Soccer Betting - Copa Libertadores de America
History - Facts - Winners - Teams - Stats
The Copa Libertadores tournament is organized by the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol, better known as CONMEBOL, whose headquarters are located in Asunción, Paraguay. The Copa Libertadores de América is an international soccer cup competition played annually by the top clubs of South America. Copa Libertadores is one of the most prestigious club trophies in the sport along with Europe's Champions League.
Peñarol of Uruguay won the first Copa Libertadores. The most successful club of the Copa Libertadores has been the Argentinian side Independiente, the club has won seven times including four in a row from 1972 to 1975.
The Copa Libertadores all-time goal scorer is still striker Alberto Spencer of Ecuador scoring in total 54 goals. He played as a striker for Peñarol scoring 48 goals in 70 games, and for Barcelona of Guayaquil, scoring 6 goals in 7 games.
In the Copa Libertadores, Brazilians complain that especially in the early years the referees were often biased against the Brazilian teams, and that other teams abuse of violence. Argentines typically answer this by remarking that the Brazilian teams were often uninterested in playing abroad.
Over the years the Copa Libertadores has kept alive a healthy sport rivalry between the competing countries such as: Bolivia and Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. Starting in 1998, the Copa Libertadores has been sponsored by the Toyota Motor Corporation, therefore, the competition adopted the name Copa Toyota Libertadores which has been in use since.