2008 Copa Libertadores

The 2008 Copa Libertadores de América was the 49th edition of the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL's premier annual international club tournament. This marked the first year the competition was sponsored by Spanish bank Santander. As such, the competition is officially the 2008 Copa Santander Libertadores de América for sponsorship reasons.[2] The draw took place on December 19, 2007, in Asunción.[3]

2008 Copa Libertadores de América
Copa Santander Libertadores de América 2008
Copa Santander Libertadores da América 2008
Tournament details
DatesJanuary 29–July 2
Teams38 (from 11 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsEcuador LDU Quito (1st title)
Runners-upBrazil Fluminense
Tournament statistics
Matches played138
Goals scored358 (2.59 per match)
Attendance2,959,170 (21,443 per match)
Top scorer(s)Paraguay Salvador Cabañas
Bolivia Marcelo Moreno
(8 goals each)
Best player(s)Ecuador Joffre Guerrón[1]
2007
2009

Ecuadorian club LDU Quito won the competition for the first time in a final decided on penalties. It is the first time a team from Ecuador has won the competition. LDU Quito earned a berth in the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup and 2009 Recopa Sudamericana.

Qualified teams

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Thirty-eight teams qualified for the competition, with twenty-six teams directly qualifying to the Second Stage and twelve entering in the First Stage. Seven countries sent their Apertura champions and Clausura champions for their first two berths. The remaining berth, or berths in Argentina's case, went to the best-placed non-champions shown by an aggregate table. Brazil's league uses a European-style format and thus does not have an Apertura and Clausura tournament. Therefore, they sent their cup champion and the best four of the Brazilian Serie A. Ecuador sent the top three finishers of their national tournament as determined by the Liguilla Final. Uruguay had a Mini-League (Liguilla) to determine who qualified, and Mexico usespecially the InterLiga to determine two of its qualifiers. The last qualified team in each country played in the First Stage; the defending champion's country had two teams in the first stage because the defending champion automatically qualified.

Association Team (berth) Qualification method
  Argentina
5+1 berths
Boca Juniors (Argentina 1) 2007 Copa Libertadores champion
Estudiantes (Argentina 2) 2006 Apertura champion
San Lorenzo (Argentina 3) 2007 Clausura champion
River Plate (Argentina 4) 2006–07 Primera División best-placed non-champion
Arsenal (Argentina 5) 2006–07 Primera División 2nd best-placed non-champion
Lanús (Argentina 6) 2006–07 Primera División 3rd best-placed non-champion
  Bolivia
3 berths
Real Potosí (Bolivia 1) 2007 Apertura champion
San José (Bolivia 2) 2007 Clausura champion
La Paz (Bolivia 3) 2007 Apertura and Clausura Runners-up Playoff winner
  Brazil
5 berths
São Paulo (Brazil 1) 2007 Série A champion
Santos (Brazil 2) 2007 Série A runner-up
Flamengo (Brazil 3) 2007 Série A 3rd place
Fluminense (Brazil 4) 2007 Copa do Brasil champion
Cruzeiro (Brazil 5) 2007 Série A 5th place
  Chile
3 berths
Colo-Colo (Chile 1) 2007 Apertura & 2007 Clausura champion
Universidad Católica (Chile 2) 2007 Apertura runner-up
Audax Italiano (Chile 3) Best-placed team in the 2007 Clausura First Stage
  Colombia
3 berths
Atlético Nacional (Colombia 1) 2007 Apertura & 2007 Finalización champion
Cúcuta Deportivo (Colombia 2) 2007 season best-placed non-champion
Boyacá Chicó (Colombia 3) 2007 season 2nd best-placed non-champion
  Ecuador
3 berths
LDU Quito (Ecuador 1) 2007 Serie A champion
Deportivo Cuenca (Ecuador 2) 2007 Serie A runner-up
Olmedo (Ecuador 2) 2007 Serie A 3rd place
  Paraguay
3 berths
Sportivo Luqueño (Paraguay 1) 2007 Apertura champion
Libertad (Paraguay 2) 2007 Clausura champion
Cerro Porteño (Paraguay 3) 2007 Primera División best-placed non-champion
  Peru
3 berths
Universidad San Martín (Peru 1) 2007 Decentralizado champion
Coronel Bolognesi (Peru 2) 2007 Decentralizado champion
Cienciano (Peru 3) 2007 Decentralizado best-placed non-champion
  Uruguay
3 berths
Danubio (Uruguay 1) 2006–07 Primera División champion
Nacional (Uruguay 2) 2007 Liguilla Pre-Libertadores champion
Montevideo Wanderers (Uruguay 3) 2007 Liguilla Pre-Libertadores runner-up
  Venezuela
3 berths
Caracas (Venezuela 1) 2006 Apertura champion
Unión Atlético Maracaibo (Venezuela 2) 2007 Clausura champion
Mineros de Guayana (Venezuela 3) 2006–07 Primera División best-placed non-finalist
  Mexico
3 invitees (CONCACAF)
Guadalajara (Mexico 1) 2006 Apertura champion
América (Mexico 2) 2008 InterLiga winner
Atlas (Mexico 3) 2008 InterLiga runner-up

Teams' starting round

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Second Stage
  Boca Juniors   San Lorenzo   Estudiantes   River Plate
  Flamengo   São Paulo   Santos   Fluminense
  Real Potosí   San José   Colo-Colo   Universidad Católica
  Atlético Nacional   Cúcuta Deportivo   LDU Quito   Deportivo Cuenca
  Sportivo Luqueño   Libertad   Universidad San Martín   Coronel Bolognesi
  Danubio   Nacional   Caracas   Unión Atlético Maracaibo
  Guadalajara   América
First Stage
  Arsenal   Lanús   Cruzeiro   La Paz
  Audax Italiano   Boyacá Chicó   Olmedo   Cerro Porteño
  Cienciano   Montevideo Wanderers   Mineros de Guayana   Atlas

Round and draw dates

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The calendar shows the dates of the rounds and draw.

Date Event
December 19, 2007 The draw took place
January 29-February 12, 2008 First stage
February 12-April 23, 2008 Second stage
April 30-May 7, 2008 Round of 16
May 14-May 21, 2008 Quarterfinals
May 28-June 4, 2008 Semifinals
June 25-July 2, 2008 Finals

Tie breakers

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Teams at every stage of the tournament will be awarded points depending on the result of a game: 3 for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss. The following criteria will be used for breaking ties on points:

  1. Goal difference
  2. Goals scored
  3. Away goals
  4. Draw

For the first stage, round of 16, quarterfinals, and semifinals, the fourth criterion is replaced by a penalty shoot-out if necessary. The Finals have their own set of criteria; see the finals section for more details.

First stage

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The First Stage was played between January 29 and February 12.[4] Team #1 played the second leg at home.

Teams Scores Tie-breakers
Team #1 Points Team #2 1st leg 2nd leg GD AG Pen.
Lanús   3:3   Olmedo 0–1 3–0 +2:−2
Cerro Porteño   0:6   Cruzeiro 1–3 2–3
Mineros de Guayana   3:3   Arsenal 0–2 2–1 −1:+1
La Paz   3:3   Atlas 0–2 1–0 −1:+1
Montevideo Wanderers   1:4   Cienciano 0–1 0–0
Audax Italiano   3:3   Boyacá Chicó 3–4 1–0 0:0 3:0

Second stage

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A total of 26 teams qualified directly to this phase and were joined by six teams from the First Stage, bringing the total to 32 teams. The top two teams from each group advanced to the round of 16. This stage was played between February 12 and April 23.[4]

In results tables, the home team is listed in the left-hand column.

Group 1

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts CRU SLO CAR RPO
1   Cruzeiro 6 3 2 1 11 7 +4 11 3–1 3–0 3–0
2   San Lorenzo 6 3 1 2 8 7 +1 10 0–0 3–0 1–0
3   Caracas 6 2 1 3 6 11 −5 7 1–1 2–0 2–1
4   Real Potosí 6 2 0 4 11 11 0 6 5–1 2–3 3–1
Source: [citation needed]

Group 2

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts ELP LAN CUE DAN
1   Estudiantes 6 3 2 1 9 5 +4 11 0–0 2–0 2–0
2   Lanús 6 2 4 0 9 6 +3 10 3–3 0–0 3–1
3   Deportivo Cuenca 6 1 3 2 2 5 −3 6 1–0 1–1 0–0
4   Danubio 6 1 1 4 5 9 −4 4 1–2 1–2 2–0
Source: [citation needed]

Group 3

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts ATS BOC CC MBO
1   Atlas 6 3 2 1 11 6 +5 11 3–1 3–0 3–0
2   Boca Juniors 6 3 1 2 12 9 +3 10 3–0 4–3 3–0
3   Colo-Colo 6 3 1 2 11 9 +2 10 1–1 2–0 2–0
4   Unión Atlético Maracaibo 6 0 2 4 3 13 −10 2 1–1 1–1 1–3
Source: [citation needed]

Group 4

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts FLA NAC CIE BSI
1   Flamengo 6 4 1 1 9 4 +5 13 2–0 2–1 2–0
2   Nacional 6 4 0 2 9 5 +4 12 3–0 3–1 1–0
3   Cienciano 6 2 1 3 5 9 −4 7 0–3 2–1 1–0
4   Coronel Bolognesi 6 0 2 4 0 5 −5 2 0–0 0–1 0–0
Source: [citation needed]

Group 5

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts RIV AME UC USM
1   River Plate 6 4 0 2 14 8 +6 12 2–1 2–0 5–0
2   América 6 3 0 3 10 10 0 9 4–3 2–1 3–1
3   Universidad Católica 6 3 0 3 6 6 0 9 1–2 2–0 1–0
4   Universidad San Martín 6 2 0 4 4 10 −6 6 2–0 1–0 0–1
Source: [citation needed]

Group 6

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts CUC SFC GDL SJO
1   Cúcuta Deportivo 6 3 2 1 7 4 +3 11 0–0 1–0 0–0
2   Santos 6 3 1 2 13 6 +7 10 2–1 1–0 7–0
3   Guadalajara 6 3 0 3 8 5 +3 9 0–1 3–2 2–0
4   San José 6 1 1 4 4 17 −13 4 2–4 2–1 0–3
Source: [citation needed]

Group 7

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts SAO AN LUQ AUD
1   São Paulo 6 3 2 1 6 4 +2 11 1–0 1–0 2–1
2   Atlético Nacional 6 2 2 2 8 5 +3 8 1–1 3–0 1–1
3   Sportivo Luqueño 6 2 1 3 8 10 −2 7 1–1 1–3 4–1
4   Audax Italiano 6 2 1 3 6 9 −3 7 1–0 1–0 1–2
Source: [citation needed]

Group 8

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts FLU LDU ARS LIB
1   Fluminense 6 4 1 1 11 3 +8 13 1–0 6–0 2–0
2   LDU Quito 6 3 1 2 10 5 +5 10 0–0 6–1 2–0
3   Arsenal 6 3 0 3 6 14 −8 9 2–0 0–1 1–0
4   Libertad 6 1 0 5 5 10 −5 3 1–2 3–1 1–2
Source: [citation needed]

Knockout stages

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The last four stages of the tournament (round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals) form a single-elimination tournament, commonly known as a knockout stages. Sixteen teams advanced into the first of these stages: the round of 16.

Seeding

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The 16 qualified teams were seeded according to their results in the Second Stage. The top teams from each group were seeded 1–8, with the team with the most points as seed 1 and the team with the least as seed 8. The second-best teams from each group were seeded 9–16, with the team with the most points as seed 9 and the team with the least as seed 16.

Teams qualified as a group winner
Seed Team Pts GD GF AG
1   Fluminense 13 +8 11 2
2   Flamengo 13 +4 8 3
3   River Plate 12 +6 14 5
4   Atlas 11 +5 11 2
5   Cruzeiro 11 +4 11 2
6   Estudiantes 11 +4 9 5
7   Cúcuta Deportivo 11 +3 7 6
8   São Paulo 11 +2 6 2
Teams qualified as a runner-up
Seed Team Pts GD GF AG
9   Nacional 12 +4 9 2
10   Santos 10 +7 13 3
11   LDU Quito 10 +5 10 2
12   Boca Juniors 10 +3 12 2
13   Lanús 10 +3 9 3
14   San Lorenzo 10 +1 8 4
15   América 9 0 10 1
16   Atlético Nacional 8 +3 8 3

Bracket

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Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
                
1   Fluminense 2 1
16   Atlético Nacional 1 0
1   Fluminense 0 3
8   São Paulo 1 1
8   São Paulo 0 2
9   Nacional 0 0
1   Fluminense 2 3
12   Boca Juniors 2 1
4   Atlas 1 2
13   Lanús 0 2
4   Atlas 2 0
12   Boca Juniors 2 3
5   Cruzeiro 1 1
12   Boca Juniors 2 2
1   Fluminense 2 3 (1)
11   LDU Quito (p) 4 1 (3)
6   Estudiantes 0 2
11   LDU Quito 2 1
11   LDU Quito (p) 1 1 (5)
14   San Lorenzo 1 1 (3)
3   River Plate 1 2
14   San Lorenzo 2 2
11   LDU Quito (a) 1 0
15   América 1 0
7   Cúcuta Deportivo 0 0
10   Santos 2 2
10   Santos 0 1
15   América 2 0
2   Flamengo 4 0
15   América 2 3

Round of 16

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The Round of 16 was played between April 29 and 30, and May 1, 6, and 8.[3] Team #1 played the second leg at home.

Teams Scores Tie-breakers
Team #1 Points Team #2 1st leg 2nd leg GD AG Pen.
Fluminense   6-0   Atlético Nacional 2–1 1–0
Flamengo   3-3   América 4–2 0–3 −1:+1
River Plate   1-4   San Lorenzo 1–2 2–2
Atlas   4-1   Lanús 1–0 2–2
Cruzeiro   0-6   Boca Juniors 1–2 1–2
Estudiantes   3-3   LDU Quito 0–2 2–1 −1:+1
Cúcuta Deportivo   0-6   Santos 0–2 0–2
São Paulo   4-1   Nacional 0–0 2–0

Quarterfinals

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The Quarterfinals were played on May 14, 15, and May 21 and 22.[3] Team #1 played the second leg at home.

Teams Scores Tie-breakers
Team #1 Points Team #2 1st leg 2nd leg GD AG Pen.
Fluminense   3:3   São Paulo 0–1 3–1 +1:−1
Atlas   1:4   Boca Juniors 2–2 0–3
Santos   3:3   América 0–2 1–0 −1:+1
LDU Quito   2:2   San Lorenzo 1–1 1–1 0:0 1:1 5:3

Semifinals

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The Semifinals were played between May 27, 28, and June 3, 4.[3] Team #1 played the second leg at home.

Teams Scores Tie-breakers
Team #1 Points Team #2 1st leg 2nd leg GD AG Pen.
Fluminense   4:1   Boca Juniors 2–2 3–1
LDU Quito   2:2   América 1–1 0–0 0:0 1:0

Finals

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LDU Quito  4–2  Fluminense
Bieler   2'
Guerrón   29'
Campos   34'
Urrutia   45'
Report[permanent dead link] Conca   12'
Thiago Neves   52'
Attendance: 55,359

Copa Santander Libertadores de América
2008 Champion
 
LDU Quito
First Title

Top goalscorers

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Pos Name Team Goals
1   Salvador Cabañas   América 8
  Marcelo Moreno   Cruzeiro 8
3   Sebastián Abreu   River Plate 7
  Bruno Marioni   Atlas 7
  Thiago Neves   Fluminense 7
  Martín Palermo   Boca Juniors 7
7   Adriano   São Paulo 6
  Kléber Pereira   Santos 6
  Mauricio Molina   Santos 6
  Washington   Fluminense 6

References

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  1. ^ http://www.conmebol.com/conmebol/activeCompetition.html?x=147&sub=3&id=8084&type=2 [dead link]
  2. ^ "Beginning 2008 it will be the Santander Libertadores Cup". conmebol.com. Retrieved 2007-10-05.[dead link]
  3. ^ a b c d "The 2008 Santander Libertadores Cup is already in play". conmebol.com. Retrieved 2007-12-21.[dead link]
  4. ^ a b "Match Schedule" (PDF). conmebol.com. Retrieved 2008-01-10.[dead link]
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