The 1968 Copa Libertadores Finals was the final two-legged tie to determine the

1968 Copa Libertadores The 1968 Copa Libertadores was the ninth edition of the Copa Libertadores, South America's premier association football competition. It was played between January 27 and May 16. A record 21 teams participated in this edition. This edition brought ...

champion. It was contested by

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

club

Estudiantes de La Plata Club Estudiantes de La Plata ( lit. "Students from La Plata"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata , is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, wh ...

and Brazilian club

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 ...

. The first leg of the tie was played on 2 May at Estudiantes' home field, with the second leg played on 7 May at Palmeiras'. Estudiantes and Palmeiras played in their 1st and 2nd Copa Libertadores finals, respectively. Palmeiras last appearance was in

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 ...

, in which they were beaten by defending champions

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 ...

. Estudiantes was appearing in their first ever final ever. Estudiantes won the series after winning a tie-breaking playoff 2-0 at

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

Estadio Centenario Estadio Centenario is a stadium in the Parque Batlle of Montevideo, Uruguay, used primarily for football. The stadium was built between 1929 and 1930 to host the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup, as well as to commemorate the centenary of Uruguay ...

.El Estudiantes de Zubeldía, campeón de América
on AFA website, 16 May 2018

Qualified teams

Venues

Rules

The finals 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 a playoff was at a neutral venue will become the next tie-breaker. Goal difference is going to be used as a last resort.

Route to the Finals

Palmeiras qualified to the 1968 Copa Libertadores as the 1967

Taça Brasil The Taça Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) was the Brazilian national football championship contested from 1959 to 1968. Bahia, Cruzeiro and Botafogo were the only champions to have played all phases of the tournament, because until the 1968 edition tea ...

champions, defeating Náutico 2-0 in a playoff played at the Estádio do Maracanã. This was Palmeiras' second title in the competition. Estudiantes qualified as runners-up of the 1967 Torneo Nacional. The team did win the

1967 Metropolitano Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

after defeating Copa Libertadores holders Racing Club.

First round

Estudiantes was drawn into Group 1 alongside Independiente, winners of the

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

and

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

editions of this tournament, and Colombian sides

Deportivo Cali Asociación Deportivo Cali, best known as Deportivo Cali, is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, most notable for its football team, which currently competes in the Categoría Primera A. Deportivo Cali is one of the most successful footba ...

and

Millonarios Millonarios Fútbol Club is a professional Colombian football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the El Campín stadium. Millonarios was initially created in 1937 by students f ...

. The ''Pincharatas'' surprisingly cruised to the second round, assuring qualification, with a match to spare, after a run of 4 consecutive victories and a tie. Estudiantes defeated Independiente 2-4 in

Avellaneda Avellaneda (, ) is a port city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the seat of the Avellaneda Partido, whose population was 342,677 as per the . Avellaneda is located within the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area, and is connected ...

and won 0-1 and 1-2 in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

against Millonarios and Deportivo Cali, respectively. A 3-0 victory at home against Deportivo Cali was followed by a 0-0 draw vs Millonarios, which assured Estudiantes place into the second round. Estudiantes will beat Independiente 2-0 in their last match of this phase. Palmeiras was drawn into Group 5. They were joined by fellow Brazilian club Náutico and Venezuelan outfits Deportivo Portugués and

Deportivo Galicia Deportivo Galicia Fútbol Club (later Galicia de Aragua) was a traditional football club from Venezuela. Founded in Caracas, the club moved, in 2002, to Maracay, in the state of Aragua, when its name changed to Galicia de Aragua, playing the ...

. Like Estudiatnes, Palmeiras started their campaign well with a 5-victory streak that assured them of a place in the second round, with Tupãzinho, Ademir and Servílio being key players for the ''Verdão'' (tying 0-0 in their last, meaningless match against Náutico). The first match saw Palmeiras win in

Recife That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...

1-3 against Náutico. Two 1-2 away victories against the Venezuelan teams was followed by 1-0 win over Deportivo Galicia and a 2-0 triumph over Deportivo Portugués.

Second round and Semifinals

The second round was another group phase. Estudiantes were drawn in Group A alongside Independiente and

Universitario Club Universitario de Deportes, popularly known as Universitario or simply as La "U", is a Peruvian football club located in Lima. The club was founded in 1924 under the name Federación Universitaria by students of the National University of S ...

. Universitario gave Estudiantes their first defeat in the tournament, 1-0, in Lima. However, Estudiantes came back strongly to win the rest of their matches. The ''Pincharatas'' defeated, once again, Independiente home and away (1-0 and 1-2, respectively) and secured their place in the Semifinals with a 1-0 triumph over Universitario. In Group C, Tupãzinho, Ademir and Servílio continued to shine as Palmeiras made their way into the last four of the competition. A 4-1 rout of Universidad Católica was followed by a disappointing 2-0 defeat to

Guaraní Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guaraní language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * ...

. Two hard-earned wins, one 0-1 scoreline in Santiago against Universidad Católica and a 2-1 win at home vs Guaraní, was enough to get Palmeiras through. In the Semifinals, Estudiantes played against defending champions

Racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...

. The first leg was played in

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...

. Estudiantes won the match 3−0 with goals from

Roberto Perfumo Roberto Alfredo Perfumo (3 October 1942 – 10 March 2016) was an Argentine association football, footballer and sports commentator. Nicknamed ''El Mariscal'', Perfumo is considered one of the best Argentine Defender (association football), defe ...

and a brace from the emerging figure

Juan Ramón Verón Juan Ramón Verón (; born 17 March 1944) is an Argentine football coach and former professional player. He played as a midfielder or forward most notably for Estudiantes, where he won three consecutive Copa Libertadores titles. He is the fath ...

. The second leg, played at

, was won by Racing 2-0 with goals by

Humberto Maschio Humberto Dionisio Maschio (; born 20 February 1933) is an Italian-Argentine former football player and manager who played as a forward or midfielder. At international level, he represented both the Argentina national team, winning the 1957 Co ...

and Rubén Fucceneco. Since the series was tied on points (2-2 each), a playoff in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

was contested; it ended in a 1-1 draw with

Juan Carlos Cárdenas Juan Carlos Cárdenas (25 July 1945 – 30 March 2022) was an Argentine football player and coach. He played for a number of clubs in Argentina and Mexico as well as playing for the Argentina national team. He was known by the nickname "El Chan ...

and Verón scoring for each of their clubs. Since the match finished in a tie, goal difference was taken into account and Estudiantes advanced to the finals. Palmeiras' semifinal match-up was against

, three-time winners of the Copa Libertadores, in a rematch of the 1961 final which Peñarol won. This time, Palmeiras started out well winning the first leg, played at home in São Paulo, with a 1−0 with the goal coming from Tupãzinho. The second leg, played in

, ended with a 1-2 scoreline in favor of Palmeiras with a brace by Tupãzinho. Héctor Silva scored the ''manyas'' lone goal. With a point aggregate of 4-0, Palmeiras advanced to the finals.

Matches

First leg

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Second leg

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Playoff

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Copa Libertadores Finals 1968 1

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

l l 1968 in Argentine 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 ...

Football in Buenos Aires Province