Copa Libertadores

The Copa Libertadores de América (also know as Copa Toyota Libertadores) ( Cup") is an international Football cup competition played annually by the top clubs of South America . In recent years, top clubs from Mexico have also competed. The tournament is organized by the Confederación Sudamericana De Fútbol , better known as ''CONMEBOL'' in the English-speaking world, whose headquarters are located in Asunción , Paraguay .

The name of the tournament is an homage to the main leaders of the independence wars of Latin America: Simón Bolívar , Pedro I Of Brazil , José De San Martín , Antonio José De Sucre , Bernardo O'Higgins and José Gervasio Artigas . It is one of the most prestigious club trophies in the sport along with Europe's Champions League .

QUALIFYING

In the beginning, only the national champions of the major South American federations (namely Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay) would play in the Libertadores Cup, in the 1970s a second team from each country was allowed entry and also teams from Venezuela. The number of participants was later increased to 24, 28, 32 and now 38.

Teams are qualified for the Libertadores Cup by winning a national championship or by finishing among the first few teams in the championship. Brazil and Mexico are the only countries participating which employ a second tournament that qualifies for the Libertadores (in Brazil, Copa Do Brasil , since 1989; in Mexico, the InterLiga since 2004).

The Cup has a preliminary round in which a number of clubs, currently 12, are paired in a series of two-legged knockout ties. The six survivors join the remaining clubs in the first round, in which they are divided into groups of four. The first-round groups play in a league system, with each team playing home and away against each other team. The top two teams from each group are then drawn in the second round, which consists of a two-legged knockout tie. From that point, the competition proceeds with two-legged knockout ties to quarterfinals, semifinals, and the final. Between 1960 and 1979 the previous winners did not enter the competition until the semi-final stage, making it much easier to retain the cup.

The 2005 edition will have the competitors distributed this way:

The previous year's champion

5 from Argentina

5 from Brazil

3 from Bolivia

3 from Chile

3 from Colombia

3 from Ecuador

3 from Mexico (up from 2 in 2004 )

3 from Paraguay

3 from Peru

3 from Uruguay

3 from Venezuela

The lowest-ranked team from each country, plus the second lowest-ranked team from the nation of the previous year's champion, will enter the preliminary round, with the winners joining the other 26 teams in the main draw.

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, 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, either by a clear win or by goal difference, 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. Several times, the event would have had a different champion if it followed European rules. For example, if the away goals rule had been used the 2004 champions Colombian club Once Caldas , provided the same results would have taken place under these different circumstances, would have exited the competition in the ''second round'', and would also have lost the final on away goals.

Starting with the 2005 event, CONMEBOL finally began to use the away goals rule, but still does not employ extra time.

HISTORY

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 in Santiago , Chile , and was won by Vasco Da Gama . It has been recognised as a precursor to the Copa Libertadores by the South American Federation, but is not counted as being as significant as the first official competition in 1960 , created as a rival to the European Cup which had been competed for since 1955 .

The first cup was won by Peñarol of Uruguay . As of 2005, 20 different teams have won the cup. The most successful club has been the Argentinian side Independiente , winners seven times including four in a row from 1972 to 1975 .

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 60's, 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, with his 2005 death arguably giving him more worldwide publicity than he enjoyed in life. A common cause can be found in both cases: Neither played in a World Cup.

In the Cup, Brazilians complain that especially in the early years the referees were often biased against the Brazilian teams, and that other teams abuse of violence. Argentines typically answer this by remarking that the Brazilian teams were often uninterested in playing abroad.

Over the years the competition has kept alive a healthy sport rivalry between the competing countries, especially between Brazil and Argentina, Argentina and Uruguay, Uruguay and Brazil, and Bolivia and Chile. Unfortunately episodes of violence are not rare and the pressure for players on the field is tremendous.

Since 1998 , the Copa Libertadores has been sponsored by the Toyota Motor Corporation , which is why the name ''Copa Toyota Libertadores'' is also used.

CHAMPIONS

CHAMPIONSHIPS BY TEAM

7 times