1966 Copa Libertadores

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The 1966 Copa Libertadores de América was the seventh edition of the premier South American club football tournament, organized by CONMEBOL. Colombia and Brazil did not send their representatives. This edition became the first club competition of the world to include not just the champions but also the runners-up of each of its participating association. Despite the fact that Colombian and Brazilian clubs did not participate, this tournament saw a record 95 matches being played out to determine the year's champion.

1966 Copa Libertadores de América
Tournament details
DatesFebruary 5 - April 15
Teams17 (from 8 confederations)
Final positions
ChampionsUruguay Peñarol (3rd title)
Runners-upArgentina River Plate
Tournament statistics
Matches played95
Goals scored283 (2.98 per match)
Top scorer(s)Argentina Daniel Onega (17 goals)
1965
1967

Colombia did not send a representative due to the disagreements between CONMEBOL and the Colombian football federations. The Brazilians protested the inclusion of the runners-up of each nation and argued that the tournament should be reserved for national champions. That led them to become denatured and the powers reserved only for the champions, in addition to the priority order they gave their interstate tournaments and the many unattractive encounters-to-come against teams from the "Pacific", the Brazilian clubs opted for tours around the world instead as they were seen more economically rewarding. Not having any economic incentives, CONMEBOL was forced to allow clubs the freedom of whether they participated or not. This trend will continue for the next 5 editions.

After winning each of their home legs, Peñarol and River Plate required a playoff to break the deadlock. The match was played in the Estadio Nacional of Santiago, Chile. River Plate finished the first half 2-0 and was in cruise control towards its first title. The manyas managed to revert the disadvantage to push this match into extra time. With two more goals, the final score of 2-4 meant that Peñarol became the first three-time winners of the competition. The collapse of River Plate in the second half led the club to being known, even now, as the "gallinas".

Qualified teams

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Country Team Qualification method
CONMEBOL
(1 berth)
Independiente 1965 Copa Libertadores winners
  Argentina
(2 berths)
Boca Juniors 1965 Primera División champion
River Plate 1965 Primera División runner-up
  Bolivia
(2 berths)
Deportivo Municipal 1965 Copa Simón Bolívar champion
Jorge Wilstermann 1965 Copa Simón Bolívar runner-up
  Chile
(2 berths)
Universidad de Chile 1965 Primera División champion
Universidad Católica 1965 Primera División runner-up
  Ecuador
(2 berths)
Emelec 1965 Campeonato Ecuatoriano champion
9 de Octubre 1965 Campeonato Ecuatoriano runner-up
  Paraguay
(2 berths)
Olimpia 1965 Primera División champion
Guaraní 1965 Primera División runner-up
  Peru
(2 berths)
Alianza Lima 1965 Primera División champion
Universitario 1965 Primera División runner-up
  Uruguay
(2 berths)
Peñarol 1965 Primera División champion
Nacional 1965 Primera División runner-up
  Venezuela
(2 berths)
Lara 1965 Primera División champion
Deportivo Italia 1965 Primera División runner-up

Tie-breaking criteria

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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:

  1. a one-game playoff;
  2. superior goal difference;
  3. draw of lots.

First round

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Sixteen teams were drawn into two groups of six and one group of four. In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away. The top two teams in each group advanced to the Semifinals. Independiente, the title holders, had a bye to the next round.

Group 1

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Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  River Plate 10 8 1 1 23 8 +15 17
  Boca Juniors 10 7 0 3 19 9 +10 14
  Universitario 10 4 3 3 10 13 -3 11
  Deportivo Italia 10 4 2 4 15 18 -3 10
  Alianza Lima 10 2 0 8 9 16 -7 4
  Lara 10 1 2 7 5 17 -12 4
February 5, 1966 Universitario   2 – 0   Alianza Lima Lima
Chumpitaz  
Challe  
February 8, 1966 Lara   2 – 1   Alianza Lima Barquisimeto
Paulinho  
Jair  
León  
February 12, 1966 Lara   0 – 0   Universitario Barquisimeto
February 15, 1966 Lara   1 – 2   River Plate Barquisimeto
Didi II   Onega   
February 25, 1966 Lara   0 – 3   Boca Juniors Barquisimeto
Rojas   
Luna  
March 1, 1966 Alianza Lima   1 – 2   Deportivo Italia Lima
Renato   o.g.' Zeica   
March 4, 1966 River Plate   3 – 0   Lara Buenos Aires
Loayza   
Delem  
March 8, 1966 Universitario   1 – 0   Lara Lima
Córdova  
March 13, 1966 Alianza Lima   3 – 0   Lara Lima
Zegarra   
Reyes  
March 23, 1966 Alianza Lima   0 – 1
[A]
  Universitario Lima
Uribe  

Group 2

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Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Universidad Católica 6 2 3 1 9 5 +4 7
  Guaraní 6 2 2 2 9 9 0 6
  Olimpia 6 2 2 2 7 10 -3 6
  Universidad de Chile 6 1 3 2 6 7 -1 5
February 27, 1966 Olimpia   3 – 3   Guaraní Asunción
Apodaca  
Torres  
González  
González   
Ivaldi  
March 23, 1966 Second
place playoff
Guaraní   2 – 1   Olimpia Asunción
González    González  

Group 3

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Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Peñarol 10 8 0 2 20 10 +10 16
  Nacional 10 7 1 2 22 10 +12 15
  Jorge Wilstermann 10 4 2 4 14 14 0 10
  Deportivo Municipal 10 4 1 5 21 22 -1 9
  Emelec 10 4 0 6 15 18 -3 8
  9 de Octubre 10 1 0 9 13 31 -18 2
February 6, 1966 Emelec   0 – 2   Nacional Guayaquil
Pérez  
Méndez  
February 9, 1966 Emelec   1 – 2   Peñarol Guayaquil
Calonga   Cortés  
Joya  
March 8, 1966 Nacional   1 – 0   Emelec Montevideo
Oyarbide  
March 11, 1966 Peñarol   4 – 1   Emelec Montevideo
Silva   
Alfano   
Bolaños  
March 19, 1966 Peñarol   3 – 0   Nacional Montevideo
Rocha   
Joya  
March 23, 1966 9 de Octubre   0 – 4   Emelec Guayaquil
Lencina    
Fernández   o.g.'

Semifinals

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Seven teams were drawn into two groups, one of four and the other of three. In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away. The top team in each group advanced to the Finals.

Group A

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Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  River Plate 6 3 2 1 13 8 +5 8
  Independiente 6 3 2 1 9 6 +3 8
  Boca Juniors 6 2 3 1 7 6 +1 7
  Guaraní 6 0 1 5 5 14 -9 1
May 10, 1966 First
place playoff
River Plate   2 – 1   Independiente Buenos Aires
Onega  
Cubilla  
Artime  

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation   PEÑ   CAT   NAC
1   Peñarol 4 3 0 1 6 1 +5 6 Qualified to the Final 2–0 3–0
2   Universidad Católica 4 2 0 2 4 5 −1 4 1–0 1–0
3   Nacional 4 1 0 3 3 7 −4 2 0–1 3–2
Source: [citation needed]
April 10, 1966 Peñarol   3 – 0   Nacional Montevideo
Rocha    
April 23, 1966 Nacional   0 – 1   Peñarol Montevideo
Cortés  

Finals

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1   Peñarol 2 1 0 1 4 3 +1 2
2   River Plate 2 1 0 1 3 4 −1 2
Source: [citation needed]
Peñarol  2–0  River Plate
Abbadie   74'
Joya   84'

River Plate  3–2  Peñarol
D. Onega   37'
Sarnari   56'
E. Onega   69'
Rocha   35'
Spencer   53'

Playoff
River Plate  2–4 (a.e.t.)  Peñarol
D. Onega   27'
Solari   42'
Spencer   65', 102'
Abbadie   71'
Rocha   109'
Attendance: 40,240

Champion

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Copa Libertadores de América
1966 Champion
 
Peñarol
Third Title

Top goalscorers

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Pos Player Team Goals
1   Daniel Onega   River Plate 17
2   Pedro Rocha   Peñarol 10
3   Alfredo Hugo Rojas   Boca Juniors 7
  Julio César Morales   Nacional 7
  Orlando Virgili   Nacional 7
  Agostino Nitti   Deportivo Italia 7
   Salomón Moyano   Deportivo Municipal 7
  Gerardo González   Olimpia 7
  Hugo Lencina   Emelec 7
  Cirilo Fernández   9 de Octubre 7
  Ausberto García   Jorge Wilstermann 7

Footnotes

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A. ^ The match finished 1-1, but Universitario were declared 0-1 winners as Alianza fielded two ineligible players: Catalá and Cruz.
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