History of the Copa Libertadores

Its rich history has been saturated with many legendary matches, iconic players and exceptional teams; from Peñarol's historical consecration in 1960, to Coutinho and Pelé enchanting the world with Santos's magical football, down to Estudiantes's unlikely success at the end of the 1960s, and Club Atlético Independiente being brought to glory in the utmost manner.

Juan Carlos Lorenzo's legendary upbringing of Boca Juniors, seeing Flamengo engrave their names on the winner's list at the hands of a squad led by Zico, René Higuita's memorable saves against Olimpia, São Paulo's time dos sonhos coached by legend Telê Santana and Carlos Bianchi's exploits with Boca Juniors and Vélez Sársfield are some of the more recent stories still talked about till this day.

During the 1930s and 1940s, Argentinean and Uruguayan clubs vied for the Copa Ricardo Aldao between their respective champions rotating the location of the final every a year Buenos Aires and Montevideo.

[5] For all this, the subject of the South American Congress held in 1958 in Rio de Janeiro was not unknown to board members: Raúl Colombo and Eduardo Palma of Argentina, Fermín Sorhueta, Washington Cataldi, Luis Tróccoli and Juan Carlos Bracco of Uruguay, Alfredo Gallindo of Bolivia, Lydio Quevedo of Paraguay, Teófilo Salinas of Perú, Alberto Goñi of Chile, and Joao Havelange and Abilio D'Almeida of Brazil.

Moreover, Argentina, with the support of Brazil, had proposed that those tournaments should be played every four years instead of every two in early 1957 (in which Uruguay strongly opposed as they were the main architects of the Campeonato Sudamericano).

Peñarol opened their title defense with a 5-0 thrashing over Universitario; the large scoreline allowed the champions to cruise to the semifinals with a 2–0 defeat to face Olimpia, in a rematch of the previous year's final.

Due to the great contributions made by Peñarol's board directors in the creation of the Copa Libertadores, the success of the Manyas in this two editions are widely considered a "historical justice" well earned.

The Copa Libertadores did not receive international attention until its third edition, which was swept through the sublime football of the ballet blanco led by Pelé, Coutinho, Lima, Zito, Dorval and Pepe, considered by some the best club team of all times.

Santos defeated Universidad Católica in the semifinals and met defending champions Peñarol in the finals in which Pelé scored another brace in the playoff match to secure the first title for a Brazilian club.

Pelé helped Santos overcome a Botafogo team that contained legends such as Garrincha and Jairzinho with an agonizing last-minute goal in the first leg of the semifinals and bring the match to 1-1.

Coached by Osvaldo Zubeldía, and led by star players like Carlos Bilardo, Juan Ramón Verón and Oscar Malbernat, they won the Copa Libertadores again in 1969 and 1970, becoming the first team to win the title for three consecutive years.

[20][21][22][23] Led by coach Osvaldo Zubeldía and a team built around figures such as Carlos Bilardo, Oscar Malbernat and Juan Ramón Verón, went on to become the first ever tricampeón of the competition.

[34] In the following year, it looked as though Boca Juniors would also achieve a triple championship, only to have Olimpia end their dream after a highly volatile second leg match in Buenos Aires.

Flamengo, led by stars such as Zico, Júnior, Leandro, Adílio, Nunes, Cláudio Adão, Tita and Carpegiani, sparkled as the Mengão's Golden Generation reached the pinnacle of their careers by beating Cobreloa of Chile.

[38] In 1984, Independiente won their seventh cup, a record that stands today, after defeating title holders Grêmio in a final which included a 1–0 win in the first away leg, highlighting Jorge Burruchaga and a veteran Ricardo Bochini.

Argentinos Juniors went on to win an unprecedented title by beating America de Cali in the play-off match at Estadio Defensores del Chaco via a penalty shootout.

Because Estadio Atanasio Girardot, their home stadium, did not have the minimum capacity CONMEBOL required to host a final, the second leg was played in Bogota's El Campín with the match ending 2–0 in favor of Atletico Nacional.

With the legendary goalkeeper Ever Hugo Almeida, Gabriel González, Adriano Samaniego, and star Raul Vicente Amarilla, a rejuvenated decano boasted a formidable side that promised a return to the glory days of the late 1970s.

After coming up short in 1989 against Atlético Nacional, Olimpia reached the 1990 Copa Libertadores finals after defeating the defending champion in a climactic semifinal series decided on penalties.

[47] With a highly compact tactical lineup and the goals of the formidable duo Jardel and Paulo Nunes, Grêmio won the coveted trophy again in 1995 after beating an Atlético Nacional led, once again, by the iconic figure of René Higuita.

In the 1996 season, figures such as Hernán Crespo, Matías Almeyda and Enzo Francescoli helped River Plate secure its second title after defeating América de Cali in a rematch of the 1986 final.

Led by Carlos Bianchi, the Virrey, along with outstanding players like Mauricio Serna, Jorge Bermúdez, Óscar Córdoba, Juan Roman Riquelme, and Martín Palermo, among others, revitalized the club to establish it among the world's best.

Led by World Cup winner-turned manager Nery Pumpido, Olimpia would overcome Grêmio (after some controversy) and surprise finalists São Caetano.

[35] Despite this triumph, Olimpia did not create the winning mystique of its past golden generations and bowed out in the round of 16 the following season, after being routed by Grêmio 6–2, avenging their controversial loss from the year before.

Qualifying to the tournament as Brazilian champion, coached by Emerson Leão and containing marvelous figures such as Renato, Alex, Léo, Ricardo Oliveira, Diego, Robinho, and Elano, the Santásticos became a symbol of entertaining and cheerful football that resembled Pelé's generation of the 1960s.

Boca Juniors once again found talent in their ranks to fill the gap left by the very successful group of 2000–2001 (with upcoming stars Rolando Schiavi, Roberto Abbondanzieri and Carlos Tevez).

Led by team captain Fernandão, the Colorados beat São Paulo 2–1 at Estádio do Morumbi and held the defending champions at a 2–2 draw at home in Porto Alegre as Internacional won their first ever title.

[72][73] Boca Juniors, managed by Miguel Ángel Russo (who win his first Copa Libertadores title) and led by Román Riquelme at the peek of his career with outstanding performances that included three goals in the final series,[74] beat Gremio 5–0 in aggregate.

[80] The Mexican side, which suffered the absence of several players called up for the Mexico national team, played the finals after eliminating Vélez Sarsfield, Libertad, and U de Chile[79] but lost to Inter, which won both legs for an aggregate score of 5–3.

After being placed at disadvantage the most part of the match, Flamengo's forward Gabriel Barbosa scored two goals in the last three minutes to overcome their rival and win their second Copa Libertadores.