The 1961 Copa de Campeones de América Finals was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

series between

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...

and

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

on June 4 and June 11 of this same year. It was the second final of South America's most prestigious football competition, the Copa de Campeones (known in the modern era as the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

). Defending champions Peñarol were appearing in their second consecutive final, whereas Palmeiras were seeking to win the competition for the first time. Both finalists reached the final with relative ease as each of them won three of their four matches. Each club needed to win two group series to reach the final. Peñarol's victories were incredibly one-sided affairs, each effectively settled by the first leg, as they thumped Universitario of Peru 5-0 in the first leg of their quarterfinal group. Peñarol even dispatched Olimpia in the semifinals with little difficulty as they won both matches of the series in a rematch of the previous year's finals. Palmeiras made similar comfortable progress: they scored nine goals while conceding only three after beating Independiente away and crushing Independiente Santa Fe 4-1 at home. Like the previous edition,

Alberto Spencer Alberto Pedro Spencer Herrera (6 December 1937 – 3 November 2006) was an Ecuadorian footballer who played as a forward, and is widely regarded as one of the best Ecuadorian footballers of all time He is probably best known for his still-standi ...

scored a late goal in the first leg of the final to give his team a slight lead. Going into

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

José Sasía José Francisco Sasía Lugo (27 December 1933 – 30 August 1996) was a Uruguayan footballer who played as a forward. He played for clubs of Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay and in the Uruguay national team in the 1962 and 1966 FIFA World ...

scored in the first two minutes of the match in order to give Peñarol their second consecutive title in the competition. Sacia's goal also became the fastest goal to be scored on a final match. Curiously, José Luis Praddaude became the first, and so far only, referee to officiate both matches of the final series in this competition. He also refereed the second leg of the 1960 final.Copa Libertadores de América 1961
by José Luis Pierrend, John Beuker, Pablo Ciullini and Osvaldo Gorgazzi on RSSSF

Qualified teams

Stadiums

Rules

The final will be played over two legs; home and away. The team that accumulates the most points —two for a win, one for a draw, zero for a loss— after the two legs will be crowned the champion. Should the two teams be tied on points after the second leg, the team with the best goal difference will win. If the two teams have equal goal difference, a playoff match at a neutral venue will be contested.

Match details

First leg

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Second leg

References

External links

1961 Copa Libertadores at Ficha Do Jogo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Copa Libertadores Finals 1961 1

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

Peñarol matches Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras matches 1961 in Uruguayan football

Copa Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Computer Operator Programming Assistant. trade of ITI * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Ass ...