1998 Copa Libertadores group stage

The 1998 Copa Libertadores group stage was played from 25 February to 9 April 1998. A total of 20 teams competed in the group stage to decide 15 places in the final stages of the 1998 Copa Libertadores, where they joined defending champions Cruzeiro.

Groups composition

Same as previous editions, the 20 participating teams were divided into 5 groups of 4, which consisted of two teams from one association and two teams from another. The paired associations for this edition were as follows:

Group 1: Colombia and Ecuador
Group 2: Brazil and Venezuela
Group 3: Chile and Paraguay
Group 4: Bolivia and Uruguay
Group 5: Argentina and Peru

However, after the agreement reached between the Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF) and Mexican promoters close to the Mexican Football Federation (FMF), the two places corresponding to the FVF were put at stake in a previous tournament, called Pre-Libertadores, between the two Venezuelan teams that had previously qualified for this edition and two Mexican teams designated by the FMF. Mexican sides Guadalajara and Club América overcame Venezuelan sides Caracas and Atlético Zulia to qualify for group 2.

Format

In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The teams were ranked according to the following criteria: 1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss); 2. Goal difference; 3. Goals scored.

The winners, runners-up and third placed teams of each group advanced to the round of 16 of the final stages.

Schedule

The match schedule of the group stage was announced by CONMEBOL on 12 December 1997.

Weeks	Dates	Group 1	Group 2	Group 3	Group 4	Group 5
Week 1	25 February 1998	COL1 v COL2, ECU1 v ECU2	—	PAR1 v PAR2, CHI2 v CHI1	BOL1 v BOL2, URU1 v URU2	—
Week 2	3, 4 and 6 March 1998	ECU2 v COL2, ECU1 v COL2	MEX2 v MEX1, BRA2 v BRA1	PAR2 v CHI1, PAR1 v CHI1	BOL2 v URU1, BOL1 v URU1	ARG2 v ARG1, PER1 v PER2
Week 3	10–13 March 1998	ECU2 v COL1, ECU1 v COL1	MEX2 v BRA2, MEX1 v BRA2	PAR2 v CHI2, PAR1 v CHI2	BOL2 v URU2, BOL1 v URU2	ARG2 v PER2, PER1 v ARG1
Week 4	17–20 March 1998	COL2 v COL1, ECU2 v ECU1	MEX2 v BRA1, MEX1 v BRA1	PAR2 v PAR1, CHI1 v CHI2	URU2 v URU1, BOL2 v BOL1	ARG2 v PER1, PER2 v ARG1
Week 5	24–27 March 1998	COL2 v ECU2, COL1 v ECU2	BRA1 v BRA2, MEX1 v MEX2	CHI2 v PAR2, CHI1 v PAR2	URU2 v BOL2, URU1 v BOL2	ARG1 v ARG2, PER2 v PER1
Week 6	31 March – 3 April 1998	COL2 v ECU1, COL1 v ECU1	BRA2 v MEX2, BRA1 v MEX2	CHI2 v PAR1, CHI1 v PAR1	URU2 v BOL1, URU1 v BOL1	PER1 v ARG2, ARG1 v PER2
Week 7	7–9 April 1998	—	BRA2 v MEX1, BRA1 v MEX1	—	—	PER2 v ARG2, ARG1 v PER1

Groups

Group 1

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	AME	BSC	BUC	SDQ
1	América de Cali	6	3	2	1	10	5	+5	11	Round of 16	—	3–0	2–2	2–1
2	Barcelona	6	2	3	1	5	3	+2	9		1–0	—	2–0	0–0
3	Atlético Bucaramanga	6	2	1	3	5	6	−1	7		0–1	2–0	—	2–0
4	Deportivo Quito	6	1	2	3	3	9	−6	5		0–4	1–1	1–0	—

Source: 25 February 1998 (1998-02-25)--:-- UTC−5

Barcelona	0–0	Deportivo Quito
	Report

Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo, GuayaquilReferee: Mauricio Reinoso (Ecuador) 25 February 1998 (1998-02-25)--:-- UTC−5

América de Cali	2–2	Atlético Bucaramanga
Moreno 27' Pérez 44'	Report	Restrepo 67' Galarcio 89'

Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero, CaliAttendance: 40,789Referee: Flavio Rojas (Colombia)

3 March 1998 (1998-03-03)--:-- UTC−5

Deportivo Quito	1–0	Atlético Bucaramanga
Soria 54' (pen.)	Report

Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, QuitoAttendance: 20,000Referee: Juan Luna (Bolivia) 6 March 1998 (1998-03-06)--:-- UTC−5

Barcelona	2–0	Atlético Bucaramanga
Arias 11' Asencio 44'	Report

Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo, GuayaquilAttendance: 20,000Referee: René Ortube (Bolivia)

10 March 1998 (1998-03-10)--:-- UTC−5

Deportivo Quito	0–4	América de Cali
	Report	Ortegón 5' González 29' Pérez 34', 80'

Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, QuitoAttendance: 15,000Referee: José Arana (Peru) 13 March 1998 (1998-03-13)--:-- UTC−5

Barcelona	1–0	América de Cali
Asprilla 4' (o.g.)	Report

Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo, GuayaquilAttendance: 60,000Referee: Alberto Tejada (Peru)

18 March 1998 (1998-03-18)--:-- UTC−5

Deportivo Quito	1–1	Barcelona
Burbano 27'	Report	Delgado 70'

Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, QuitoAttendance: 20,000Referee: Ángel Guevara (Ecuador) 18 March 1998 (1998-03-18)--:-- UTC−5

Atlético Bucaramanga	0–1	América de Cali
	Report	Cardona 48'

Estadio Alfonso López Pumarejo, BogotáAttendance: 6,000Referee: Julián Idarraga (Colombia)

24 March 1998 (1998-03-24)--:-- UTC−5

Atlético Bucaramanga	2–0	Deportivo Quito
Restrepo 66' España 85'	Report

Estadio Alfonso López Pumarejo, BogotáAttendance: 4,000Referee: Luis Solorzano (Venezuela) 27 March 1998 (1998-03-27)--:-- UTC−5

América de Cali	2–1	Deportivo Quito
Hurtado 65' Castillo 88'	Report	Lell 85'

Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero, CaliAttendance: 7,500Referee: Rafael Torrealba (Venezuela)

31 March 1998 (1998-03-31)--:-- UTC−5

Atlético Bucaramanga	1–0	Barcelona
Gómez 39'	Report

Estadio Alfonso López Pumarejo, BogotáReferee: Oscar Sequeira (Argentina) 3 April 1998 (1998-04-03)--:-- UTC−5

América de Cali	1–1	Barcelona
González 61'	Report	Sotelo 29'

Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero, CaliReferee: Daniel Giménez (Argentina)

Group 2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	GRE	VAS	AME	GUA
1	Grêmio	6	4	0	2	6	5	+1	12	Round of 16	—	1–0	1–0	2–0
2	Vasco da Gama	6	2	2	2	7	4	+3	8		3–0	—	1–1	2–0
3	América	6	2	2	2	6	5	+1	8		1–2	1–1	—	2–0
4	Guadalajara	6	2	0	4	2	7	−5	6		1–0	1–0	0–1	—

Source: 4 March 1998 (1998-03-04)--:-- UTC−6

Guadalajara	0–1	América
	Report	García Aspe 63' (pen.)

Estadio Jalisco, GuadalajaraAttendance: 40,000Referee: Óscar Ruiz (Colombia) 4 March 1998 (1998-03-04)--:-- UTC−3

Grêmio	1–0	Vasco da Gama
Guilherme 62'	Report

Estádio Olímpico Monumental, Porto AlegreAttendance: 50,032Referee: Márcio Rezende (Brazil)

10 March 1998 (1998-03-10)--:-- UTC−6

Guadalajara	1–0	Grêmio
Arellano 67'	Report

Estadio Jalisco, GuadalajaraAttendance: 30,000Referee: Daniel Giménez (Argentina) 13 March 1998 (1998-03-13)--:-- UTC−6

América	1–2	Grêmio
Zárate 28'	Report	Guilherme 15' Beto 69'

Estadio Azteca, Mexico CityAttendance: 15,000Referee: Roberto Ruscio (Argentina)

17 March 1998 (1998-03-17)--:-- UTC−6

Guadalajara	1–0	Vasco da Gama
Ramírez 45'	Report

Estadio Jalisco, GuadalajaraAttendance: 25,000Referee: Robert Troxler (Paraguay) 20 March 1998 (1998-03-20)--:-- UTC−6

América	1–1	Vasco da Gama
Cedrés 2'	Report	Menezes 6'

Estadio Azteca, Mexico CityAttendance: 10,000Referee: Ubaldo Aquino (Paraguay)

24 March 1998 (1998-03-24)--:-- UTC−6

América	2–0	Guadalajara
Peláez 4' Cedrés 55'	Report

Estadio Azteca, Mexico CityAttendance: 85,000Referee: René Ortube (Bolivia) 26 March 1998 (1998-03-26)--:-- UTC−3

Vasco da Gama	3–0	Grêmio
Luizão 33', 42' Donizete 55'	Report

Estádio São Januário, Rio de JaneiroAttendance: 15,520Referee: Wilson de Souza Mendonça (Brazil)

31 March 1998 (1998-03-31)--:-- UTC−3

Grêmio	2–0	Guadalajara
Ronaldinho 46' Beto 56'	Report

Estádio Olímpico Monumental, Porto AlegreAttendance: 18,587Referee: Daniel Bello (Uruguay) 3 April 1998 (1998-04-03)--:-- UTC−3

Vasco da Gama	2–0	Guadalajara
Luizão 68', 80'	Report

Estádio São Januário, Rio de JaneiroAttendance: 9,701Referee: Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay)

7 April 1998 (1998-04-07)--:-- UTC−3

Grêmio	1–0	América
Dário 67'	Report

Estádio Olímpico Monumental, Porto AlegreAttendance: 13,880Referee: Ángel Guevara (Ecuador) 9 April 1998 (1998-04-09)--:-- UTC−3

Vasco da Gama	1–1	América
Richardson 71'	Report	García Aspe 10'

Estádio São Januário, Rio de JaneiroAttendance: 627Referee: Byron Moreno (Ecuador)

Group 3

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	OLI	C-C	CCP	UCA
1	Olimpia	6	4	1	1	14	6	+8	13	Round of 16	—	1–1	5–1	2–0
2	Colo-Colo	6	2	1	3	8	10	−2	7		1–3	—	1–2	3–2
3	Cerro Porteño	6	2	1	3	6	9	−3	7		1–2	2–0	—	0–0
4	Universidad Católica	6	2	1	3	5	8	−3	7		2–1	0–2	1–0	—

Source: 25 February 1998 (1998-02-25)--:-- UTC−3

Olimpia	5–1	Cerro Porteño
Monzón 30' Caballero 41' González 69' Avalos 71' Valdez 87'	Report	Ovelar 83'

Estadio Defensores del Chaco, AsunciónAttendance: 15,000Referee: Carlos Amarilla (Paraguay) 25 February 1998 (1998-02-25)--:-- UTC−3

Colo-Colo	3–2	Universidad Católica
Neira 4', 65' Espina 83'	Report	Bisconti 18' Goldberg 68'

Estadio Monumental David Arellano, SantiagoAttendance: 19,499Referee: Guido Aros (Chile)

3 March 1998 (1998-03-03)--:-- UTC−3

Cerro Porteño	0–0	Universidad Católica
	Report

Estadio Defensores del Chaco, AsunciónAttendance: 10,000Referee: Gustavo Méndez (Uruguay) 6 March 1998 (1998-03-06)--:-- UTC−3

Olimpia	2–0	Universidad Católica
Valdez 44' Zelaya 54'	Report

Estadio Manuel Ferreira, AsunciónAttendance: 20,000Referee: José da Rosa (Uruguay)

10 March 1998 (1998-03-10)--:-- UTC−3

Cerro Porteño	2–0	Colo-Colo
Ovelar 83' Gavilán 90'	Report

Estadio Defensores del Chaco, AsunciónAttendance: 5,000Referee: Horacio Elizondo (Argentina) 13 March 1998 (1998-03-13)--:-- UTC−3

Olimpia	1–1	Colo-Colo
González 12'	Report	Vergara 76'

Estadio Defensores del Chaco, AsunciónAttendance: 15,000Referee: Javier Castrilli (Argentina)

18 March 1998 (1998-03-18)--:-- UTC−3

Cerro Porteño	1–2	Olimpia
Ovelar 37' (pen.)	Report	Paredes 57' Monzón 73'

Estadio Defensores del Chaco, AsunciónAttendance: 20,000Referee: Ricardo Grance (Paraguay) 18 March 1998 (1998-03-18)--:-- UTC−4

Universidad Católica	0–2	Colo-Colo
	Report	Tapia 19', 28'

Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo, SantiagoAttendance: 18,000Referee: Cristian Lemus (Chile)

24 March 1998 (1998-03-24)--:-- UTC−4

Universidad Católica	1–0	Cerro Porteño
Moya 83'	Report

Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo, SantiagoAttendance: 6,000Referee: Sidrack Marinho dos Santos (Brazil) 27 March 1998 (1998-03-27)--:-- UTC−4

Colo-Colo	1–2	Cerro Porteño
Tapia 35'	Report	Fernández 9' Ovelar 69'

Estadio Monumental David Arellano, SantiagoAttendance: 9,496Referee: Dacildo Mourão (Brazil)

31 March 1998 (1998-03-31)--:-- UTC−4

Universidad Católica	2–1	Olimpia
Pérez 45' Bisconti 60'	Report	Monzón 62'

Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo, SantiagoAttendance: 9,000Referee: Antônio Pereira (Brazil) 3 April 1998 (1998-04-03)--:-- UTC−4

Colo-Colo	1–3	Olimpia
Vergara 71'	Report	Zelaya 2' Monzón 8' Franco 90'

Estadio Monumental David Arellano, SantiagoAttendance: 7,000Referee: Wilson Souza Mendonça (Brazil)

Group 4

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	BOL	PEÑ	NAC	OPE
1	Bolívar	6	4	1	1	9	7	+2	13	Round of 16	—	2–0	1–0	3–2
2	Peñarol	6	3	1	2	12	5	+7	10		0–1	—	2–1	6–1
3	Nacional	6	2	0	4	11	12	−1	6		4–1	1–4	—	4–1
4	Oriente Petrolero	6	1	2	3	7	15	−8	5		1–1	0–0	2–1	—

Source: 25 February 1998 (1998-02-25)--:-- UTC−4

Bolívar	3–2	Oriente Petrolero
Sérgio João 6', 78' Cristaldo 71'	Report	Rentera 27' Peña 55'

Estadio Hernando Siles, La PazAttendance: 20,000Referee: Juan Paniagua (Bolivia) 25 February 1998 (1998-02-25)--:-- UTC−3

Peñarol	2–1	Nacional
Bengoechea 39' González 75'	Report	Ramírez 63'

Estadio Domingo Burgueño, MaldonadoAttendance: 22,000Referee: Daniel Bello (Uruguay)

3 March 1998 (1998-03-03)--:-- UTC−4

Oriente Petrolero	0–0	Peñarol
	Report

Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz de la SierraAttendance: 23,000Referee: Bonifacio Núñez (Paraguay) 6 March 1998 (1998-03-06)--:-- UTC−4

Bolívar	1–0	Peñarol
Sérgio João 70'	Report

Estadio Hernando Siles, La PazAttendance: 40,000Referee: Robert Troxler (Paraguay)

10 March 1998 (1998-03-10)--:-- UTC−4

Oriente Petrolero	2–1	Nacional
Osvaldinho 67' Edú Monteiro 84'	Report	Baltierra 31'

Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz de la SierraAttendance: 15,000Referee: Cristian Lemus (Chile) 13 March 1998 (1998-03-13)--:-- UTC−4

Bolívar	2–0	Nacional
Sérgio João 16', 78'	Report

Estadio Hernando Siles, La PazAttendance: 32,000Referee: Jaime Toro (Chile)

18 March 1998 (1998-03-18)--:-- UTC−4

Oriente Petrolero	1–1	Bolívar
Edú Monteiro 14'	Report	Sérgio João 20'

Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz de la SierraAttendance: 32,000Referee: Juan Carlos Lugones (Bolivia) 18 March 1998 (1998-03-18)--:-- UTC−3

Nacional	1–4	Peñarol
Lemos 42'	Report	Romero 8' Pandiani 22', 73' Herrera 51'

Estadio Centenario, MontevideoAttendance: 28,000Referee: José da Rosa (Uruguay)

24 March 1998 (1998-03-24)--:-- UTC−3

Nacional	4–1	Oriente Petrolero
Delgado 2' Álvez 39' Regueiro 68' Núñez 78'	Report	Néne 35'

Estadio Centenario, MontevideoAttendance: 15,000Referee: Fabián Madorrán (Argentina) 27 March 1998 (1998-03-27)--:-- UTC−3

Peñarol	6–1	Oriente Petrolero
Franco 4', 58', 60', 83' Pacheco 27' García 44'	Report	Edú Monteiro 14'

Estadio Atilio Paiva Olivera, RiveraAttendance: 6,000Referee: Ángel Sánchez (Argentina)

31 March 1998 (1998-03-31)--:-- UTC−3

Peñarol	0–1	Bolívar
	Report	Sandy 8'

Estadio Atilio Paiva Olivera, RiveraAttendance: 15,000Referee: Oscar Roberto Godói (Brazil) 3 April 1998 (1998-04-03)--:-- UTC−3

Nacional	4–1	Bolívar
Núñez 12', 40' Regueiro 47', 86'	Report	Sérgio João 30'

Estadio Centenario, MontevideoAttendance: 23,000Referee: Jorge Travassos (Brazil)

Group 5

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	RIV	ALI	COL	SCR
1	River Plate	6	5	1	0	15	6	+9	16	Round of 16	—	2–0	4–1	3–1
2	Alianza Lima	6	2	1	3	5	7	−2	7		1–1	—	1–0	1–0
3	Colón	6	2	1	3	5	8	−3	7		1–2	1–0	—	1–0
4	Sporting Cristal	6	1	1	4	7	11	−4	4		2–3	3–2	1–1	—

Source: 4 March 1998 (1998-03-04)--:-- UTC−5

Alianza Lima	1–0	Sporting Cristal
Sáenz 44'	Report

Estadio Alejandro Villanueva, LimaAttendance: 25,000Referee: Víctor Mayorga (Peru) 4 March 1998 (1998-03-04)--:-- UTC−3

Colón	1–2	River Plate
Sorín 90' (o.g.)	Report	Ayala 25' Escudero 54'

Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao López, Santa FeAttendance: 32,000Referee: Roberto Ruscio (Argentina)

11 March 1998 (1998-03-11)--:-- UTC−3

Colón	1–0	Sporting Cristal
Agoglia 90'	Report

Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao López, Santa FeAttendance: 22,000Referee: Luis Peña (Chile) 12 March 1998 (1998-03-12)--:-- UTC−5

Alianza Lima	1–1	River Plate
Sáenz 57'	Report	Ángel 62'

Estadio Alejandro Villanueva, LimaAttendance: 42,500Referee: Byron Moreno (Ecuador)

18 March 1998 (1998-03-18)20:00 UTC−3

Colón	1–0	Alianza Lima
Sandoval 79'	Report

Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao López, Santa FeAttendance: 24,000Referee: Saúl Feldmann (Uruguay) 19 March 1998 (1998-03-19)--:-- UTC−5

Sporting Cristal	2–3	River Plate
Ferreira 38' Mendoza 72'	Report	Ángel 44', 75' Escudero 53'

Estadio Nacional, LimaAttendance: 14,000Referee: Óscar Ruiz (Colombia)

25 March 1998 (1998-03-25)--:-- UTC−5

Sporting Cristal	3–2	Alianza Lima
Nilson 29' Mendoza 35', 56'	Report	Jayo 32' Bazalar 43'

Estadio Nacional, LimaAttendance: 7,216Referee: Jorge Luis Torres (Peru) 25 March 1998 (1998-03-25)--:-- UTC−3

River Plate	4–1	Colón
Ángel 5', 71' Cardetti 56', 81'	Report	Saralegui 22'

Estadio Monumental, Buenos AiresAttendance: 18,000Referee: Daniel Giménez (Argentina)

1 April 1998 (1998-04-01)20:00 UTC−5

Alianza Lima	1–0	Colón
Bazalar 68'	Report

Estadio Nacional, LimaAttendance: 19,441Referee: Paolo Borgosano (Venezuela) 2 April 1998 (1998-04-02)--:-- UTC−3

River Plate	3–1	Sporting Cristal
Gallardo 9' Rambert 54' Cardetti 85'	Report	Nilson 25'

Estadio Monumental, Buenos AiresAttendance: 11,000Referee: Eduardo Gamboa (Chile)

8 April 1998 (1998-04-08)--:-- UTC−5

Sporting Cristal	1–1	Colón
Soto 85'	Report	Sandoval 72'

Estadio Nacional, LimaReferee: René Ortube (Bolivia) 9 April 1998 (1998-04-09)--:-- UTC−3

River Plate	2–0	Alianza Lima
Aimar 50' Figueroa 59'	Report

Estadio Monumental, Buenos AiresAttendance: 3,000Referee: Epifanio González (Paraguay)

References

"Revista CONMEBOL N° 52" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
Minniti, Javier. "Recuento histórico de la Liguilla entre Venezuela y México" [Liguilla history between Venezuela and Mexico] (in Spanish). University of the Andes. Archived from the original on 10 December 2004. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
"Revista CONMEBOL N° 51" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. Retrieved 14 March 2023.

External links

Copa Libertadores de América 1998, at RSSSF.org

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