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
Champions LDU Quito (1st title)
Runners-up Fluminense
Tournament statistics
Matches played138
Goals scored358 (2.59 per match)
Attendance2,959,170 (21,443 per match)
Top scorer(s) Salvador Cabañas
Marcelo Moreno Martins
(8 goals each)
Best player(s) Joffre Guerrón[1]

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

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
Maracaibo (Venezuela 2) 2007 Clausura champion
Mineros (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
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 Maracaibo
Guadalajara América
First Stage
Arsenal Lanús Cruzeiro La Paz
Audax Italiano Boyacá Chicó Olmedo Cerro Porteño
Cienciano Montevideo Wanderers Mineros Atlas

Round and draw dates

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

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 criteria 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
Main article: 2008 Copa Libertadores First Stage

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 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
Main article: 2008 Copa Libertadores Second Stage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Knockout stages
Main article: 2008 Copa Libertadores knockout stages

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

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 Fluminense13+8112
2 Flamengo13+483
3 River Plate12+6145
4 Atlas11+5112
5 Cruzeiro11+4112
6 Estudiantes11+495
7 Cúcuta Deportivo11+376
8 São Paulo11+262
Teams qualified as a runner-up
Seed Team Pts GD GF AG
9 Nacional12+492
10 Santos10+7133
11 LDU Quito10+5102
12 Boca Juniors10+3122
13 Lanús10+393
14 San Lorenzo10+184
15 América90101
16 Atlético Nacional8+383

Bracket
  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

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

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

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
Main article: 2008 Copa Libertadores Finals
LDU Quito 4–2 Fluminense
Bieler  2'
Guerrón  29'
Campos  34'
Urrutia  45'		 Report Conca  12'
Thiago Neves  52'
Attendance: 55,359
Fluminense 3–1 (a.e.t.) LDU Quito
Thiago Neves  12', 28', 56' Report Bolaños  6'
Penalties
Conca
Thiago Neves
Cícero
Washington 		1–3 Urrutia
Campos
Salas
Guerrón
Attendance: 86,027
Copa Santander Libertadores de América
2008 Champion

LDU Quito
First Title

Top goalscorers
Pos Name Team Goals
1 Salvador Cabañas América 8
Marcelo Moreno Martins 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
  1. http://www.conmebol.com/conmebol/activeCompetition.html?x=147&sub=3&id=8084&type=2
  2. "Beginning 2008 it will be the Santander Libertadores Cup". conmebol.com. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  3. "The 2008 Santander Libertadores Cup is already in play". conmebol.com. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
  4. "Match Schedule" (PDF). conmebol.com. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
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