, the new president of CSF, got in touch with the Associations of Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile, announcing his visit to the countries to discuss future activities with other leaders.
so in 1959, a new congress was held, in Caracas, to strengthen the Chilean idea and deal with the creation of the Champions Cup, which, at the time, already had the support of Argentina and Brazil. Days later, the decision was made. With eight votes in favor and one against (Uruguay), and Venezuela abstaining, the CSF decided to create the Champions Cup, the initial name received by the tournament.
Read too: Beginnings of soccer in Brazil
First Liberators
At first edition, participated the champions of seven countries. The first game was played between Peñarol, from Uruguay, and Jorge Wilstermann, from Bolivia. The Uruguayans won on the scoreboard of 7 to 1. The match took place on April 19, 1960. The champion of the first edition was Peñarol, who secured the title after beating Olímpia, from Paraguay, in the final.
See some details of the first match of the tournament that were remembered by Conmebol, completing 58 years of history:
Libertadores Names
Initially, the competition was treated as the American Champions Cup, but in subsequent years it was decided that the competition would be named the Libertadores da América. The name was chosen in honor of the leaders of the liberation movements of Hispanic America and Brazil, active in the 18th and 19th centuries. Since then, the competition has been adding other names as a result of the insertion of sponsors in the tournament. Check the names received by Libertadores:
1960 to 1964: America's Champions Cup
1965 to 1997: Copa Libertadores da America
1998 to 2007: Toyota Libertadores Cup
2008 to 2012: Copa Santander Libertadores
2013 to 2016: Bridgestone Libertadores Cup
2017: Bridgestone Libertadores Conmebol
From 2018: Libertadores Conmebol
Read too: world Cup
Mexico Participation
Even though it is a South American competition, with Toyota, the tournament's master sponsor in 1998, the interest of clubs in the competition has significantly increased, due to the amounts distributed in awards. With that, that same year, there was the entry of Mexico, as a guest, in the list of teams that disputed the Libertadores.
The Mexicans remained in the tournament until 2016, when they decided to give up the dispute as a result of the changes implemented by Conmebol. They highlighted problems for reconcile calendars and dissatisfaction with the redistribution of vacancies, in which Mexico would have three teams, while Brazil and Argentina would have five. The departure from Mexico left two more vacancies, for Brazil, and one, for Argentina.
Tigres Team (Mexico) in the Libertadores dispute in 2015. (Credit: César Muñoz/ANDES Agency)
Over the years, 18 clubs Mexicans participated in the Libertadores. None theirs was champion. The teams were also not entitled to a place in the Club World Cup, even if there was a title, as the country is not affiliated with Conmebol and participated in the competition as a guest. Mexico reached three Libertadores finals, with the blue cross (2001), chivas (2010) and tigers (2015).
Who participates in Libertadores?
The number of teams participating in Libertadores has fluctuated many times. In the first edition, the champions from seven countries participated; the following year, there were nine; then ten, and these numbers were being changed until 1965. In the second half of the decade of 1960 and beginning of the decade of 1970, the number of teams alternated between 17 and 20. In 1974 to 1997, Libertadores had 21 teams, except for 1986 and 1990, that have 19 teams.
In 1998, the competition changed the format and inserted the phase known as Pre-Liberators, with that, the number of teams rose to 23. In Pre-Libertadores, four teams faced each other in turn and return, and the two best qualified for the next phase (groups).
from the years 2000, the number of teams went up, once again, and even 2009 alternated between 32 and 38 participants. In 2010, the number rose to 40, but the following year, he returned to 38.
With the change promoted by Conmebol in 2016, the tournament format changed again. Since 2017, Pré-Libertadores has had three eliminatory and qualifying stages for the group stage. With that, the number of teams competing in the competition went to 47.
Currently, the current champion of the competition, the champion of the Copa Sudamericana and the national champion of the participating countries participate in Libertadores. The other ranked teams are defined by criteria determined by the confederations of each country, but, in general, they are the first placed in the national championships.
the teams of Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname, although they are located in South America, do not participate of Libertadores because they are affiliated with North, Central and Caribbean Football Confederation (Concacaf).
In Brazil, the champion of the Brazil's Cup and the top six of the Brazilian Series A Championship. If the champion of the Copa do Brasil is among the top six in Serie A, the seventh-placed Brasileirão also enters the Libertadores. If the champion of the Libertadores or of the Sudamericana is a Brazilian team, the competition does not take away a place from the champion country. Thus, Brazil may have up to nine representatives in Libertadores.
Check the number of official vacancies in each country at Libertadores:
Parents |
No. of Vacancies |
Brazil |
7 |
Argentina |
6 |
Bolivia |
4 |
Chile |
4 |
Colombia |
4 |
Ecuador |
4 |
Paraguay |
4 |
Peru |
4 |
Uruguay |
4 |
Venezuela |
4 |
dispute format
The Libertadores dispute is divided into three steps: Preliminary or Pre-Liberators (three phases), groups and Final (Octaves, Quarters, Semifinals and Finals).
→ Preliminary
First phase: is disputed by six representative teams Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. games take place in round-trip knockout matches. If there is a tie in the aggregate score, the away goal rule is considered (whoever scores the most goals in the opponent's stadium gets the spot), and, if equality remains, the spot is defined in the penalty shootout. The matches of this phase are defined through prize draw. Three teams qualify.
Second level: is disputed by 16 teams, 13 of them representing Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, from Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, in addition to the three winners of the first phase. The games are also round-trip qualifiers. In case of a tie, the same criteria as the previous phase.
Third phase: is disputed by eight teams second stage winners. Games take place in round-trip knockout matches. In case of a tie, the same criteria as in the previous phase will also remain. The winners of each clash are ranked to group stage.
→ Groups
At this stage, the 32 teams are divided into eight groups, however, within the same group, there cannot be two teams from the same country.. Round-trip matches are played against each of the other teams in the same group. The first two placed in each group qualify for the round of 16 finals. The eight teams positioned in the third position, in their respective groups, qualify for the second level gives South American Cup.
→ Endings
In this phase, the knockout matches are played in round of 16, quarter finals, semifinals and final.
Final Round: are played by the teams classified in the group stage, and the teams play round-trip matches. The teams with the best performance in the group stage set their home matches. In this phase, teams from the same country can be faced, as well as those that have already faced each other in the group phase of the competition.
Quarterfinals: are played by the eight winning teams of the round of 16 clashes, which play round-trip matches. The teams with the best performance in the round of 16 define their home matches. In this phase, teams from the same country can also be faced.
Semifinals: are played by the four winning teams from the matches of the previous phase, in round-trip matches. The teams with the best performance in the quarter-finals define their home matches. In this phase, teams from the same country can also be faced.
Final: is played by the winning teams of the two semifinals. The teams compete in a single match for the title of champion of the tournament, in a location predefined by Conmebol. In case of equal points at the end of the match, there is a 30-minute overtime, divided into two periods of 15 minutes each. If, at the end of this 30-minute overtime, equality persists, the winner is known as a penalty shootout.
See too: Brazilian championship
Libertadores Awards
After the end of the final match, the ceremony of trophy delivery and of the medals. The trophy is in temporary possession of the winning team, who must return it before the following year's competition draw. Afterwards, the team receives a replica of the cup.
The Libertadores champion wins the right to compete in the South American Cup, the following year, with the champion of the Copa Sudamericana, and guarantees a place for next year's competition. In addition, clubs also receive a financial award, according to each stage of the competition.
Libertadores champions
You argentinians take the advantage as biggest winners of Libertadores. They have 25 titles. O Brazil is who comes closer to Argentina, with 20 titles. Thirdly, comes the Uruguay, with eight titles.
Independiente is the greatest champion of Libertadores. (Credit: Shutterstock | A.PAES)
Between teams, the Independentand, from Argentina, is the great champion. Known as King of Hearts, he billed seven Liberators. Right behind, comes the Juniors mouth, with six cups. Among Brazilians, there is a tie: Sao Paulo, Guild and saints conquered three titles each. Check out the full list of champions:
Club |
Titles |
seasons |
Independent (ARG) |
7 |
(1964, 1965, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1984) |
Boca Juniors (ARG) |
6 |
(1977, 1978, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2007) |
Peñarol (URU) |
5 |
(1960, 1961, 1966, 1982 and 1987) |
Students (ARG) |
4 |
(1968, 1969, 1970 and 2009) |
River Plate (ARG) |
4 |
(1986, 1996, 2015 and 2018) |
Olympia (PAR) |
3 |
(1979, 1990 and 2002) |
National (URU) |
3 |
(1971, 1980 and 1988) |
Sao Paulo |
3 |
(1992, 1993 and 2005) |
Guild |
3 |
(1983, 1995 and 2017) |
saints |
3 |
(1962, 1963 and 2011) |
cruise |
2 |
(1976 and 1997) |
Athletic National (COL) |
2 |
(1989 and 2016) |
International |
2 |
(2006 and 2010) |
Flamengo |
2 |
(1981 and 2019) |
palm trees |
2 |
(1999 and 2020) |
Racing (ARG) |
1 |
(1967) |
Collar (CHI) |
1 |
(1991) |
Argentine Juniors (ARG) |
1 |
(1985) |
Velez Sarsfield (ARG) |
1 |
(1994) |
Vasco |
1 |
(1998) |
Once Caldas (COL) |
1 |
(2004) |
LDU (EQU) |
1 |
(2008) |
Corinthians |
1 |
(2012) |
Atlético-MG |
1 |
(2013) |
San Lorenzo (ARG) |
1 |
(2014) |
Brazilians at Libertadores
Sao Paulo: With three titles in Libertadores (1992, 1993 and 2005), São Paulo is among the Brazilian teams with the highest number of achievements in the tournament. Some athletes stood out during the campaigns. In 1992, midfielder Raí was decisive when he scored the goal that led to the final for the penalty shootout. Team captain, he lifted the trophy for the first conquest of the São Paulo team. Forward Muller also left his mark by conquering, with São Paulo, the bi-championship, in 1992 and 1993. As the player who most wore the shirt of the same club in the history of world football, the goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni he was also two-time champion of the Libertadores (1993 and 2005), and, in the second time, he left many marks in the competition. Rogério was chosen as the best player in the Copa Libertadores da América, best player in the final of the Copa Libertadores da América - Toyota Golden Key, and best Goalkeeper of Copa Libertadores da America.
saints: Still in the era of the Copa Champions of America, Santos was responsible for attracting international attention to the tournament. With one of the best teams of all time, known as white ballet, the team led by King Pelé won the 1962 tournament, defeating the then two-time champion Peñarol in the final and becoming the first Brazilian club to guarantee the title in the competition. The following year, Pelé and Coutinho stood out in their skills by winning the tournament over Boca Juniors with two wins. After 48 years, in 2011, Santos de Neymar again won the cup, once again beating Peñarol.
Guild: Grêmio won Libertadores in 1983, 1995 and 2017. The first time, the team that had the idol Renato Gaucho won the Peñarol (champion of the time). In 1995, with the duo Jardel and Paulo Nunes, Grêmio beat Atlético Nacional, which, at that time, still had the figure of goalkeeper Higuita. The highlight of the tournament was still with jardel, who finished the competition as top scorer, scoring 12 goals. Grêmio left Brazil at the top of the Libertadores again in 2017, when they defeated Lanús, from Argentina, in the final. In the last title, the highlight was luan.
Cruise: Raposa, as Cruzeiro is known, beat Libertadores for the first time in 1976, defeating River Plate. The ace of the team was Straw. Cruzeiro won the title again in 1997, over Sporting Cristal, from Peru. The only goal of the final two matches was scored by the striker Evelton, in the return game in Belo Horizonte, which had more than 106 thousand people in Mineirão to follow the match.
International: Another two-time champion of the Libertadores, Inter had its most recent achievements in 2006 and 2010. The 2006 final featured two Brazilian teams, and Internacional faced São Paulo champion. with the captain Fernandão, the Colorados beat São Paulo, 2-1, at Morumbi, and tied, 2-2, in Porto Alegre, guaranteeing the first title. The bi-championship came in 2010, when they defeated Chivas Guadalajara, from Mexico, in the final. The cast had the idol D'Alessandro and the young Giuliano and Taison.
Flamengo: Flamengo's golden generation, formed by stars like Zico, Junior, addile, Titan and Carpegiani, guaranteed Libertadores for the Rio team in 1981. The achievement came after beating Cobreloa, from Chile, in the final. In 2019, the team led by Gabriel Barbosa (Gabigol), Bruno Henrique and the uruguayan of arrascaeta won the comeback of River Plate in a single match held in Lima, Peru. The goals of the comeback were scored by Gabriel in the last five minutes.
Palm trees: Palmeiras' first title came in 1999, with two dramatic games in the final. The first match was 1-0 for Deportivo Cali, and on the way back, Palmeiras won 2-1, taking the decision to penalties. In this campaign, there was the highlight of the goalkeeper frames which, in addition to the Libertadores title with the team, won the Revelation, Best Cup Player and Best Final Player awards. In 2020, in a final played in January 2021 and with only guests in the stands, because of the covid-19 pandemic, Palmeiras defeated another Brazilian team, Santos, by 1x0, with Breno's goal at the end of the game.
Vasco: Winning the 1998 title marked Vasco's history. The victory came in the centenary year of the club. The competition was won after defeating Barcelona, Ecuador, in the two matches of the final. In the cast, there were names like Carlos Germano, Mauro Galvão, Philip, Juninho, Donizete and Luisão, the latter the top Brazilian top scorer in the Libertadores.
Corinthians: With an unquestionable campaign in the 2012 Libertadores, Corinthians secured the title unbeaten. The team from São Paulo played 14 games, won eight and drew six. The victory came after beating Boca Juniors, with two goals from Emerson (Sheikh). The cast also had the goalkeeper Cassius, the socks Paulinho and Danilo, and the technician tit.
Atlético-MG:For the first time in the Libertadores final, Atlético faced the experienced Olimpia, from Paraguay, who had already reached seven finals. In the first leg, Olimpia won 2-0 and Atlético returned the score in the return game, in Belo Horizonte. The title was decided on penalties, after goalless overtime, when the goalkeeper shone Victor, voted Best Libertadores goalkeeper. The highlight was also for the striker jo, who scored eight goals and became the tournament's top scorer. Diego Tardelli and Ronaldinho Gaucho they were also important names in the Minas Gerais conquest.
Libertadores' top scorer
The greatest scorer in the history of Libertadores is the Ecuadorian Alberto Spencer. He scored a total of 54 goals and competed in the competition for Peñarol and Barcelona, from Ecuador. The top scorer of a single edition is the Argentine Daniel Onega, responsible for marking 17 goals in the 1966 edition, when he was playing for River Plate.
Among Brazilians, Luizão it was the top scorer. He occupies the sixth position in the overall ranking (tied with Ecuadorian Antony de Ávila and Argentine Juan Carlos Sarnari) and scored 29 goals. Luisão played Libertadores for Vasco, Corinthians, Grêmio and São Paulo.
Alberto Spencer scored 54 goals in Libertadores. (Credit: Public domain)
Rivalry and violence generate changes in Libertadores
Despite the beauty of the spectacle that involves football, the rivalry marks many scenes of violence in the Libertadores dispute, both on and off the field.
In 2014, a 14-year-old São José fan from Bolivia died after being hit by a rocket fired by Corinthians fans. The match was held at the Jesús Bermúdez Stadium, in Oruro. The Corinthians fans, when celebrating a goal, lit and aimed fireworks towards the rival fans. One of the rockets hit the boy Kevin Espada, who was taken by the doctors, but did not resist and died on admission to hospital.
Duels between Brazilians also marked scenes of violence. In 2013, a Grêmio fan was detained by the police after launching a firecracker inside the stadium, in a game against Fluminense. A woman was slightly injured, with momentary hearing loss.
In 2008, there was an endless game. Cruzeiro had as opponent Cerro Porteño, from Paraguay. The Brazilians won both matches, but the second game was not even over. When the score was 3-2, the referee interrupted the match, 25 minutes into the second half, because the opposing fans started throwing objects on the lawn.
There have also been cases of fights between fans, players and even ball boys. In 2004, for the round of 16, São Caetano visited América, in Mexico, and qualified for the next phase. The home crowd ended up turning the game into a battle. Goalkeeper Silvio Luiz exchanged blows with a ball, and there was even one wheelbarrow thrown against the players of the Brazilian team.
The most recent case happened in the 2018 edition and had consequences for the tournament format. Boca Juniors and River Plate, Argentine football's biggest rivals, would play the second game of the final, when River Plate fans used stones and gases to attack the opponent's bus on arrival at the stadium. Some players were injured as a result of broken windows and artifacts entering the bus. To avoid new scenes of violence, the final was held in Madrid, Spain. River Plate was champion.
After the series of problems faced in the competition, in 2019, Conmebol released new security requirements for the tournament. Was prohibited the use of objects pyrotechnics, as flags, and the cheering flags they can no longer be opened in the stadium stands either.
The institution also predicts that, by the year 2021, all tickets must be sold over the internet, like fan name who bought the ticket and with the numbered seat location.
The choice of the single match in the final of the competition, in a neutral location, was also due to the violent acts of the 2018 final.
Racism
Another type of violence frequent in the history of Libertadores is related to racism. In 2017, fans of Deportivo Capiatá, from Paraguay, spent a good part of the game against Athlético insulting Brazilian players with shouts of “monkey”. In addition, fans threw bottles and objects at some players, such as Graphite, who had already been a victim of racism by the Argentine player Desábato, in 2005.
In 2016, television images captured the moment when a fan in Uruguay imitated a monkey, referring to the Brazilian Gabriel Jesus, from Palmeiras. In the 2014 Libertadores, another victim was the steering wheel Tinga, Cruzeiro player, target of racism by Real Garcilaso fans, from Peru.
Curiosities
- Only in 2005 the competition brought together clubs from the same country in the finals, São Paulo and Athlético from Paraná competed for the title, which was held by the São Paulo team;
- The biggest rout of the Libertadores happened in 1970. Peñarol beat Valencia, from Venezuela, by 11-2;
- The first Brazilian to compete in the Libertadores was Bahia, who had won the 1959 Taça Brasil;
- Santos was the first Brazilian team to be champion and two-time champion of the Libertadores. The team lifted the first cup in 1962, after defeating two-time champion Peñarol and, in 1963, undefeated, defeated Boca Juniors in the final;
- Brazilians did not participate in the 1966, 1969 and 1970 editions of Libertadores. The officials claimed that there was excessive violence within the tournament;
- The Libertadores trophy was created by Peruvian designer Alberto de Gásperi. It weighs 10 kilos and is 99 centimeters high, 35 of them are from the cedar plinth. The pedestal did not exist in the early years and was included to secure the metal plates with the shields of champions;
- Of the players from South America who were considered the best in the world by FIFA (Romário, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaká and Messi), only Ronaldinho Gaúcho was champion of the Libertadores, when he played for Atlético-MG, in 2013;
- A group stage match, in 1971, between Boca Juniors and Sporting Cristal marked the highest number of expulsions in the history of the competition. There were 19 players expelled and several were injured straight to the hospital. The game was known as El Bombonerazo.
*Image credits: Marcelo92t / Wikimedia Commons
By Giullya Franco
Journalist
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/educacao-fisica/copa-libertadores-america.htm
