1966 Copa Libertadores

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1966 Copa Libertadores de América
Tournament details
DatesFebruary 5 - April 15
Teams17 (from 8 confederations)
Final positions
ChampionsUruguay Peñarol (3rd title)
Runners-upArgentina River Plate
Tournament statistics
Matches played95
Goals scored283 (2.98 per match)
Top scorer(s)Argentina Daniel Onega (17 goals)
1965
1967

The 1966 Copa Libertadores de América was the seventh edition of the competition, the premier South American club football tournament, organized by CONMEBOL. Colombia and Brazil did not send their representatives. This edition became the first club competition of the world to include the runners-up of each of its participating association. Despite the fact that Colombian and Brazilian clubs did not participate, this tournament saw a record 95 matches being played out to determine this year's champion.

Colombia did not send a representative due to the disagreements between CONMEBOL and the Colombian football federations. The Brazilians protested the inclusion of the runners-up of each nation and argued that the tournament should be reserved for national champions. That led them to become denatured and the powers reserved only for the champions, in addition to the priority order they gave their interstate tournaments and the many unattractive encounters-to-come against teams from the "Pacific", the Brazilian clubs opted for tours around the world instead as they were seen more economically rewarding. Not having any economic incentives, CONMEBOL was forced to allow clubs the freedom of whether they participated or not. This trend will continue for the next 5 editions.

After winning each of their home legs, Peñarol and River Plate required a playoff to break the deadlock. The match was played in the Estadio Nacional of Santiago, Chile. River Plate finished the first half 2-0 and was in cruise control towards its first title. The manyas managed to revert the disadvantage to push this match into extra time. With two more goals, the final score of 2-4 meant that Peñarol became the first three-time winners of the competition. The collapse of River Plate in the second half led the club to being known, even now, as the "gallinas".

Qualified teams[edit]

Country Team Qualification method
CONMEBOL
(1 berth)
Independiente 1965 Copa Libertadores winners
 Argentina
(2 berths)
Boca Juniors 1965 Primera División champion
River Plate 1965 Primera División runner-up
 Bolivia
(2 berths)
Deportivo Municipal 1965 Copa Simón Bolívar champion
Jorge Wilstermann 1965 Copa Simón Bolívar runner-up
 Chile
(2 berths)
Universidad de Chile 1965 Primera División champion
Universidad Católica 1965 Primera División runner-up
 Ecuador
(2 berths)
Emelec 1965 Campeonato Ecuatoriano champion
9 de Octubre 1965 Campeonato Ecuatoriano runner-up
 Paraguay
(2 berths)
Olimpia 1965 Primera División champion
Guaraní 1965 Primera División runner-up
 Peru
(2 berths)
Alianza Lima 1965 Primera División champion
Universitario 1965 Primera División runner-up
 Uruguay
(2 berths)
Peñarol 1965 Primera División champion
Nacional 1965 Primera División runner-up
 Venezuela
(2 berths)
Lara 1965 Primera División champion
Deportivo Italia 1965 Primera División runner-up

Tie-breaking criteria[edit]

At each stage of the tournament teams receive 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and no points for a loss. If two or more teams are equal on points, the following criteria will be applied to determine the ranking in the group stage:

  1. a one-game playoff;
  2. superior goal difference;
  3. draw of lots.

First round[edit]

Sixteen teams were drawn into two groups of six and one group of four. In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away. The top two teams in each group advanced to the Semifinals. Independiente, the title holders, had a bye to the next round.

Group 1[edit]

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Argentina River Plate 10 8 1 1 23 8 +15 17
Argentina Boca Juniors 10 7 0 3 19 9 +10 14
Peru Universitario 10 4 3 3 10 13 -3 11
Venezuela Deportivo Italia 10 4 2 4 15 18 -3 10
Peru Alianza Lima 10 2 0 8 9 16 -7 4
Venezuela Lara 10 1 2 7 5 17 -12 4
February 5, 1966 Universitario Peru 2 – 0 Peru Alianza Lima Lima
Chumpitaz
Challe
February 12, 1966 Lara Venezuela 0 – 0 Peru Universitario Barquisimeto
March 13, 1966 Alianza Lima Peru 3 – 0 Venezuela Lara Lima
Zegarra
Reyes

Group 2[edit]

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Chile Universidad Católica 6 2 3 1 9 5 +4 7
Paraguay Guaraní 6 2 2 2 9 9 0 6
Paraguay Olimpia 6 2 2 2 7 10 -3 6
Chile Universidad de Chile 6 1 3 2 6 7 -1 5
March 23, 1966 Second
place playoff
Guaraní Paraguay 2 – 1 Paraguay Olimpia Asunción
González González

Group 3[edit]

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Uruguay Peñarol 10 8 0 2 20 10 +10 16
Uruguay Nacional 10 7 1 2 22 10 +12 15
Bolivia Jorge Wilstermann 10 4 2 4 14 14 0 10
Bolivia Deportivo Municipal 10 4 1 5 21 22 -1 9
Ecuador Emelec 10 4 0 6 15 18 -3 8
Ecuador 9 de Octubre 10 1 0 9 13 31 -18 2
February 6, 1966 Emelec Ecuador 0 – 2 Uruguay Nacional Guayaquil
Pérez
Méndez

Semifinals[edit]

Seven teams were drawn into two groups, one of four and the other of three. In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away. The top team in each group advanced to the Finals.

Group A[edit]

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Argentina River Plate 6 3 2 1 13 8 +5 8
Argentina Independiente 6 3 2 1 9 6 +3 8
Argentina Boca Juniors 6 2 3 1 7 6 +1 7
Paraguay Guaraní 6 0 1 5 5 14 -9 1

Group B[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation Uruguay PEÑ Chile CAT Uruguay NAC
1 Uruguay Peñarol 4 3 0 1 6 1 +5 6 Qualified to the Final 2–0 3–0
2 Chile Universidad Católica 4 2 0 2 4 5 −1 4 1–0 1–0
3 Uruguay Nacional 4 1 0 3 3 7 −4 2 0–1 3–2
Source: [citation needed]

Finals[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Uruguay Peñarol 2 1 0 1 4 3 +1 2
2 Argentina River Plate 2 1 0 1 3 4 −1 2
Source: [citation needed]
Peñarol Uruguay2–0Argentina River Plate
Abbadie 74'
Joya 84'


Playoff
River Plate Argentina2–4 (a.e.t.)Uruguay Peñarol
D. Onega 27'
Solari 42'
Spencer 65', 102'
Abbadie 71'
Rocha 109'
Attendance: 40,240

Champion[edit]

Copa Libertadores de América
1966 Champion
Uruguay
Peñarol
Third Title

Top goalscorers[edit]

Pos Player Team Goals
1 Argentina Daniel Onega Argentina River Plate 17
2 Uruguay Pedro Rocha Uruguay Peñarol 10
3 Argentina Alfredo Hugo Rojas Argentina Boca Juniors 7
Uruguay Julio César Morales Uruguay Nacional 7
Uruguay Orlando Virgili Uruguay Nacional 7
Venezuela Agostino Nitti Venezuela Deportivo Italia 7
ArgentinaBolivia Salomón Moyano Bolivia Deportivo Municipal 7
Paraguay Gerardo González Paraguay Olimpia 7
Ecuador Hugo Lencina Ecuador Emelec 7
Ecuador Cirilo Fernández Ecuador 9 de Octubre 7
Bolivia Ausberto García Bolivia Jorge Wilstermann 7

Footnotes[edit]

A. ^ The match finished 1-1, but Universitario were declared 0-1 winners as Alianza fielded two ineligible players: Catalá and Cruz.

External links[edit]