The Copa CONMEBOL (English: CONMEBOL Cup) was an annual football cup competition organized by CONMEBOL between 1992 and 1999 for South American football clubs.[1] During its time of existence, it was a very prestigious South American club football contest, similar to the UEFA Cup. Clubs qualified for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions. Teams that were not able to qualify for the Copa Libertadores would play in this tournament. The tournament was played as a knockout cup. The tournament ended in 1999, following the expansion of the Copa Libertadores to 32 teams.

Copa CONMEBOL
Copa Conmebol
The trophy awarded to champions
Organizing bodyCONMEBOL
Founded1992
Abolished1999; 25 years ago (1999)
RegionSouth America
Number of teams16
Related competitionsCopa Mercosur
Copa Merconorte
Most successful club(s)Brazil Atlético Mineiro
(2 titles)

The Copa Mercosur and Copa Merconorte -which both started in 1998- replaced the Copa CONMEBOL, and the merger of those 3 cups would later transformed in the current Copa Sudamericana.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

The last champion of the competition was Talleres, while Atlético Mineiro is the most successful club in the cup history, having won the tournament two times. The cup was won by seven different clubs but it was never won consecutively.[9][10]

Format

edit

Qualification

edit

Each national association was assigned a number of entries determined by CONMEBOL which changed slightly from one edition to another. The best teams from the previous season that did not qualify for the Copa Libertadores through their league qualified for the Copa CONMEBOL. The tournament itself was played in two-legged knockout stages. The champion of the Copa CONMEBOL disputed the Recopa Sudamericana, the Copa de Oro and the Copa Master de CONMEBOL, albeit irregularly.

Tournament

edit

The tournament started in the first stage in which 16 clubs were paired in a series of two-legged knockout ties in the round of 16, the first of four stages that worked on a single elimination phase knockout system that culminated in the finals. During each stage of the tournament, ties were decided on points, followed by goal difference, away goals, then a penalty shootout after full-time of the second leg, if necessary.

List of champions

edit

Finals

edit
Keys
  • aet: after extra time
  • p: defined on penalty shoot-out
  •   result on points difference
  •   result on aggregate (when both teams equaled on points)
Ed. Year Coun. Winner Runner-up Coun. Scores Venue City Ref.
1
1992   BRA Atlético Mineiro Olimpia   PAR Mineirão Belo Horizonte
Defensores del Chaco Asunción
2–1
2
1993   BRA Botafogo Peñarol   URU Estadio Centenario Montevideo
Maracanã Rio de Janeiro
3–3 (3–1 p)
3
1994   BRA São Paulo Peñarol   URU Morumbi São Paulo
Estadio Centenario Montevideo
6–4
4
1995   ARG Rosario Central Atlético Mineiro   BRA Mineirão Belo Horizonte
Gigante de Arroyito Rosario
4–4 (4–3 p)
5
1996   ARG Lanús Santa Fe   COL La Fortaleza Lanús
El Campín Bogotá
2–1
6
1997   BRA Atlético Mineiro Lanús   ARG La Fortaleza Lanús
Mineirão Belo Horizonte
4–1
7
1998   BRA Santos Rosario Central   ARG Vila Belmiro Santos
Gigante de Arroyito Rosario
1–0
8
1999   ARG Talleres (C) CSA   BRA Rei Pelé Maceió
Estadio Olímpico Córdoba
5–4

Performances by club

edit
Performance in the Copa CONMEBOL by club
Club Titles Runners-up Seasons won Seasons runner-up
  Atlético Mineiro 2 1 1992, 1997 1995
  Rosario Central 1 1 1995 1998
  Lanús 1 1 1996 1997
  Botafogo 1 0 1993
  São Paulo 1 0 1994
  Santos 1 0 1998
  Talleres 1 0 1999
  Peñarol 0 2
1993, 1994
  Olimpia 0 1
1992
  Santa Fe 0 1
1996
  CSA 0 1
1999

Top scorers

edit
Year Player (team) Goals
1992   Aílton Delfino (Atlético Mineiro) 6
1993   Sinval (Botafogo) 8
1994   Juninho (São Paulo)
  Martín Rodríguez Alba (San Lorenzo)
5
1995   Horacio Carbonari (Rosario Central)
  Rubén da Silva (Rosario Central)
  Álex Escobar (América de Cali)
4
1996   Oscar Mena (Lanús) 5
1997   Valdir (Atlético Mineiro) 7
1998   Carlos María Morales (LDU Quito)
  Viola (Santos)
4
1999   Marcelo Araxá (São Raimundo-AM)
  Missinho (CSA)
4

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ RSSSF SOUTH AMERICAN COMPETITIONS Archived 2010-02-01 at the Wayback Machine- RSSSF Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  2. ^ Copa Conmebol at the official page of Conmebol.com Archived 2013-07-18 at the Wayback Machine CONMEBOL Retrieved May 18, 2010.
  3. ^ CONMEBOL Cup / UEFA Cup Archived 2015-10-31 at the Wayback Machine RSSSF Retrieved May 18, 2010.
  4. ^ Información sobre la Copa Conmebol Archived 2009-01-24 at the Wayback Machine infofutbolonline.com Retrieved May 18, 2010
  5. ^ THE BEST CLUB OF SOUTH AMERICA RSSSF Archived 2010-02-01 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved January 9, 2014
  6. ^ Globo Esporte Archived 2009-05-12 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved December 10, 2007
  7. ^ Terra Brazil Archived 2013-09-30 at the Wayback Machine- Retrieved December 5, 2012
  8. ^ Santander Fútbol Archived 2013-10-21 at the Wayback Machine- Retrieved July 16, 2012
  9. ^ Bola na Área Copa Conmebol Archived 2014-10-30 at the Wayback Machine- Retrieved 18, May 2010.
  10. ^ RSSSF SOUTH AMERICAN COMPETITIONS Archived 2010-02-01 at the Wayback Machine- Retrieved January 9, 2014
  11. ^ a b "Classic club: Atletico Mineiro". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  12. ^ "Classic club: Botafogo". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  13. ^ "Classic club: São Paulo". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on February 20, 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
  14. ^ "Títulos del Club Atlético Rosario Central" (in Spanish). Rosario Central. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  15. ^ "Lanús Campeón Copa Conmebol 1996" (in Spanish). Club Atlético Lanús. Archived from the original on 30 May 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  16. ^ La Conmebol 1996, aquel primer grito internacional Archived 2021-01-31 at the Wayback Machine, Clarín, 12 Dec 2013
  17. ^ A 19 AÑOS DEL PRIMER GRITO SAGRADO Archived 2022-09-08 at the Wayback Machine on Fortaleza Granate
  18. ^ "Classic club: Santos". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on December 5, 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  19. ^ 1999. TALLERES CAMPEÓN DE LA COPA CONMEBOL Archived 2022-08-12 at the Wayback Machine on El Gráfico
  20. ^ "Emblemas Oficiales" (in Spanish). Talleres de Córdoba. Archived from the original on 12 January 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  21. ^ Hace 21 años, Talleres se consagró campeón de la Copa Conmebol Archived 2022-09-08 at the Wayback Machine on Club Talleres, 8 Dec 2020
edit