"List is current as of the end of 2015."
This ranking 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.
This list is current as of the end of 2016.
The following is a list of the 201 clubs that have played at least one match of Copa Libertadores, updated to the edition 2017.
Teams in bold: winner of the edition.
Teams in italics: runner-up of the edition.
Note: 1) In 1966 and 1967, the finalists qualified via semi-final group stage which consisted of one group of four teams and a second group of three teams. The seven teams are marked as semifinalists in the table. 2) From 1971 to 1987, the finalists qualified via a semifinal group stage which consisted of two groups of three teams. The six teams are marked as semifinalists in the table.
Note: 1) In 1960 and 1961, the tournament started in this round, so teams are not marked as quarterfinalists in the table. 2) From 1962 to 1965, no quarterfinals were played as the tournament had a first stage which consisted of three groups where the winners of each group advanced to semifinals with the winner of the previous edition. 3) In 1966 and 1967, no quarterfinals 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 semifinals with the winner of the previous edition. 4) From 1968 to 1970, no quarterfinals 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 semifinals with the winner of the previous edition. 5) From 1971 to 1987, no quarterfinals were played as the tournament had a first stage with five groups of four teams, where the winners of each group advanced to semifinals with the winner of the previous edition.
Note: 1) From 1960 to 1987, no round of 16 was played because of the format of the tournament or because the lack of teams.
Six clubs have won the Copa Libertadores unbeaten, with one of them doing so twice:
Estudiantes had 3 wins and 1 draw in 1969 and 4 wins and 0 draws in 1970
The other unbeaten sides are:
Peñarol had 3 wins and 4 draws in 1960
Santos had 3 wins and 1 draw in 1963
Independiente had 5 wins and 2 draws in 1964
Boca Juniors had 4 wins and 2 draws in 1978
Corinthians had 8 wins and 6 draws in 2012
Only one club has appeared in the finals of the Copa Libertadores more than once with a 100% success rate:
Independiente (1964, 1965, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1984)
Ten clubs have appeared in the final once, being victorious on that occasion:
Racing (1967)
Flamengo (1981)
Argentinos Juniors (1985)
Vélez Sársfield (1994)
Vasco da Gama (1998)
Once Caldas (2004)
LDU Quito (2008)
Corinthians (2012)
Atlético Mineiro (2013)
San Lorenzo (2014)
On the other end, fourteen 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:
América (1985, 1986, 1987, 1996)
Deportivo Cali (1978, 1999)
Cobreloa (1981, 1982)
Newell's Old Boys (1988, 1992)
Barcelona (1990, 1998)
Nacional have the record number of consecutive participations with 19 from 1997 to 2015.
Two clubs have appeared in a record four consecutive finals:
Estudiantes (1968, 1969, 1970, 1971)
Independiente (1972, 1973, 1974, 1975)
Fifty-three tournaments have been completed as of the end of 2013. Eleven of the fifty-seven attempts to defend the trophy (19.2%) have been successful and has been accomplished by six clubs:
Independiente on 4 out of 7 attempts (1965 and 1973, 1974, 1975)
Estudiantes on 2 out of 4 attempts (1969, 1970)
Boca Juniors on 2 out of 6 attempts (1978 and 2001)
Peñarol on 1 out of 5 attempts (1961)
Santos on 1 out of 3 attempts (1963)
São Paulo on 1 out of 3 attempts (1993)
Of the 24 clubs to win the tournament, 18 have never defended it. Six of those clubs have won the trophy more than once and had more than one attempt to do so:
Olimpia on 3 attempts
Nacional on 3 attempts
Grêmio on 3 attempts
River Plate on 2 attempts
Cruzeiro on 2 attempts
Internacional on 2 attempts
Since the start of current format in 2005, three title-holders have failed to advance past the group stage:
Internacional (2007)
LDU Quito (2009)
San Lorenzo (2015)
Although not an official title or recognized achievement, only one club has the distinction of winning the Copa Libertadores, their national league, and another domestic tournament in the same year/season, known colloquially as the treble:
Santos in 1962 having won the 1962 Copa Libertadores, the Taça Brasil, and the Campeonato Paulista. Santos also went on to win the Intercontinental Cup that same year.
In addition Santos, six other clubs have achieved a continental double, in which a club win the Copa Libertadore in addition to their domestic league in the same year:
Peñarol did it twice in 1960 and 1961
Nacional in 1971 and 1980
Olimpia in 1979
Argentinos Juniors in 1985
River Plate in 1986
Colo-Colo in 1991
In addition to the double, these clubs have gone on to win other trophies in that same time frame:
Peñarol won the Intercontinental Cup in 1961
Nacional won the Intercontinental Cup and Copa Interamericana in 1971, and the Intercontinental Cup in 1980
Olimpia won the Intercontinental Cup and Copa Interamericana in 1979
Argentinos Juniors won the Copa Interamericana in 1985
River Plate won the Intercontinental Cup and Copa Interamericana in 1986
Colo-Colo won the Copa Interamericana in 1991
The largest margin of victory in a single game is nine goals, which was done twice:
Peñarol beat Valencia 11–2 in 1970
River Plate beat Universitario 9–0 in 1970
The largest margin of victory in a finals match is 4 goals, when São Paulo beat Universidad Católica 5–1 in 1993
The largest margin of victory over two legs is thirteen goals when Peñarol beat Everest 14–1 overall in 1963; the score lines per match was 5–0 and 9–1
The record number of goals scored in one match is 13 when Peñarol beat Valencia 11–2 in 1970
The most goals scored in a draw is ten when Bolívar drew Atlético Paranaense 5–5 in 2002
The most goals in a finals match is six. This was done three times:
Peñarol beat River Plate 4–2 in 1966
São Paulo beat Universidad Católica 5–1 in 1993
LDU Quito beat Flumeninse 4–2 in 2008
The most goals over two legs is fifteen goals when Peñarol beat Everest 14–1 overall in 1963; the score lines per match was 5–0 and 9–1
In instances where a third match was needed, the record is seventeen goals when Peñarol beat Santos 9–8 in 1965; the score lines per match were 5–4, 3–2, and 2–1
The most goals over two legs in a finals is ten when LDU Quito drew Fluminense 5–5 overall in 2008; the score lines per match were 4–2 and 3–1
In instances where a third match was needed, the record is thirteen goals, done twice:
Peñarol beat River Plate 8–5 overall in 1966; the score lines were 2–0, 3–2, and 4–2
Cruzeiro also beat River Plate 8–5 overall in 1976; the scores lines were 4–1, 2–1, and 3–2
Ever Hugo 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.
Alberto Spencer is the all-time goalscorer of the Copa Libertadores with 54 goals to his name between 1960 and 1972.
The top scorer award is for the player who amassed the most goals in the tournament.
Fernando Morena (Peñarol) in 1974, 1975, and 1982 received the most awards with three.
Four other players have won it multiple times:
Alberto Spencer (Peñarol) in 1960 and 1962
Oswaldo Ramírez (Universitario) in 1972 and 1975
Néstor Scotta (Deportivo Cali) in 1977 and 1978
Salvador Cabañas (América) in 2007 and 2008
Daniel Onega (River Plate) scored the most goals in a single tournament with 17 goals in 1966
Players from Peñarol have received the award the most with seven:
Alberto Spencer in 1960 and 1962
Raul Castronovo in 1971
Fernando Morena in 1974, 1975, and 1982
Carlos Aguilera in 1989
Brazilian players have received it the most with 29
The tournament's first hat-trick was done by Alberto Spencer of Peñarol when he scored four goals against Jorge Wilstermann on April 19, 1960, in the first match in the history of the tournament.
Thiago Neves is the only player to score a hat-trick in a finals game for Fluminense in 2008.
The fastest goal scored in the tournament was Alianza Lima's Félix Suárez in 6 seconds against Santa Fe on April 4, 1976.
The most goals scored by a single player was six by Juan Carlos Sánchez for Club Blooming's 8-0 victory over Deportivo Italia on April 7, 1985.
Alejandro Bernal saw the red card in the 22nd second of a game for his team Atlético Nacional in the tournament. The game was Atlético Nacional vs. Nacional de Montevideo in 2014.
Francisco Sá is the only player to win the tournament six time: four with Independiente (1972, 1973, 1974, 1975) and two with Boca Juniors (1977, 1978).
Antony de Ávila holds the unenviable record of appearing in five finals and losing in all five; four during his time at América (1985, 1986, 1987, 1996) and once with Barcelona (1998).
Carlos Bianchi is the only manager to win the Copa Libertadores four times, once with Vélez Sársfield (1994) and thrice with Boca Juniors (2000, 2001 and 2003).
Carlos Bianchi is the only person to manage five finalists: Vélez Sársfield (1994) and Boca Juniors (2000, 2001, 2003, and 2004).
Four managers have won the tournament with two clubs:
Carlos Bianchi with Vélez Sársfield (1994) and Boca Juniors (2000, 2001, and 2003).
Luiz Felipe Scolari with Grêmio (1995) and Palmeiras (1999).
Paulo Autuori with Cruzeiro (1997) and São Paulo (2005).
Edgardo Bauza with LDU Quito (2008) and San Lorenzo (2014).
Five individuals have won the Copa Libertadores as a player, then later as a manager:
Luis Cubilla won as a player in 1960 and 1961 with Peñarol and 1971 with Nacional and then as a manager with Olimpia in 1979 and 1990.
José Omar Pastoriza won as a player in 1972 and then as a manager 1984, both with Independiente.
Nery Pumpido won as a player in 1986 with River Plate and then as a manager in 2002 with Olimpia.
Juan Martín Mujica won as a player in 1971 and then as a manager in 1980, both with Nacional.
Marcelo Gallardo won as a player in 1996 and then as a manager in 2015, both times with River Plate.
Mirko Jozić (a Yugoslav at the time) is the only non-South American coach to win the Copa Libertadores.
Argentina has provided the most number of titles, with 22 titles won by seven different clubs
Brazil has the highest number of different winning clubs, with ten. They have also provided the highest number of finalists with twelve. They have also provided the highest number of different participating clubs, with 27.
Only on two occasions have two clubs from the same country played each other in the finals, both of them involving Brazilian clubs:
São Paulo vs. Atlético Paranaense in 2005
Internacional vs. São Paulo in 2006
Teams from Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela, and Mexico have never won the tournament. Teams from Bolivia and Venezuela have yet to provide a finalist.
The most successful city in the history of the Copa Libertadores is Buenos Aires, which has seen a record four teams win ten total titles
Fifteen cities have hosted a trophy ceremony. São Paulo, Brazil has hosted the highest number of trophy ceremony with 11 times in three 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.
Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile has hosted a record eight trophy ceremony.
Three stadiums have hosted matches with attendance in excess of 100,000:
120,000 spectators saw São Paulo defeat Newell's Old Boys 1–0 in a semifinals match at Estádio do Morumbi in 1992
115,000 spectators saw Boca Juniors defeat Cruz Azul 1–0 in a finals match at Estadio Azteca in 2001
106,853 spectators saw Cruzeiro defeat Sporting Cristal 1–0 in a semifinals match at Estadio Mineirão in 1997
A record twenty-five stadiums in Brazil have been used to host matches
In 1991, América and Atlético Nacional six host matches at the Miami Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, United States after their home stadiums were banned. This is the only time a stadium outside South America or Mexico has even been used.
