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9 unusual facts about Copa Libertadores


History of the Torneo Descentralizado

Melgar finished the 1981 season 1 point ahead of Universitario, who lost to Deportivo Municipal in the playoff matches to decide the second Peruvian team in the 1982 Copa Libertadores.

Football was played regionally, with Lima's first division being the most important league, turning professional in 1951, and having its champion qualify to the Copa Libertadores starting in 1960.

In addition, the runner-up Sport Boys also qualified to the Copa Libertadores after CONMEBOL expanded the number of berths for each member association from one to two.

Universitario went onto win a fourth national title and qualified to the 1972 Copa Libertadores, in which they reached the final to play against Independiente of Argentina.

During the first half of the year, three teams will participate in the 2011 Copa Libertadores.

Javier Zapata

He also performed a stunt show during half-time of a Copa Libertadores football game between Colombia and Ecuador in 2003.

La Raulito

The real life La Raulito, Mary Esher Duffau died at the age of 74 on 30 April 2008 on the same day Boca Juniors played a Copa Libertadores match against Brazilian club, Cruzeiro Esporte Clube with the players and fans observing a minutes silence in her remembrance.

Libertadores

Also, the most prestigious international club football competition in South America is named the Copa Libertadores in their honour.

Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa

Between 1959 and 1964 the winner of the Taça Brasil, a knockout competition which was contended in Brazil between 1959 and 1968, provided the Brazilian entrant for the following season's Copa Libertadores.


2004 Intercontinental Cup

The 2004 Intercontinental Cup was a football match that took place on 12 December 2004 between Porto of Portugal, winners of 2003–04 UEFA Champions League, and Once Caldas of Colombia, winners of the 2004 Copa Libertadores.

Abel Braga

In 1989, he came close to winning the Copa Libertadores, but the club ended up losing to Paraguay's Olimpia on penalties after conceding three goals in the return match at home.

Alexandre Pato

He also debuted in Copa Libertadores on 28 February against Emelec of Ecuador (also his first game at Beira-Rio) and scored once during the 3–0 thumping.

Arturo Sanhueza

The next season, Sanhueza made his international debut in the Copa Libertadores, in where he was member of the historic 1–0 home victory over Boca Juniors at Valparaíso and of the also important tie with the same team at La Bombonera.

Blas Pérez

In 2007 Cúcuta and Blas Perez made their debut in Copa Libertadores, in which Blas scored 8 goals, including two against Argentina's Boca Juniors.

Bruno Fernandes de Souza

Bruno scored his first professional goal on 23 April 2008, from a free kick, which led the way for a crucial 2–0 victory over Coronel Bolognesi in the Copa Libertadores.

Carlos Pachamé

As a player, Pachamé was a defensive midfielder for the Estudiantes de La Plata team that won three successive editions of the Copa Libertadores.

Cristian Darío Álvarez

Born in General Lagos, Santa Fe, Álvarez came through the youth ranks at hometown side Rosario Central, making his first-team debuts in a Copa Libertadores game against Paraguayan side Cerro Porteño on 23 February 2006, a 0–2 home loss.

Cristian Marrugo

For the year 2014, Deportivo Cali acquired Cristian to enforce the midfield for coming tournaments like Copa Libertadores and Liga Postobon I.

Cristopher Toselli

On 11 May 2011, recovered his titularity under orders of Juan Antonio Pizzi after a terrible mistake of Garcés in a Copa Libertadores quarterfinals match against Peñarol at Montevideo, where inexplicably dropped the ball, which Alejandro Martinuccio take the opportunity for score the definitive 2–0 in the 90th minute.

Darío Conca

Conca played an important role in the team's brilliant 2008 Copa Libertadores campaign, along with others such as Thiago Neves, Thiago Silva, Washington, and Cícero.

Estádio Serra Dourada

The stadium was also the neutral ground used by CONMEBOL in the 1981 Copa Libertadores group stage replay match between Flamengo and Atlético Mineiro, in which Flamengo was declared the winner by CONMEBOL, after five Atlético Mineiro players were sent off by referee José Roberto Wright.

Football in Paraguay

At the club level, Olimpia Asunción has won a total of eight international tournaments, including three Copa Libertadores and one Intercontinental Cup.

Gildardo Gómez

Gildardo Biderman Gómez Monsálvez (born 13 October 1963, Medellín) is a Colombian football (soccer) player who used to play as defender specially in Atlético Nacional, where he won Copa Libertadores title, and Independiente Medellín.

La barra del Rojo

In 2004 in Quito, Ecuador, the barra brava fought the Ecuadorian police during a Copa Libertadores match between El Nacional and Independente in the Atahualpa stadium.

Oscar Malbernat

Oscar Miguel Cacho Malbernat (born 2 February 1944) is a retired Argentine footballer, who was the captain of Estudiantes de La Plata between 1967 and 1972, when the team won a local championship in 1967, three consecutive Copa Libertadores titles (1968 to 1970) and one Intercontinental Cup (1968), where he marked Manchester United's George Best.

Oscar Pezzano

He was the goalkeeper in two significant international matches against Feyenoord in 1970 and against Nacional de Montevideo in the 1971 Copa Libertadores decider played in Lima, Peru.

Oscar Vicente Scavone

Olimpia was founded in 1902 by Dutchman William Paats, and is extremely popular among Paraguayans, having won three Copa Libertadores, as well as numerous national tournaments.

Oswaldo Ramírez

He is one of the highest scoring players in the history of the Copa Libertadores and he helped Peru win the 1975 Copa América.

Paysandu Sport Club

Paysandu attracted the world's attention in 2003 after the campaign in the Copa Libertadores, beating several traditional South American teams such as Cerro Porteño and Boca Juniors (at La Bombonera).

Peruvian football clubs in international competitions

After this contest, the dispute of the official international tournaments was interrupted until 1960, when the South American teams began to participate in the Copa Libertadores.

Projeto Tóquio

The Projeto Tóquio (Tokyo Project) is a Portuguese language term traditionally used by Brazilian media and clubs' staff and supporters in the context of winning or attempting on winning the Copa Libertadores football (soccer) competition and then compete in the FIFA Club World Cup (or, previously in the Intercontinental Cup) in Japan.

Roberto Silvera

He has been an International FIFA referee since 2003 and officiated several important fixtures since then which include the semifinals of Copa Libertadores in 2007 between Boca Juniors and Cúcuta Deportivo (second leg) and again in 2008 between Boca Juniors and Fluminense (first leg).

Vanderlei Luxemburgo

In the Copa Libertadores he conquered a place in the Round of 16 by defeating Colo-Colo 1–0 in Santiago, with Cleiton Xavier scoring a last minute long-range goal in the angle of Colo-Colo's goalkeeper.

Víctor Hugo Carrillo

Víctor Hugo is a referee in Peruvian Primera División, Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, 2010 FIFA World Cup, and several South American qualifiers, international friendly matches and in the Copa Perú, when he reffed a match between Los Caimanes against Universitario (Trujillo) in Chiclayo.


see also

2014 Copa Libertadores Femenina

The 2014 Copa Libertadores Femenina will be the sixth edition of the Copa Libertadores Femenina, CONMEBOL's premier annual international women's football club tournament.

Copa Oro

Copa de Oro (Spanish: Gold Cup), South American association football competition between the club winners of the Copa Libertadores de América, the Supercopa Sudamericana, the Copa CONMEBOL, and the Supercopa Masters

Francisco Palencia

After finishing second place to Boca Juniors in the Copa Libertadores, Palencia departed from Cruz Azul at the end of the 2000-2001 season and went to Spain (on loan) to play for RCD Espanyol in La Liga, where he played 35 matches and scored six goals.

Julio Morales

Morales started his career in 1961 at the age of 16 with Racing Club de Montevideo, in 1965 he was signed by Uruguayan giantsNacional he helped the club to win 5 league titles and a Copa Libertadores before moving to Europe to play for Austria Wien.

Miltão

In 1979 he played for Guarani, both in the National championship (only 2 appearances) and the Copa Libertadores: during the latter tournament he scored 6 goals, finishing as the topscorer along Peruvian Juan José Oré.

Nery Pumpido

After several seasons at Unión de Santa Fe he took over at Paraguayan side Olimpia, from the capital city of Asunción, winning the Copa Libertadores in 2002.

Paraguayan football derby

Overall Top Scorers: for Olimpia is Mauro Caballero with 10 goals (9 in the Paraguayan League and 1 in Copa Libertadores) and for Cerro is Saturnino Arrua with 11 goals (7 in the Paraguayan League and 4 in the Copa Libertadores).

Raimundo Tupper

Between 1989 and 1995 "Mumo" was a UC player, reaching with them the Copa Libertadores final in 1993, which they lost against Brazilian giants São Paulo.

Rasmus Festersen

A similar sending off happened to Brazilian footballer Neymar, who was also sent off for putting on a mask during a Copa Libertadores match.

Sports league ranking

Similarly, top teams in other parts of the world can qualify for the Copa Libertadores, AFC Champions League, CAF Champions League, CONCACAF Champions League, or OFC Champions League.