This page details the records and statistics of the Copa Libertadores. The Copa Libertadores is an international premier club tournament played annually by the top football clubs of South America. It includes 3âÂÂ5 teams from all ten CONMEBOL members. It is usually held from January to November.
The data below does not include the 1948 South American Championship of Champions, as it is not listed by CONMEBOL either as a Copa Libertadores edition or as an official competition. It must be pointed out, however, that at least in the years 1996 and 1997, CONMEBOL entitled equal status to both the Copa Libertadores and the 1948 tournament. Vasco da Gama were allowed to participate in the Supercopa Libertadores, a CONMEBOL official competition for former Libertadores champions (not admitting participation for champions of the Copa CONMEBOL). The 1948 competition is referred to at the Conmebol website as the competition that, 12 years later, would become the Copa Libertadores.
General performances
By club
By country
By department, province or state
By city
The list is current as of the end of 2025 edition. Last updated 6 December 2025.
CONMEBOL club ranking
This ranking is used for seeding in the qualifying and group stage draws of the Copa Libertadores, and is based on a club's performance in the ten most recent Copa Libertadores editions, its historic performance in the competition (considering the other previous editions), and its performance in local championship tournaments. Starting from 2021, the CONMEBOL ranking of the Copa Libertadores was updated to also include Copa Sudamericana performances, and thus was rebranded as the CONMEBOL Clubs Ranking.
The top 10 clubs as of 15 December 2025 are shown below.
Number of participating clubs by country
The following is a list of the 219 clubs that have played at least one match in the Copa Libertadores, updated to the 2026 edition.
- Teams in bold: winners of the edition.
- Teams in italics: runners-up of the edition.
Clubs
By semi-final appearances
Clubs were finalists in years that are in bold.
By country
By quarter-final appearances
- Note: 1) In 1960 and 1961, the tournament started in this round, so teams are not marked as quarter-finalists in the table. 2) From 1962 to 1965, no quarter-finals were played as the tournament had a first stage which consisted of three groups where the winners of each group advanced to semi-finals with the winners of the previous edition. 3) In 1966 and 1967, no quarter-finals were played as the tournament had a first stage with several groups of four, five, six or even seven teams, where the two best teams of each group advanced to semi-finals with the winner of the previous edition. 4) From 1968 to 1970, no quarter-finals were played as the tournament had a first stage with several groups of four or six teams, where the two best teams of each group advanced to the second stage with several groups of two, three or four teams, where the winners of each group advanced to the semi-finals with the winner of the previous edition. 5) From 1971 to 1987, no quarter-finals were played as the tournament had a first stage with five groups of four teams, where the winners of each group advanced to the semi-finals with the winner of the previous edition.
By country
By round of 16 appearances
- Note: 1) From 1960 to 1987, no round of 16 was played because of the format of the tournament, or because of the lack of teams.
By country
Specific group stage records
Best group stage
Worst group stage
Unbeaten sides
- The record for the most consecutive unbeaten games is hold by Atlético Mineiro between 2019 and 2022 and Palmeiras between 2021 and 2022 with 18 unbeaten games.
Finals success rate
Only one club has appeared in the finals of the Copa Libertadores more than once with a 100% success rate:
Nine clubs have appeared in the final once, being victorious on that occasion:
On the other end, eighteen clubs have appeared in the finals and have never won the tournament. Five of those clubs have appeared in the finals more than once, losing on each occasion:
Consecutive participations
Nacional have the record number of consecutive participations, with 29 from 1997 to 2025.
Consecutive finals
Two clubs have appeared in a record four consecutive finals:
Defending the trophy
Successful title-holder campaigns
As of 2021, 12 of the 61 attempts to defend the trophy (19.6%) have been successful, and this has been accomplished by seven clubs. Until 1999, the title-holders started the competition in the second stage (sometimes third, depending on the format). Since then, only Boca Juniors (in 2001) and Palmeiras (in 2021) have defended their title in the current format, with the previous year's champions starting the tournament in the group stage.
Unsuccessful title-holder campaigns
Of the 25 clubs to win the tournament, 19 have never defended it. Seven of those clubs have won the trophy more than once and had more than one attempt to do so. In 2000 title-holders started participating on group stage, four title-holders have failed to advance past this stage since.
Title-holder campaign by stage
As of 2025, these are the stages the title holders advanced to in the following competition:
Defeating title-holders
- Years in bold: winner of the edition.
Defeated champions in a single tournament
- Year in bold: winners of that edition.
- Club in italics: title-holder.
By number of champions defeated
By number of titles combined
Winning other trophies
Only 2 clubs have the distinction of winning the Copa Libertadores, their national league, and another domestic tournament in the same year/season, known colloquially as the treble:
In addition to Santos and Flamengo, seven other clubs have achieved a continental double, in which a club won the Copa Libertadores in addition to their domestic league in the same year:
In addition to the double, the following clubs have gone on to win other trophies in that same time frame:
- Peñarol won the Intercontinental Cup in 1961
- Santos won the Intercontinental Cup in 1963
- Nacional won the Intercontinental Cup and Copa Interamericana in 1971, and the Intercontinental Cup in 1980
- Olimpia won the Intercontinental Cup and Copa Interamericana in 1979
- Argentinos Juniors won the Copa Interamericana in 1985
- River Plate won the Intercontinental Cup and Copa Interamericana in 1986
- Colo-Colo won the Copa Interamericana in 1991
Biggest wins
Biggest two-leg win
- The largest margin of victory over two legs is fourteen goals, which occurred when River Plate defeated Binacional 14âÂÂ0 on aggregate in 2020; the scorelines in each match were 8âÂÂ0 and 6âÂÂ0.
Most goals in a match
Most goals over two legs or more
- The most goals scored over two legs is fifteen, which occurred when Peñarol defeated Everest 14âÂÂ1 on aggregate in 1963; the scorelines in each match were 5âÂÂ0 and 9âÂÂ1.
- In instances where a third leg was needed, the record number of goals scored is seventeen, which occurred when Peñarol defeated Santos 9âÂÂ8 on aggregate in 1965; the scorelines in each match were 5âÂÂ4, 3âÂÂ2, and 2âÂÂ1.
- The most goals scored over two legs in the finals is ten, which occurred when LDU Quito drew Fluminense 5âÂÂ5 on aggregate in 2008; the scorelines in each match were 4âÂÂ2 and 3âÂÂ1.
- In instances where a third leg was needed, the record number of goals scored in the finals is thirteen, which occurred twice:
- Peñarol defeated River Plate 8âÂÂ5 on aggregate in 1966; the scorelines in each match were 2âÂÂ0, 3âÂÂ2, and 4âÂÂ2.
- Cruzeiro also defeated River Plate 8âÂÂ5 overall in 1976; the scorelines in each match were 4âÂÂ1, 2âÂÂ1, and 3âÂÂ2.
Players
Appearances
Ever Almeida holds the record for most matches played with 113 games, all for Olimpia. He is also the only person to have made over 100 appearances in the tournament.
Goalscoring
All-time top scorers
Alberto Spencer is the all-time goalscorer of the Copa Libertadores with 54 goals to his name between 1960 and 1972.
Top scorer award
The top scorer award is for the player who amasses the most goals in the tournament.
Hat-tricks
Other goalscoring records
Other records
Most finals victories
Most finals defeats
Awards
From 1999 to 2007, Toyota, the main sponsor of the tournament, awarded the best player of the finals. However, in 2008, the company decided to recognise the manager, understanding that they are the main ones responsible for leading the entire team towards victory, combining concepts of reading the game, training, setting goals and strategy, until the final whistle. The last Toyota award was given to Renato Portaluppi in the 2017 edition.
Besides the Toyota Awards, from 2008 to 2012, Banco Santander was the main sponsor of the tournament and elected the best player of the competition; the players awarded were Joffre Guerrón in 2008, Juan Sebastián Verón in 2009, Giuliano in 2010, Neymar in 2011 and Emerson in 2012.
Players
Toyota Award
Santander Award
Bridgestone Award
Bridgestone Ring Award
Hero Of The Tournament
Managers
Coaches
Records
- Carlos Bianchi is the only coach to win the Copa Libertadores four times: once with Vélez Sársfield in 1994, and thrice with Boca Juniors in 2000, 2001 and 2003
- Carlos Bianchi is the only coach to manage five finalists: Vélez Sársfield in 1994 and Boca Juniors in 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2004
- Four coaches have won the tournament with two clubs:
- Carlos Bianchi with Vélez Sársfield in 1994 and Boca Juniors in 2000, 2001 and 2003
- Luiz Felipe Scolari with Grêmio in 1995 and Palmeiras in 1999
- Paulo Autuori with Cruzeiro in 1997 and São Paulo in 2005
- Edgardo Bauza with LDU Quito in 2008 and San Lorenzo in 2014
- Nine individuals have won the Copa Libertadores as a player, then later as a coach:
- Humberto Maschio won as a player in 1967 with Racing and then as a manager in 1973 with Independiente
- Roberto Ferreiro won as a player in 1964 and 1965 and then as a coach 1974, both with Independiente
- Juan MartÃÂn Mujica won as a player in 1971 and then as a manager in 1980, both with Nacional.
- Luis Cubilla won as a player in 1960 and 1961 with Peñarol and 1971 with Nacional and then as a coach with Olimpia in 1979 and 1990.
- José Omar Pastoriza won as a player in 1972 and then as a manager 1984, both with Independiente.
- Nery Pumpido won as a player in 1986 with River Plate and then as a coach in 2002 with Olimpia.
- Marcelo Gallardo won as a player in 1996 and then as a manager in 2015 and 2018, both times with River Plate.
- Renato Portaluppi won as a player in 1983 and then as a manager in 2017, both times with Grêmio.
- Filipe Luis won as a player in 2019 and 2022 and then as a manager in 2025, all with Flamengo.
- Four non-South American managers have won the Copa Libertadores:
- Mirko JoziÃÂ (a Yugoslav at the time) with Colo-Colo in 1991.
- Jorge Jesus (Portuguese) with Flamengo in 2019.
- Abel Ferreira (Portuguese) with Palmeiras in 2020 and 2021.
- Artur Jorge (Portuguese) with Botafogo in 2024.
Locals
Countries
- Teams from Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela and Mexico have never won the tournament. Teams from Bolivia and Venezuela have yet to provide a finalist.
Cities
- The most successful city in the history of the Copa Libertadores is Buenos Aires, which has seen a record five clubs win thirteen total titles.
- Fifteen cities have hosted a trophy ceremony. São Paulo has hosted the highest number of trophy ceremonies, with ten ceremonies held in three different stadiums.
Stadiums
- As of the end of 2005, 121 stadiums have been used to host Copa Libertadores matches. Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay has held the most with 352 matches.
- Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile has hosted a record eight trophy ceremonies.
- Three stadiums have hosted matches with attendances in excess of 100,000:
- 115,000 spectators saw Cruz Azul defeat River Plate 3âÂÂ0 in a quarter-final match at the Estadio Azteca in 2001.
- 106,853 spectators saw Cruzeiro defeat Sporting Cristal 1âÂÂ0 in a finals match at the Estadio Mineirão in 1997.
- 105,000 spectators saw São Paulo defeat Newell's Old Boys 1âÂÂ0 in a semi-final match at the Estádio do Morumbi in 1992.
- A record twenty-five stadiums in Brazil have been used to host matches.
- In 1991, América de Cali and Atlético Nacional played five home matches at the Miami Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, United States, after their home stadiums were banned. This was the only time a stadium outside of South America or Mexico was ever used until 2018.
- In 2018, River Plate became champions after defeating Boca Juniors at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, for the second leg of the finals. This happened because of problems arranging a reschedule for the match, after crowd incidents before match that was supposed to be played at River Plate's stadium, the Estadio Monumental. This marked the only time a Copa Libertadores champion lifted the trophy outside of the Americas, and the first time in Europe.
- In 2019, Flamengo defeated River Plate and became the first champion in a single match final; the Estadio Monumental in Lima held the match, after the final was moved from Santiago.
See also
References
External links