The 1968 Copa Libertadores was the ninth edition of 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 ...
,
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
's premier
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
competition. It was played between January 27 and May 16. A record 21 teams participated in this edition.
This edition brought the explosive debut of a humble team from the city of
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 ...
, capital of the
Buenos Aires province
Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...
, that did not find itself in the plateau of
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 ...
football.
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 ...
, an authentic stranger in the highest levels of South American football, surpassed all expectations as they eliminated
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 ...
and
Independiente (two denominated "great" ones in Argentina as well as each having already won the tournament before).
With a talented prospect by the name of
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 ''pincharatas'' beat
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 ...
2–0 in a playoff after the final series finished 2–2 on points. Estudiantes conquered the title with an original style which emphasized athleticism and strategic preparation.
Qualified teams
Tie-breaking criteria
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:
#a
one-game playoff;
#superior goal difference;
#draw of lots.
First round
Twenty teams were drawn into five groups of four. In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away. The top two teams in each group advanced to the Second round.
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 title holders, had a
bye to the Semifinals.
Group 1
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Group 2
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Group 3
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Group 4
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Group 5
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Second round
Ten teams were drawn into three groups, two groups of three and one group of four. In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away. The top team in each group advanced to the Semifinals, along with Racing Club.
Group A
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Group B
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Group C
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Semifinals
Four teams were drawn into two groups. In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away. The top team in each group advanced to the Finals.
Semifinal 1
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''Estudiantes progressed to the finals due to better goal difference.''
Semifinal 2
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Finals
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Champion
Top goalscorers
Footnotes
:A. The match finished 1-1, but Jorge Wilstermann were declared 0-1 winners after Troncoso's own goal was declared invalid.
:B. The match finished 3-2, but the 2 points were awarded to Deportivo Portugués as Náutico made two substitutions.
External links
Sitio oficial de la CONMEBOL
{{Copa Libertadores Seasons
1
Copa Libertadores seasons