The 1997 Supercopa Libertadores was the tenth and final season of the
Supercopa Libertadores
The Supercopa Libertadores (English: ''Libertadores Supercup''), also known as the Supercopa Libertadores João Havelange, Supercopa João Havelange or simply Supercopa, was a football club competition contested annually between 1988 and 1997 by t ...
, a club
football tournament for past
Copa Libertadores winners.
Vasco da Gama were admitted to the tournament for the first time in recognition of winning the
South American Championship of Champions
The South American Championship of Champions ( es, Campeonato Sudamericano de Campeones, pt, Campeonato Sul-Americano de Campeões) was a football competition played in Santiago, Chile in 1948 and the first continental-wide football tournament in ...
in 1948.
Argentinos Juniors
Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Paternal, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was recognized as one of the ...
did not take part.
River Plate won the competition for the first time, defeating
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 Ga ...
2–1 on aggregate in the final.
For its final season, the format of the first round was changed from a two-legged knockout round to four groups of four teams playing each other twice. As 17 teams were scheduled to take part, a preliminary round was played to eliminate one team.
As through the successive editions of this cup were added new champions from the Copa Libertadores, in 1997 the
Conmebol decided that the last teams of each group would descend to reduce the number of teams to disputed it. That year descended Velez Sarsfield, Racing Club and Boca Juniors (all teams from Argentina) and Gremio (Brazil).
Teams
;Notes
Preliminary round
The matches were played from 15 June to 13 July.
Group stage
The matches were played from 26 August to 30 October.
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Knockout phase
In the knockout phase, the four group winners played a
single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
. Each tie was played on a home-and-away
two-legged basis.
Bracket
Semifinals
The matches were played on 5 November, 6 November, 26 November and 27 November.
Finals
The matches were played on 5 November, 6 November, 26 November and 27 November.
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''River Plate won 2–1 on aggregate.''
Top goalscorers
See also
*
List of Copa Libertadores winners
The Copa Libertadores is a seasonal association football competition that was established in 1960. It begins in mid-January and ends with the final in November of the same year. The Copa Libertadores is open to the league champions of CONMEBOL mem ...
*
1997 Copa Libertadores
*
1998 Recopa Sudamericana
The 1998 Recopa Sudamericana was the tenth Recopa Sudamericana, an annual football match between the winners of the previous season's Copa Libertadores and Supercopa Sudamericana competitions. This will become the last Recopa Sudamericana on this f ...
External links
RSSSF
{{Supercopa Sudamericana Seasons
Supercopa Libertadores
2