Copa Libertadores: history, format and the most successful clubs

The Copa Libertadores is South America's most important club competition and one of the most exciting in the world. Since 1960 it has brought together the continent's best teams to decide the king of the Americas.

The origins

The first edition was played in 1960 with seven national champions. Uruguay's Peñarol won the first two editions, in 1960 and 1961. The tournament's name honours the leaders of South American independence, such as Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín.

The most successful clubs

• Independiente (Argentina): 7 titles, the record champion, with four in a row between 1972 and 1975.
• Boca Juniors (Argentina): 6 titles.
• Peñarol (Uruguay): 5 titles.
• River Plate (Argentina) and Estudiantes de La Plata (Argentina): 4 each.

Argentina is the country with the most titles overall, although Brazilian clubs have dominated recently: they won every edition between 2019 and 2024.

The current format

Since 2017 the tournament has been played over most of the year, from February to November, like Europe's big leagues. 47 clubs from the ten CONMEBOL countries take part:

• Qualifying rounds: three knockout rounds for the teams with the fewest ranking points, from which four clubs advance.
• Group stage: 32 teams in 8 groups of 4, home and away. The top two in each group reach the round of 16; the third-placed team continues in the Copa Sudamericana.
• Knockout rounds: round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals over two legs. Since 2022 there's no away goals rule: if the aggregate is level, it goes straight to penalties.
• Final: since 2019 it's a single match at a venue chosen in advance, like the Champions League final.

Finals for the history books

• 2018: the only Superclásico final, River vs Boca, with the second leg played in Madrid.
• 2019: the first single-match final, in Lima. Flamengo turned the game around against River with two late goals from Gabriel Barbosa.
• 1991: Colo-Colo became the first and only Chilean champion.

Bolivian clubs in the Libertadores

No Bolivian club has won the Libertadores, but there have been memorable runs. Bolívar reached the semi-finals in 2014 and Jorge Wilstermann made the quarter-finals in 2017. Playing at the altitude of La Paz, Cochabamba or El Alto is often the Bolivian teams' weapon in home matches.

Build your own Libertadores

In GolDraft's Cup Simulator you can choose club mode and build a cup with whichever South American teams you want: group draw, group stage and knockout rounds up to the final. And if your club finishes near the top of its league in Legend Mode, your player will play in the Libertadores too.