The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournament is named after the Libertadores, the leaders of the Latin American wars of independence, so a literal translation of its former name into English is "Liberators of the Americas Cup".
The South American Football Confederation, known by the acronym CONMEBOL or CSF, is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Paraguay. CONMEBOL is responsible for the organization and governance of South American football's major international tournaments. With 10 member football associations, it has the fewest members of all the confederations in FIFA.
Club Atlético River Plate, commonly known as River Plate, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the Belgrano neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Founded in 1901, the club is named after the English name for the city's estuary, Río de la Plata. River's home stadium, Estadio Monumental, is the largest in South America. River had the highest average home attendance of any association football club in the world in 2023 with 84,567. With more than 350,000 members at the end of 2023, River is one of the largest sports clubs by membership.
Club Atlético Independiente is an Argentine professional sports club, which has its headquarters and stadium in Avellaneda, a city of the Buenos Aires Province. The club is best known for its football team, which plays in the Primera División and is considered one of Argentina's Big Five football clubs.
The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, also known as Copa Sudamericana, is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL, the governing body of football in South America, since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American football. CONCACAF clubs were invited between 2004 and 2008. The CONMEBOL Sudamericana began in 2002, replacing the separate competitions Copa Merconorte and Copa Mercosur by a single competition. Since its introduction, the competition has been a pure elimination tournament with the number of rounds and teams varying from year to year.
The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana, also known as Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as Recopa, is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1988. It is a match-up between the champions of the previous year's Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana, South America's premier club competitions.
The Supercopa Libertadores, also known as the Supercopa Sudamericana, Supercopa Libertadores João Havelange, Supercopa João Havelange or simply Supercopa, was a football club competition contested annually between 1988 and 1997 by the past winners of the Copa Libertadores. The tournament is one of the many South American club competitions that have been organized by CONMEBOL.
The Copa Interamericana was an international football competition endorsed by CONCACAF and CONMEBOL. Established in 1969, it was discontinued in 1998 after CONCACAF clubs, particularly those from Mexico, began participating in CONMEBOL competitions. The tournament is projected to return in 2024.
Alfio "Coco" Basile is an Argentine football manager and former player. He played for Racing Club de Avellaneda and Huracán before becoming a manager. He coached many teams during his career, being most notable Racing Club de Avellaneda, the Argentina national team and Boca Juniors, where he won five titles in two years.
The Copa de Oro, or Copa de Oro Nicolás Leoz, was a football cup winners' cup competition contested on 3 occasions by the most recent winners of all CONMEBOL continental competitions. These included champions of the Copa Libertadores, Supercopa Sudamericana, Copa CONMEBOL, Supercopa Masters and Copa Masters CONMEBOL. The Recopa Sudamericana champions did not participate. The cup is one of the many continental club competitions that have been organized by CONMEBOL. The first competition was held in 1993 featuring the 4 major continental champions of the previous season whilst the second competition in 1995 two continental champions declined to play leaving only two participants to play. In the final edition in 1996, all the continental champions accepted the invitation to play. Boca Juniors, Cruzeiro and Flamengo were the only winners of the tournament with one title each. Brazil became the most successful nation of the competition with two victories.
Club de Alto Rendimiento Especializado Independiente del Valle, known simply as Independiente del Valle, is a professional football club based in Sangolquí, Ecuador, that currently plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A.
Santos FC is a football club based in Santos, that competes in the Campeonato Paulista, São Paulo's state league, and the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B or B, Brazil's national league. The club was founded in 1912 by the initiative of three sports enthusiasts from Santos by the names of Raimundo Marques, Mário Ferraz de Campos, and Argemiro de Souza Júnior, and played its first friendly match on June 23, 1914. Initially Santos played against other local clubs in the city and state championships, but in 1959 the club became one of the founding members of the Taça Brasil, Brazil's first truly national league. Up until 2023, Santos was one of only five clubs never to have been relegated from the top level of Brazilian football, the others being São Paulo and Flamengo.
Franco Armani is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Argentine Primera División club River Plate. He was a member of the Argentina team that won the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Gonzalo Nicolás Martínez, commonly known as Pity Martínez, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Argentine Primera División club River Plate.
The involvement of Clube Atlético Mineiro in international club football began in 1972, the year of its first appearance in an official competition at that level. Since then, the Brazilian club, based in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, has participated in 31 continental and one intercontinental tournament. Atlético Mineiro has won four official titles at the international level: the Copa Libertadores in 2013; the inaugural edition of the Copa CONMEBOL in 1992, and again in 1997; and the Recopa Sudamericana in 2014. In addition, the club finished as runner-up of the Copa CONMEBOL in 1995, the Copa de Oro in 1993, and the Copa Master de CONMEBOL in 1996.
The Argentina–Uruguay football rivalry, also known as Clásico del Río de la Plata, is a highly competitive sports rivalry that exists between the Argentine and Uruguayan national football teams and their respective set of fans. Considered by football journalists and fans alike as one of the most important rivalries in the sport, the derby is also the most played in football history. According to FIFA records, 197 official matches have been played to date, the first of which was played on 20 July 1902, in which both teams played the first international match outside the United Kingdom in Uruguay, with Argentina winning by 6–0.
Club Atlético Independiente has success at the Argentine football level, but they are widely known for their international titles and appearances, being nicknamed Rey de Copas by the media and his fans. The first international cup they took part was the 1917 Tie Cup, which they lost to Uruguayan team Montevideo Wanderers. In term of international honours, Independiente has won a total of 20 major titles, with 18 of them organised by CONMEBOL which makes Independiente the most winning team in this category, together with Boca Juniors. Among those international CONMEBOL titles Independiente has a record seven Copa Libertadores, two Intercontinental Cups, two Copa Sudamericana and one Recopa Sudamericana. International titles also include two Copa Aldao, organised by AFA and AUF together.
Boca Juniors is an Argentine professional football club based in Buenos Aires. The club first participated in a South American competition in 1919. The first international cup they took part in was the Copa Aldao in which they participated as champions of Argentina. The club competed in AFA/AUF cups from 1919 to 1946 and since entering the Copa Libertadores, in 1963, the club has competed in every CONMEBOL-organized competition, except the Copa CONMEBOL, Intercontinental Champions' Supercup, Suruga Bank Championship, Copa Merconorte, Copa Master de CONMEBOL and Copa Ganadores de Copa, most of them extinct.
Fernando Andrés Rapallini is an Argentine football referee who officiates in the Argentine Primera División. He has been a FIFA referee since 2014.
