This page details the records and statistics of the Copa Libertadores. The Copa Libertadores is an international premier club tournament played annually by the top football clubs of South America. It includes 3–5 teams from all ten CONMEBOL members. It is usually held from January to November.
The data below does not include the 1948 South American Championship of Champions, as it is not listed by CONMEBOL either as a Copa Libertadores edition or as an official competition. It must be pointed out, however, that at least in the years 1996 and 1997, CONMEBOL entitled equal status to both the Copa Libertadores and the 1948 tournament. Vasco da Gama were allowed to participate in the Supercopa Libertadores, a CONMEBOL official competition for former Libertadores champions (not admitting participation for champions of the Copa CONMEBOL).
This ranking is used for seeding in the qualifying and group stage draws of the Copa Libertadores, and is based on a club's performance in the last 10 years of the Copa Libertadores, its historic performance in the competition, and its performance in local championship tournaments.[2] Starting from 2021, the CONMEBOL ranking of the Copa Libertadores was updated to also include Copa Sudamericana performances, and thus was rebranded as the CONMEBOL Clubs Ranking.[3]
Note: 1) In 1960 and 1961, the tournament started in this round, so teams are not marked as quarter-finalists in the table. 2) From 1962 to 1965, no quarter-finals were played as the tournament had a first stage which consisted of three groups where the winners of each group advanced to semi-finals with the winners of the previous edition. 3) In 1966 and 1967, no quarter-finals were played as the tournament had a first stage with several groups of four, five, six or even seven teams, where the two best teams of each group advanced to semi-finals with the winner of the previous edition. 4) From 1968 to 1970, no quarter-finals were played as the tournament had a first stage with several groups of four or six teams, where the two best teams of each group advanced to the second stage with several groups of two, three or four teams, where the winners of each group advanced to the semi-finals with the winner of the previous edition. 5) From 1971 to 1987, no quarter-finals were played as the tournament had a first stage with five groups of four teams, where the winners of each group advanced to the semi-finals with the winner of the previous edition.
On the other end, eighteen clubs have appeared in the finals and have never won the tournament. Five of those clubs have appeared in the finals more than once, losing on each occasion:
As of 2021, 12 of the 61 attempts to defend the trophy (19.6%) have been successful, and this has been accomplished by seven clubs. Until 1999, the title-holders started the competition in the second stage (sometimes third, depending on the format). Since then, only Boca Juniors (in 2001) and Palmeiras (in 2021) have defended their title in the current format, with the previous year's champions starting the tournament in the group stage.
Of the 25 clubs to win the tournament, 19 have never defended it. Seven of those clubs have won the trophy more than once and had more than one attempt to do so. In 2000 title-holders started participating on group stage, four title-holders have failed to advance past this stage since.
Only 2 clubs have the distinction of winning the Copa Libertadores, their national league, and another domestic tournament in the same year/season, known colloquially as the treble:[T 1]
^Note: trebles are not possible for all South American clubs since many countries do not have a domestic cup.
In addition to Santos, seven other clubs have achieved a continental double, in which a club won the Copa Libertadores in addition to their domestic league in the same year:
The largest margin of victory over two legs is fourteen goals, which occurred when River Plate defeated Binacional 14–0 on aggregate in 2020; the scorelines in each match were 8–0 and 6–0.
Most goals in a match
The record number of goals scored in a single match is thirteen, which occurred when Peñarol defeated Valencia 11–2 in 1970.
The most goals scored over two legs is fifteen, which occurred when Peñarol defeated Everest 14–1 on aggregate in 1963; the scorelines in each match were 5–0 and 9–1.
In instances where a third leg was needed, the record number of goals scored is seventeen, which occurred when Peñarol defeated Santos 9–8 on aggregate in 1965; the scorelines in each match were 5–4, 3–2, and 2–1.
The most goals scored over two legs in the finals is ten, which occurred when LDU Quito drew Fluminense 5–5 on aggregate in 2008; the scorelines in each match were 4–2 and 3–1.
In instances where a third leg was needed, the record number of goals scored in the finals is thirteen, which occurred twice:
Peñarol defeated River Plate 8–5 on aggregate in 1966; the scorelines in each match were 2–0, 3–2, and 4–2.
Cruzeiro also defeated River Plate 8–5 overall in 1976; the scorelines in each match were 4–1, 2–1, and 3–2.
Players
Appearances
Ever Almeida holds the record for most matches played with 113 games, all for Olimpia. He is also the only person to have made over 100 appearances in the tournament.[5]
Brazil is the nationality that has received the most awards, with 30 Brazilian players finishing as top scorer.
Hat-tricks
The tournament's first hat-trick was scored by Alberto Spencer of Peñarol, when he netted four goals against Jorge Wilstermann on 19 April 1960, in the first ever match in the history of the tournament.
The youngest player to ever score in the tournament was Endrick, aged 16 years and 322 days when he scored for Palmeiras against Barcelona on 7 June 2023.[10]
The oldest player to ever score in the tournament was Zé Roberto, aged 42 years and 322 days when he scored for Palmeiras against Atlético Tucumán on 24 May 2017.[11]
From 1999 to 2007, Toyota, the main sponsor of the tournament, awarded the best player of the finals. However, in 2008, the company decided to recognise the manager, understanding that they are the main ones responsible for leading the entire team towards victory, combining concepts of reading the game, training, setting goals and strategy, until the final whistle.[12] The last Toyota award was given to Renato Portaluppi in the 2017 edition.
Argentina has provided the most titles, with 25 titles won by seven different clubs.
Brazil has the highest number of different winning clubs, with twelve. They have also provided the highest number of different finalists with fourteen, and the highest number of different participating clubs, with 28.
On seven occasions have two clubs from the same country played each other in the finals, six of them involving Brazilian clubs and one of them involving Argentinian clubs:
Teams from Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela and Mexico have never won the tournament. Teams from Bolivia and Venezuela have yet to provide a finalist.
Cities
The most successful city in the history of the Copa Libertadores is Buenos Aires, which has seen a record five clubs win thirteen total titles.
Fifteen cities have hosted a trophy ceremony. São Paulo has hosted the highest number of trophy ceremonies, with ten ceremonies held in three different stadiums.
Stadiums
As of the end of 2005, 121 stadiums have been used to host Copa Libertadores matches. Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay has held the most with 352 matches.
In 2018, River Plate became champions after defeating Boca Juniors at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, for the second leg of the finals. This happened because of problems arranging a reschedule for the match, after crowd incidents before match that was supposed to be played at River Plate's stadium, the Estadio Monumental. This marked the only time a Copa Libertadores champion lifted the trophy outside of the Americas, and the first time in Europe.
