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1968 Copa Libertadores

1968 Copa Libertadores de América 1968 Copa Libertadores da América
Tournament details
Dates	January 27 - May 16
Teams	21 (from 10 confederations)
Final positions
Champions	Estudiantes (LP) (1st title)
Runners-up	Palmeiras
Tournament statistics
Matches played	93
Goals scored	230 (2.47 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Tupãzinho (11 goals)
← 1967 1969 →

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 the explosive debut of a humble team from the city of La Plata, capital of the Buenos Aires province, that did not find itself in the plateau of Argentine football. Estudiantes de La Plata, an authentic stranger in the highest levels of South American football, surpassed all expectations as they eliminated defending champions Racing 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, the pincharatas beat Palmeiras 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

Country	Team	Qualification method
CONMEBOL 1 berth	Racing	1967 Copa Libertadores de América winners
Argentina 2 berths	Independiente	1967 Primera División champion
	Estudiantes	1967 Primera División runner-up
Bolivia 2 berths	Jorge Wilstermann	1967 Torneo Nacional champion
	Always Ready	1967 Torneo Nacional runner-up
Brazil 2 berths	Palmeiras	1967 Taça Brasil champion
	Náutico	1967 Taça Brasil runner-up
Chile 2 berths	Universidad de Chile	1967 Primera División champion
	Universidad Católica	1967 Primera División runner-up
Colombia 2 berths	Deportivo Cali	1967 Campeonato Profesional champion
	Millonarios	1967 Campeonato Profesional runner-up
Ecuador 2 berths	El Nacional	1967 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol Serie A champion
	Emelec	1967 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol Serie A runner-up
Paraguay 2 berths	Guaraní	1967 Primera División champion
	Libertad	1967 Primera División runner-up
Peru 2 berths	Universitario	1967 Torneo Descentralizado champion
	Sporting Cristal	1967 Torneo Descentralizado runner-up
Uruguay 2 berths	Peñarol	1967 Primera División champion
	Nacional	1967 Primera División runner-up
Venezuela 2 berths	Deportivo Portugués	1967 Primera División Venezolana champion
	Deportivo Galicia	1967 Primera División Venezolana runner-up

Draw

The champions and runners-up of each football association were drawn into the same group along with another football association's participating teams. Three clubs from Argentina competed as Racing was champion of the 1967 Copa Libertadores. They entered the tournament in the semifinals.

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 were equal on points, the following criteria was to be applied to determine the ranking in the group stage:

1. a one-game playoff;
2. superior goal difference;
3. 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, the title holders, had a bye to the semifinals.

Group 1

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Estudiantes	6	5	1	0	12	3	+9	11
Independiente	6	2	1	3	8	10	-2	5
Deportivo Cali	6	2	1	3	6	10	-4	5
Millonarios	6	1	1	4	6	9	-3	3

Independiente	2 – 4	Estudiantes
Bernao Artime		Ribaudo Echecopar Verón

Millonarios	1 – 2	Independiente
Ferrero		Bernao Artime

Millonarios	0 – 1	Estudiantes
		Flores

Deportivo Cali	1 – 0	Independiente
Iroldo

Deportivo Cali	1 – 2	Estudiantes
Manera o.g.'		Bilardo Echecopar

Millonarios	4 – 2	Deportivo Cali
Ferrero Aceros Fernández Frattini		Álvarez Desiderio

Estudiantes	3 – 0	Deportivo Cali
Ribaudo Verón Echecopar

Independiente	3 – 1	Millonarios
Artime		Rodríguez

Estudiantes	0 – 0	Millonarios

Independiente	1 – 1	Deportivo Cali
Savoy		Iroldo

Deportivo Cali	1 – 0	Millonarios
Ferreira

Estudiantes	2 – 0	Independiente
Pachamé Conigliaro

Independiente	3 – 2	Deportivo Cali
Pastoriza Bernao Artime		Iroldo Sánchez

Group 2

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Universitario	6	3	3	0	17	4	+13	9
Sporting Cristal	6	3	3	0	11	5	+6	9
Jorge Wilstermann	6	2	1	3	5	8	-3	5
Always Ready	6	0	1	5	2	18	-16	1

Always Ready	0 – 3	Universitario
		Flores Casaretto

Jorge Wilstermann	0 – 1	Sporting Cristal
		Castillo

Always Ready	1 – 4	Sporting Cristal
Villante		Pajuelo Aquije Castillo

Jorge Wilstermann	0 – 0	Universitario

Jorge Wilstermann	3 – 0	Always Ready
López Cabrera

Universitario	1 – 1	Sporting Cristal
Challe		Aquije

Sporting Cristal	2 – 0	Jorge Wilstermann
Risco Castillo

Universitario	5 – 1	Jorge Wilstermann
Rojas Flores		López

Sporting Cristal	1 – 1	Always Ready
Gallardo		Morales

Universitario	6 – 0	Always Ready
Flores Lobatón Rojas Staukas o.g.'

Sporting Cristal	2 – 2	Universitario
Aquije Gallardo		Calatayud Challe

Always Ready	0 – 1	Jorge Wilstermann
		Cabrera

Group 3

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Universidad Católica	6	4	1	1	11	7	+4	9
Emelec	6	2	3	1	5	4	+1	7
El Nacional	6	2	1	3	5	6	-1	5
Universidad de Chile	6	1	1	4	6	10	-4	3

Emelec	0 – 0	El Nacional

El Nacional	2 – 1	Universidad Católica
Rodríguez		Sarnari

Emelec	2 – 1	Universidad de Chile
Mena Hernández		Gangas

Emelec	1 – 2	Universidad Católica
Echeverría		Isella Gallardo

El Nacional	3 – 1	Universidad de Chile
Correa Rodríguez Rangel		Marcos

Universidad Católica	3 – 2	Universidad de Chile
Sarnari Gallardo		Oleniak Yávar

Universidad Católica	2 – 0	El Nacional
Isella Varas

Universidad de Chile	0 – 0	Emelec

Universidad Católica	1 – 1	Emelec
Sarnari		Sosa

Universidad de Chile	1 – 0	El Nacional
Campos

Universidad de Chile	1 – 2	Universidad Católica
Yávar		Messén

El Nacional	0 – 1	Emelec
		Mena

Group 4

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		PEÑ	GUA	NAC	LIB
1	Peñarol	6	3	2	1	8	2	+6	8	Qualified to the Second Round			2–0	1–0	4–0
2	Guaraní	6	2	3	1	8	7	+1	7			1–1		2–1	2–0
3	Nacional	6	2	2	2	9	5	+4	6			0–0	2–2		4–0
4	Libertad	6	1	1	4	2	13	−11	3			1–0	1–1	0–2

Peñarol	1 – 0	Nacional
Spencer

Guaraní	2 – 0	Libertad
Juárez Martínez

Nacional	2 – 2	Guaraní
Techera Mújica		García

Peñarol	4 – 0	Libertad
Spencer Rocha Bertocchi

Nacional	4 – 0	Libertad
Morales Mújica Célio

Peñarol	2 – 0	Guaraní
Spencer

Libertad	1 – 1	Guaraní
Ayala		Juárez

Nacional	0 – 0	Peñarol

Libertad	1 – 0	Peñarol
Fleitas

Guaraní	2 – 1	Nacional
Ivaldi Martínez		Célio

Guaraní	1 – 1	Peñarol
Juárez		Abbadie

Libertad	0 – 2	Nacional
		Célio Virgili

Group 5

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		PAL	POR	NAU	GAL
1	Palmeiras	6	5	1	0	12	3	+9	11	Qualified to the Second Round			3–0	0–0	2–0
2	Deportivo Portugués	6	2	1	3	5	11	−6	5			1–2		1–1	1–0
3	Náutico	6	1	2	3	7	8	−1	4			1–3	3–2		1–0
4	Deportivo Galicia	6	2	0	4	5	6	−1	4			1–2	2–0	2–1

Deportivo Galicia	2 – 0	Deportivo Portugués
Ceslo

Náutico	1 – 3	Palmeiras
Ladeira		Ademir Tupãzinho

Deportivo Portugués	1 – 1	Náutico
Ramos		Ivan

Deportivo Galicia	2 – 1	Náutico
Becerra Olavo		Lala

Deportivo Galicia	1 – 2	Palmeiras
Chacho		Ademir Díaz o.g.'

Deportivo Portugués	1 – 2	Palmeiras
Ramos		Tupãzinho Pantera

Náutico	1 – 0	Deportivo Galicia
Nino

Náutico		Deportivo Portugués

Palmeiras	2 – 0	Deportivo Galicia
Servílio Tupãzinho

Palmeiras	3 – 0	Deportivo Portugués
Servílio Ademir

Palmeiras	0 – 0	Náutico

Deportivo Portugués	1 – 0	Deportivo Galicia
Ratto

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.

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		EST	IND	UNI
1	Estudiantes	4	3	0	1	4	2	+2	6	Qualified to the Semifinals			1–0	1–0
2	Independiente	4	2	0	2	7	3	+4	4			1–2		3–0
3	Universitario	4	1	0	3	1	7	−6	2			1–0	0–3

Universitario	1 – 0	Estudiantes
Lobatón

Universitario	0 – 3	Independiente
		Pastoriza

Independiente	1 – 2	Estudiantes
Pavoni		Ribaudo

Estudiantes	1 – 0	Independiente
Flores

Estudiantes	1 – 0	Universitario
Verón

Independiente	3 – 0	Universitario
Yazalde Tarabini Artime

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		PEÑ	CRI	EME	POR
1	Peñarol	6	4	2	0	10	1	+9	10	Qualified to the Semifinals			1–1	1–0	4–0
2	Sporting Cristal	6	2	4	0	7	3	+4	8			0–0		1–1	2–0
3	Emelec	6	1	1	4	3	7	−4	3			0–1	0–2		2–0
4	Deportivo Portugués	6	1	1	4	3	12	−9	3			0–3	1–1	2–0

Deportivo Portugués	0 – 3	Peñarol
		Silva Méndez Spencer

Emelec	0 – 2	Sporting Cristal
		Mifflin Aquije

Emelec	0 – 1	Peñarol
		Spencer

Deportivo Portugués	1 – 1	Sporting Cristal
Curro		Pajuelo

Emelec	2 – 0	Deportivo Portugués
Sosa

Sporting Cristal	0 – 0	Peñarol

Sporting Cristal	2 – 0	Deportivo Portugués
Gallardo

Peñarol	4 – 0	Deportivo Portugués
Spencer Abbadie Bertocchi

Sporting Cristal	1 – 1	Emelec
Gallardo		Echeverría

Peñarol	1 – 0	Emelec
Cortés

Peñarol	1 – 1	Sporting Cristal
Spencer		Risco

Deportivo Portugués	2 – 0	Emelec
Ramos

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		PAL	GUA	CAT
1	Palmeiras	4	3	0	1	7	4	+3	6	Qualified to the Semifinals			2–1	4–1
2	Guaraní	4	2	0	2	7	7	0	4			2–0		3–1
3	Universidad Católica	4	1	0	3	6	9	−3	2			0–1	4–1

Universidad Católica	4 – 1	Guaraní
Sarnari Isella		García

Guaraní	3 – 1	Universidad Católica
Juárez Sosa García		Varas

Palmeiras	4 – 1	Universidad Católica
Tupãzinho Pantera Rinaldo		Varas

Guaraní	2 – 0	Palmeiras
Juárez Martínez

Universidad Católica	0 – 1	Palmeiras
		Dudú

Palmeiras	2 – 1	Guaraní
Tupãzinho Servílio		Juárez

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

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		EST	RAC
1	Estudiantes	3	1	1	1	4	3	+1	3	Qualified to the Finals			3–0
2	Racing	3	1	1	1	3	4	−1	3			2–0

Estudiantes	3–0	Racing
Verón Perfumo

Racing	2–0	Estudiantes
Maschio Fucceneco

Racing	1–1	Estudiantes
Cárdenas		Verón

Estudiantes progressed to the finals due to better goal difference.

Semifinal 2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		PAL	PEÑ
1	Palmeiras	2	2	0	0	3	1	+2	4	Qualified to the Finals			1–0
2	Peñarol	2	0	0	2	1	3	−2	0			1–2

Palmeiras	1 – 0	Peñarol
Tupãzinho

Peñarol	1 – 2	Palmeiras
Silva		Tupãzinho

Finals

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		EST	PAL
1	Estudiantes	3	2	0	1	5	4	+1	4	Champions			2–1
2	Palmeiras	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	2			3–1

Estudiantes	2–1	Palmeiras
Verón 83' Bocha 87'		Servilio 30'

Palmeiras	3–1	Estudiantes
Tupãzinho 10', 68' Rinaldo 54'		Verón 72'

Palmeiras	0–2	Estudiantes
		Ribaudo 13' Verón 82'

Champion

Copa Libertadores de América 1968 Winners
Estudiantes First Title

Top goalscorers

Pos	Player	Team	Goals
1	Tupãzinho	Palmeiras	11
2	Alberto Spencer	Peñarol	10
3	Juan Ramón Verón	Estudiantes	9
4	Luis Artime	Independiente	6
5	Felipe Ribaudo	Estudiantes	6
6	Víctor Domingo Juárez	Guaraní	6
	D. Flores	Universitario	6
	Juan Carlos Sarnari	Universidad Católica	6
9	Servílio	Palmeiras	5
	Alberto Gallardo	Sporting Cristal	5

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
• RSSSF on the 1968 Copa Libertadores

• 1968 in South American football
• Copa Libertadores seasons