Copa Libertadores

Lore & Background

The clashes for the Copa Aldao between the champions of Argentina and Uruguay kindled the idea of continental competition in the 1930s. In 1948, the South American Championship of Champions, the most direct precursor to the Copa Libertadores, was played and organized by the Chilean club Colo-Colo. The tournament was won by Vasco da Gama of Brazil. In 1958, the basis and format of the competition were created by Peñarol's board leaders. On October 8, 1958, João Havelange announced the creation of Copa de Campeones de America, renamed in 1965 as Copa Libertadores. On March 5, 1959, the competition was ratified by the International Affairs Committee. In 1965, it was named in honor of the heroes of South American liberation.

In Their Own Story

The away leg of the Copa Libertadores final. The stadium is a cauldron—thirty thousand voices pressing against the roof, the away end a small, defiant island in a sea of the home team's colors. You slot in the match, the commentary team crackling with anticipation, and the first touch of the ball is swallowed by the roar. Ninety minutes later, the aggregate score is level, the tie heading toward extra time. The crowd rises as one, a single breathing organism, and the stadium's floodlights cut through the humid night air like search beams. The trophy, silver and heavy with decades of history, waits on the pitch. In the game, the post-match screen simply reads a scoreline. But the audio, the sway of the crowd, the way the players celebrate under the confetti—it carries the weight of something older than any render engine.

Reader's Guide

In the present format, the tournament consists of eight stages, with the first stage taking place in late January. The four surviving teams from the first three stages join 28 teams in the group stage, which consists of eight groups of four teams each. The eight group winners and eight runners-up enter the knockout stages, which end with the final in November. The winner of the Copa Libertadores becomes eligible to play in the FIFA Club World Cup, FIFA Intercontinental Cup and the Recopa Sudamericana. The current tournament features 47 clubs competing over a six- to eight-month period. There are three stages: the first, the second and the knockout stage. The first stage involves 12 clubs in a series of two-legged knockout ties. The six survivors join 26 clubs in the second stage, in which they are divided into eight groups of four. The top two teams from each group are then drawn into the knockout stage, which consists of two-legged knockout ties to quarterfinals, semifinals, and the finals.

Did You Know?

• Independiente of Argentina is the most successful club in the cup's history, having won the tournament seven times.
• Argentine and Brazilian clubs have accumulated the most victories with 25 wins each.
• Brazil has the largest number of winning teams, with 12 clubs winning the title.
• Brazilian clubs currently hold a record-breaking winning streak of seven Copa Libertadores in a row, starting in 2019.