2010 Copa Libertadores Finals

Internacional qualified to the Copa Libertdores as the 2009 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A runner-up. They were drawn into Group 5 of the Second Stage along with Ecuadorian clubs Deportivo Quito and Emelec, and Uruguayan club Cerro.

Final Group 5 standings

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Internacional	6	3	3	0	8	2	+6	12
Deportivo Quito	6	3	1	2	5	7	−2	10
Cerro	6	2	2	2	5	5	0	8
Emelec	6	0	2	4	2	6	−4	2

Their first group play match was at home against Emelec. After falling behind in the games, Nei and Alecsandro both scored to secure the win. They drew their next two games away at Deportivo Quito and Cerro, respectively, 1–1 and 0–0. Giuliano scored for Inter against Deportivo Quito. Their fourth game, back at home against Cerro, ended in a 2–0 win. Alecsandro scored for Internacional after Walter Ibáñez scored into his own net. Emelec held Internacional to a 0–0 draw in Guayaquil. Internacional won their last game 3–0 against Deportivo Quito at home. Andrezinho, Bolívar, and Alecsandro scored for Inter. Internacional finished first in their group and secured the 6 seed for the knockout stages. They were the only team from Group 5 to advance.

Internacional's Round of 16 opponent was Argentine club Banfield. The first match between the two ended in a 3–1 loss. Kléber scored Inter's only goal of the game. Back at home for the second leg, Inter beat the Argentine's 2–0 with goals by Alecsandro and Walter. Inter advanced to the quarterfinals thanks to Kléber's away goal in the first leg. Their next opponent was the defending champion, Argentine club Estudiantes de La Plata. They won the first leg at home 1–0 with a goal by Gonzalo Sorondo. The second leg, in La Plata, ended in defeat by a score of 2–1. Giuliano scored Inter's only goal, which was enough to advance by away goals. São Paulo was Inter's semifinal opponent. The first leg, played at home, ended in a 1–0 win with a goal by Giuliano. As in the quarterfinals, Inter lost away 2–1. The away goal Alecsandro sealed their slot in the finals.

Guadalajara's had an automatic slot in the Round of 16 as the 13 seed. Their slot came as a compromise after the fallout of the 2009 flu pandemic during the 2009 Copa Libertadores. Their Round of 16 opponent was Argentine club Vélez Sársfield. The first game was won 3–0 with two goals by Omar Bravo and a goal from the penalty spot by Héctor Reynoso. The second leg was lost 2–0 back in Buenos Aires. Chivas advanced by goal difference. Their quarterfinals opponent was Paraguayan club Libertad. The scores for both legs mirror: 3–0 home and 2–0 away. Their goals in the first leg were two by Omar Bravo and Ricardo Michel Vázquez. Again, they advanced by goal difference. Their semifinal opponent was Chilean Universidad de Chile. Their first game ended in a 1–1 draw at home. Omar Arellano scored for Chivas in the game. The second, away in Chile, ended in a 2–0 win with goals by Xavier Báez and Jonny Magallón. The ended 4 to 1 on point and Chivas earned their place in the finals.

The first leg of the finals was seen by 49,500 spectators although they weren't all seated by the time Baldassi blew his whistle.[5] The first 15 minutes started with Internacional dominating the match, as Chivas struggled to create any rhythm.[5] Chivas subsequently started to settle into their play and knocked the ball around fluently, but struggled to find an entrance against a dogged Colorado backline.[5] The away side on the other hand continued to threaten out wide, and came close to scoring on the half-hour when Taison was pulled down on the edge of the area.[5] Alecsandro’s kicked a free kick that saw the ball hit the bar and bounce out of play.[5] The Mexicans did manage to test Renan for the first time shortly after, the Internacional keeper reacting smartly to cut off Omar Bravo when the striker was played through behind the defence.[5] The Colorados suffered a setback when striker and top scorer Alecsandro hobbled off injured to be replaced by Everton, but the Porto Alegre outfit continued looking the more dangerous team.[5] With the last touch of the half however, Chivas struck against the run of play.[5] The Mexican midfield combined smartly on the edge of the area to release Marco Fabián, and his chipped pass found Adolfo Bautista; the midfielder looped a header in from outside the area, leaving the Inter keeper scrambling back in vain.[5]

Denied the chance for an instant response by the half-time whistle, Internacional continued to take the initiative, and Luis Michel was soon called back into action to fend off a strike from Giuliano.[5] Chivas in turn started to place more bodies behind the ball, wary of the attacking potential their Brazilian rivals was unleashing.[5] Chances remained few and far between for the Colorados; Andrés D'Alessandro went close with a 25 yard drive which just went wide. Internacional finally found a way through with 15 minutes left, thanks to Inter's tournament top goal scorer Giuliano.[5] Kleber rampaged down the left hand side and put in a cross, and the 20-year-old met it perfectly to leave Michel no chance.[5] Four minutes later, D’Alessandro floated in a centre, and club captain Bolivar got his head to it to send the visitors into a 1–2 victory. Kleber was voted as man of the match.[5]

Tinga became the main drive of Internacional during this match, while for Chivas, it was Patricio Araujo, who took the place of Edgar Mejia. The Colorados entered the game with great ambition and sought to open the scoreline; Chivas, however, held firm and started accommodating themselves on the field. At the 9th minute, the Guadalajara players showed objections to the Colombian referee over the yellow card give to Mario de Luna (despite clearly not touching the ball). There was no clear, dominant team in the field. Índio created the first dangerous play of the match, but mIchel safely secured the effort. Adolfo Bautista also started to test Renan with long range shots. Marco Fabián was later shown a yellow card for a late challenge on D'Alessandro. However, he would later silence the stadium with a spectacular goal right before the end of the first half. Araujo served a long ball that crossed Inter's goal area, and Omar Bravo managed to head the ball towards Fabián. Fabián positioned himself and performed a bicycle kick to kick the ball towards the top left of Internacional's net (with Renan not being able to do anything about it). This goal tied the series 2–2 and would have forced extra time.

Internacional came out in the second half with more urgency, with Taison and Sobis providing dangerous opportunities of goal. Chivas dedicated themselves to waiting and counter-attacking; it proved to be a double-edge sword during the 62nd minute when Kléber crossed a perfect ball from the left flank into Michel's goal area, to have Sobis tap it in and score, putting the scoreline at one-all and winning the aggregate 3–2. The stadium erupted in cheers and the home side seemed to get into rhythm again. Inter's manager Roth showed his ambition when he sent Giuliano on the field to replace the injured Sobis minutes after scoring the equalizer. At the 75th minute, a glaring error from Fabián as he executed a wrong pass to Leandro Damião, who just came on the field to replace Taison. Leandro made his way towards Chivas' goal and kicked the ball hard enough to go into the net, despite rebounding on Michel's right arm. José Luis Real began to make changes to try to reverse the adverse 4–2 aggregate. But Omar Arellano received his marching orders 5 minutes from the end for a spiteful foul on D'Alessandro. With one minute to go, Guiliano managed to score one last time as he dribbled past the Mexican defense and cheekily put the ball away in the net. Chivas would score on the last minute of injury time, as Bautista's free kick met Renan's post only for the ball to land in the path of Omar Bravo, which he put away to make the aggregate 5–3. However, it was too late as Ruiz blew the whistle for full-time.