Copa Sudamericana
Encyclopedia
The Copa Bridgestone
Sudamericana de Clubes (Portuguese
: Copa Bridgestone Sul-Americana), known simply as the Copa Sudamericana (Portuguese
: Copa Sul-Americana), is an annual international club football competition organized by the CONMEBOL
since 2002. It is the second most prestigious club competition in South American football. CONCACAF
clubs were invited between 2004 and 2008. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions.
The competition began in 2002 after the discontinuation of the Copa Merconorte
and Copa Mercosur
. Since its introduction, the competition has been a pure elimination tournament with the number of rounds and teams varying from year to year. As of April 2010, 39 teams qualify to the Copa Sudamericana. The tournament has been won by seven different teams and played eight times. The Copa Sudamericana is considered a merger of defunct tournaments such as the Copa CONMEBOL
, Copa Mercosur
and Copa Merconorte
. The winner faces the Copa Libertadores' champion the following year in the Recopa Sudamericana
.
The current champion is Argentine
club Independiente
. Boca Juniors
are the only club to have won the tournament twice; they won it consecutively in 2004 and 2005.
was an international football tournament created for South American clubs that did not qualify for the Copa Libertadores and Supercopa Sudamericana
. This tournament was discontinued in 1999 and replaced by the Copa Merconorte
and Copa Mercosur
. These tournaments started in 1998 but were discontinued in 2001. A Pan-American club cup competition was intended, under the name of Copa Pan-Americana, but instead, the Copa Sudamericana was introduced in 2002 as a single-elimination tournament
with the reigning Copa Mercosur
champion, San Lorenzo
. Brazilian clubs did not participate in the 2002 edition due to many conflicting, organizational issues and scheduling conflicts with the Campeonato Brasileiro
. San Lorenzo would go on to become the first ever winners of the competition after thrashing Atlético Nacional
4-0 on aggregate.
In 2003, the Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan Motors
started sponsoring the tournament. Thus, the competition has since been officially called Copa Nissan Sudamericana, much in the style of the Copa Libertadores branding as Copa Toyota Libertadores at the time. Also, Brazil
ian teams participated for the first time.The 2003 tournament was swept through by the surprising Cienciano as Germán Carty
's goals took los imperiales to the first international title won by a Peruvian club. In the finals, Cienciano managed to hold the powerful River Plate
3-3 in Buenos Aires and managed to come up on top 1-0 on national soil to claim the spoils. After a disappointing 2004 season, Boca Juniors
managed to regain some composure as they won the trophy consecutively in 2004 and 2005 defeating Club Bolívar
and Pumas de la UNAM
, respectively. After the failures of UNAM and Cruz Azul in the 2001 season of the Copa Libertadores, Mexican
football finally managed to inscribe themselves in the list of winners of South American club football as Pachuca defeated Colo-Colo
, led by two magnificent figures such Matías Fernández
and Humberto Suazo
. In a highly-charged atmoshere in Santiago's
Estadio Nacional
, Suazo brought the home team one up on the scoreboard but two second half goals from Damián Álvarez
and Christian Giménez sealed the victory for a highly-spirited team. Their compatriots, Club América
, tried to emulate their success but las águilas fell short on the 2007 final as Arsenal
won the title thanks to a late and inspirational strike by Martín Andrizzi
seven minutes from full time in the second leg.
Having already won the Copa Libertadores and Recopa Sudamericana, Internacional
, with goals from Alex
and Nilmar, became the first Brazilian team to win the cup, after a near-unbeaten campaign that includes eliminating their archrivals Grêmio
, defeating Boca Juniors
at the Bombonera
, and then defeating Estudiantes
in the final. Internacional's only defeat came in the second leg as they were beaten 0-1 by Estudiantes before extra time took place. In a rematch of the 2008 final of the Copa Libertadores, LDU Quito defeated Fluminense
in the finals of the 2009 edition
. Just like in their previous triumph, los albos lifted the trophy in the legendary Estádio do Maracanã
to earn their third international title in history (as well as their nations). Argentina's Independiente
won the 2010 competition
after defeating Goiás
of Brazil by penalties in the final.
The competitors of the 2010 edition were distributed as follows:
During each stage of the tournament, ties are decided on points, followed by goal difference, away goals, then a penalty shootout after full time of the second leg, if necessary. The exception is the finals, which uses two fifteen-minute extra periods instead of the away goals rule.
phrase
used in the context of winning or attempting on winning the Copa Sudamericana. It is a term widely used by Latin America
n media. The tournament itself has become highly regarded among its participants since its inception. In 2004, Cienciano's conquest of the trophy ignited a party across Peru. The Mexican football federation regards Pachuca's victory in 2006 as the most important title won by any Mexican club. Sports Illustrated
qualified Arsenal, unlikely contenders for the 2007 edition, as "the underdog that couldn't be stopped". Internacional, following a dismal 2007 season, resurged with the 2008 title to eventually win the 2010 Copa Libertadores
.
. As part of their sponsorship agreement, the name of the tournament was official called the Copa Nissan Sudamericana. Their sponsorship agreement with CONMEBOL lasted until 2010. In 2011, the tournament's primary became Bridgestone Corporation
, a multinational
rubber
conglomerate
headquartered in Japan
. As the main sponsor of the tournament, the competition will carry the name of the company and, thus, the competition is known officially as Copa Bridgestone Sudamericana. The competition has had many secondary sponsors that invests in the tournament; many of these sponsors are nationally based but has expanded to other nations. Embratel
, a brand of Telmex
, is the only telecommunications sponsor of the tournament.
The tournament's current secondary sponsors are:
Nike
supplies the official match ball, as they do for all other CONMEBOL competitions. Individual clubs may wear jerseys with advertising, even if such sponsors conflict with those of the Copa Sudamericana.
, is named the Total 90 Omni CSF. It is one of the many balls produced by the American sports equipment maker for CONMEBOL, replacing the Mercurial Veloci Hi-Vis in 2009. The ball, approved by FIFA and weighting approximately 422 g
, has a spherical shape that allows the ball to fly faster, farther, and more accurately. According to Nike, the ball's geometric precision distributes pressure evenly across panels and around the ball. The compressed polyethylene
layer stores energy from impact and releases it at launch, and the 6-wing carbon-latex air chamber improves acceleration. Another feature of the ball is its rubber layer; it was designed to allow a better response while retaining the impact energy
and releases it in the coup. Its support material of cross-linked nitrogen
-expanded foam
improves its retention and durability of its shape. Polyester
support fabric enhances structure and stability. The asymmetrical high-contrast
graphic around the ball creates an optimal flicker as the ball rotates for a more powerful visual signal, allowing the player to more easily identify and track the ball.
Claudio Morel Rodríguez is the only player to have won three Copa Sudamericana winners' medals. The overall top goalscorer in Copa Sudamericana history is Humberto Suazo
, scorer of 10 goals. Suazo also holds the record for the most goals scored in a single Copa Sudamericana. All his 10 goals were scored in the 2006 tournament.
No coach has won the tournament more than once. All Copa Sudamericana winning head coaches were natives of the country they coached to victory except for Jorge Fossati
. Fossati, from Uruguay, coached Ecuadorian club LDU Quito to triumph in 2009. Mexican manager Enrique Meza coached Pachuca to win the 2006 edition, the only non-South American manager to win the title.
As of the end of the 2009 tournament, San Lorenzo has played 32 matches, the most by any team. LDU Quito have scored the most goals, netting 57.
LDU Quito is the only team to be in the semifinals four times, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011.
Argentina is the country with more finalists ever, with seven appearances: San Lorenzo in 2002, River Plate in 2003, Boca Juniors in 2004 and 2005, Arsenal in 2007, Estudiantes in 2008 and Independiente in 2010.
Bridgestone
The is a multinational rubber conglomerate founded in 1931 by in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of ishibashi, meaning "stone bridge" in Japanese....
Sudamericana de Clubes (Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
: Copa Bridgestone Sul-Americana), known simply as the Copa Sudamericana (Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
: Copa Sul-Americana), is an annual international club football competition organized by the CONMEBOL
CONMEBOL
The South American Football Confederation , commonly known as CONMEBOL , is the continental governing body of association football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations...
since 2002. It is the second most prestigious club competition in South American football. CONCACAF
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football is the continental governing body for association football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean...
clubs were invited between 2004 and 2008. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions.
The competition began in 2002 after the discontinuation of the Copa Merconorte
Copa Merconorte
The Copa Merconorte was an international football competition played from 1998 to 2001 by clubs from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and later the United States, Costa Rica and Mexico...
and Copa Mercosur
Copa Mercosur
The Copa Mercosur was a football competition played from 1998 to 2001 by the traditional top clubs from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Chile. The competition was created by CONMEBOL to generate TV money to the participating teams, but it went beyond and ended up as a natural replacement...
. Since its introduction, the competition has been a pure elimination tournament with the number of rounds and teams varying from year to year. As of April 2010, 39 teams qualify to the Copa Sudamericana. The tournament has been won by seven different teams and played eight times. The Copa Sudamericana is considered a merger of defunct tournaments such as the Copa CONMEBOL
Copa CONMEBOL
The Copa CONMEBOL was an annual football cup competition organized by CONMEBOL between 1992 and 1999 for eligible South American football clubs. During its time of existence, it was the third most prestigious South American club football contest after the Copa Libertadores and Supercopa...
, Copa Mercosur
Copa Mercosur
The Copa Mercosur was a football competition played from 1998 to 2001 by the traditional top clubs from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Chile. The competition was created by CONMEBOL to generate TV money to the participating teams, but it went beyond and ended up as a natural replacement...
and Copa Merconorte
Copa Merconorte
The Copa Merconorte was an international football competition played from 1998 to 2001 by clubs from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and later the United States, Costa Rica and Mexico...
. The winner faces the Copa Libertadores' champion the following year in the Recopa Sudamericana
Recopa Sudamericana
The Recopa Sudamericana is an annual football match-up between the reigning champions of the previous year's Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana, South America's premier club competitions....
.
The current champion is Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
club Independiente
Club Atlético Independiente
Club Atlético Independiente is an Argentine athletic, sports and social club, which has its headquarters and stadium in the city of Avellaneda, Buenos Aires Province. The club is best known for its football team, that plays in the Argentine Primera División....
. Boca Juniors
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primera División....
are the only club to have won the tournament twice; they won it consecutively in 2004 and 2005.
History
In 1992, the Copa CONMEBOLCopa CONMEBOL
The Copa CONMEBOL was an annual football cup competition organized by CONMEBOL between 1992 and 1999 for eligible South American football clubs. During its time of existence, it was the third most prestigious South American club football contest after the Copa Libertadores and Supercopa...
was an international football tournament created for South American clubs that did not qualify for the Copa Libertadores and Supercopa Sudamericana
Supercopa Sudamericana
The Supercopa Sudamericana , also known as the Supercopa Libertadores João Havelange, Supercopa Libertadores, Supercopa João Havelange or simply Supercopa, was a football club competition contested annually by the past winners of the Copa Libertadores...
. This tournament was discontinued in 1999 and replaced by the Copa Merconorte
Copa Merconorte
The Copa Merconorte was an international football competition played from 1998 to 2001 by clubs from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and later the United States, Costa Rica and Mexico...
and Copa Mercosur
Copa Mercosur
The Copa Mercosur was a football competition played from 1998 to 2001 by the traditional top clubs from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Chile. The competition was created by CONMEBOL to generate TV money to the participating teams, but it went beyond and ended up as a natural replacement...
. These tournaments started in 1998 but were discontinued in 2001. A Pan-American club cup competition was intended, under the name of Copa Pan-Americana, but instead, the Copa Sudamericana was introduced in 2002 as a single-elimination tournament
Single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination tournament, also called a knockout, cup or sudden death tournament, is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match or bracket is immediately eliminated from winning the championship or first prize in the event...
with the reigning Copa Mercosur
Copa Mercosur
The Copa Mercosur was a football competition played from 1998 to 2001 by the traditional top clubs from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Chile. The competition was created by CONMEBOL to generate TV money to the participating teams, but it went beyond and ended up as a natural replacement...
champion, San Lorenzo
Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro
Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro is an Argentine sports club based in Boedo neighbourhood, Buenos Aires, mostly known because of its football team....
. Brazilian clubs did not participate in the 2002 edition due to many conflicting, organizational issues and scheduling conflicts with the Campeonato Brasileiro
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A , popularly known as the Brasileirão , is a professional football league at the top of the Brazilian football league system held annually since 1959. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Série B...
. San Lorenzo would go on to become the first ever winners of the competition after thrashing Atlético Nacional
Atlético Nacional
Corporación Deportiva Atlético Nacional is a Colombian football team based in Medellín. They play their home games at the Estadio Atanasio Girardot stadium which also serves as home to Deportivo Independiente Medellín...
4-0 on aggregate.
In 2003, the Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan Motors
Nissan Motors
, usually shortened to Nissan , is a multinational automaker headquartered in Japan. It was a core member of the Nissan Group, but has become more independent after its restructuring under Carlos Ghosn ....
started sponsoring the tournament. Thus, the competition has since been officially called Copa Nissan Sudamericana, much in the style of the Copa Libertadores branding as Copa Toyota Libertadores at the time. Also, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian teams participated for the first time.The 2003 tournament was swept through by the surprising Cienciano as Germán Carty
Germán Carty
Germán Luis Carty is a Peruvian professional football player, played currently for Deportivo Coopsol. Who most prominently played for Cienciano. He was the top goalscorer as Cienciano won the 2003 Copa Sudamericana. He played for the Peru national football team...
's goals took los imperiales to the first international title won by a Peruvian club. In the finals, Cienciano managed to hold the powerful River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate is an Argentine sports club based in the Nuñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently competes in Nacional B, the second tier of Argentine football....
3-3 in Buenos Aires and managed to come up on top 1-0 on national soil to claim the spoils. After a disappointing 2004 season, Boca Juniors
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primera División....
managed to regain some composure as they won the trophy consecutively in 2004 and 2005 defeating Club Bolívar
Club Bolívar
Club Bolívar, a football team from Bolivia, was founded in La Paz on April 12, 1925, with the name Atletico Bolívar Literario Musical later changed to "Club Atlético Bolívar"...
and Pumas de la UNAM
Club Universidad Nacional
Club Universidad Nacional A.C., more commonly known as Pumas de la UNAM, or just Pumas, is a Mexican professional football club based in Mexico City...
, respectively. After the failures of UNAM and Cruz Azul in the 2001 season of the Copa Libertadores, Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
football finally managed to inscribe themselves in the list of winners of South American club football as Pachuca defeated Colo-Colo
Colo-Colo
Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo is a Chilean football club based in the commune of Macul, Santiago. It competes in the Primera División, the top-flight football league in the country, from which they have never been relegated. Their home ground is the Estadio Monumental David Arellano.Colo-Colo...
, led by two magnificent figures such Matías Fernández
Matías Fernández
Matías Ariel Fernández Fernández is a Chilean footballer who plays for Sporting Clube de Portugal in Portugal.An attacking midfielder with playmaking and dribbling skills, also being a free-kick specialist, he is known by several nicknames: Mati, El Pelusa and Matigol.Fernández was elected South...
and Humberto Suazo
Humberto Suazo
Humberto Andrés Suazo Pontivo , nicknamed Chupete, is a Chilean football player, who currently plays as a striker in Monterrey. In 2006 he was awarded by IFFHS as the world's top goal scorer of the year....
. In a highly-charged atmoshere in Santiago's
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
Estadio Nacional
Estadio Nacional de Chile
The Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos is the national stadium of Chile, and is located in the Ñuñoa district of Santiago). It is the largest stadium in Chile with an official capacity of 47,000, and is part of a 62 ha sporting complex which also features tennis courts, an aquatics center, a...
, Suazo brought the home team one up on the scoreboard but two second half goals from Damián Álvarez
Damian Ariel Álvarez
Damián Ariel Álvarez "La Chilindrina" "El bendito demonio" is an Argentine Attacking Midfielder, who currently plays for Tigres UANL of the Primera División de México....
and Christian Giménez sealed the victory for a highly-spirited team. Their compatriots, Club América
Club América
Club América is a Mexican Professional football club based in Mexico City. It competes in the Primera División, the top professional league in the country. The team's nickname is Las Águilas ....
, tried to emulate their success but las águilas fell short on the 2007 final as Arsenal
Arsenal de Sarandí
Arsenal Fútbol Club, usually referred as Arsenal de Sarandí, is a football club from the Sarandí neighbourhood in the city of Avellaneda, Argentina, which was founded in 1957 by the Grondona brothers. Arsenal currently plays in the top tier of Argentine football, the Primera División Argentina....
won the title thanks to a late and inspirational strike by Martín Andrizzi
Martín Andrizzi
Martín Ezequiel Andrizzi is an Argentine football winger who plays for Belgrano de Córdoba.-Career:Andrizzi started his playing career in 1994 with All Boys, in 1997 he was signed by Boca Juniors and then spent the next few years out on loan to several different clubs...
seven minutes from full time in the second leg.
Having already won the Copa Libertadores and Recopa Sudamericana, Internacional
Sport Club Internacional
Sport Club Internacional is a Brazilian football team and multi-sport club from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, founded on April 4, 1909, and are one of the only five clubs to have never been relegated, along with Santos, São Paulo, Flamengo and Cruzeiro. They play in red shirts, white shorts and...
, with goals from Alex
Alex Raphael Meschini
Alex Raphael Meschini is a football player from Brazil, he currently plays at Corinthians.- Career :...
and Nilmar, became the first Brazilian team to win the cup, after a near-unbeaten campaign that includes eliminating their archrivals Grêmio
Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense
Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense, commonly known as just Grêmio , is a Brazilian professional association football team based in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul founded by English and German immigrants on September 15, 1903. Major titles captured by Grêmio include one Intercontinental Cup, two Copa...
, defeating Boca Juniors
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primera División....
at the Bombonera
Estadio Alberto J. Armando
The Estadio Alberto J. Armando is a stadium located in the La Boca district of Buenos Aires. Widely known as La Bombonera due to its shape, with a "flat" stand on one side of the pitch and three steep stands round the rest of the stadium...
, and then defeating Estudiantes
Estudiantes de La Plata
Club Estudiantes de La Plata , simply referred to as Estudiantes, is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, where it has spent most of its history....
in the final. Internacional's only defeat came in the second leg as they were beaten 0-1 by Estudiantes before extra time took place. In a rematch of the 2008 final of the Copa Libertadores, LDU Quito defeated Fluminense
Fluminense Football Club
Fluminense Football Club is a sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Founded in the beginning of the 20th century as a single-sport institution, Fluminense is today an umbrella organization for several teams in more than 16 different sport activities. The most popular endeavor of Fluminense,...
in the finals of the 2009 edition
2009 Copa Sudamericana
The 2009 Copa Sudamericana de Clubes is the 8th edition of the CONMEBOL's secondary international club tournament. Internacional were the defending champions, having won the trophy the previous season...
. Just like in their previous triumph, los albos lifted the trophy in the legendary Estádio do Maracanã
Estádio do Maracanã
The Estádio do Maracanã , officially Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho, is an open-air stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Owned by the Rio de Janeiro State Government, it is named after the Maracanã neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro. It was opened in 1950 to host the FIFA World Cup, and in the final...
to earn their third international title in history (as well as their nations). Argentina's Independiente
Club Atlético Independiente
Club Atlético Independiente is an Argentine athletic, sports and social club, which has its headquarters and stadium in the city of Avellaneda, Buenos Aires Province. The club is best known for its football team, that plays in the Argentine Primera División....
won the 2010 competition
2010 Copa Sudamericana
The 2010 Copa Sudamericana de Clubes was the 9th edition of CONMEBOL's secondary international club tournament. The winner qualified for the 2011 Copa Libertadores, the 2011 Recopa Sudamericana, and the 2011 Suruga Bank Championship...
after defeating Goiás
Goiás Esporte Clube
Goiás Esporte Clube, also known as Goiás, is a Brazilian football team in Goiânia, Goiás state. It is one of the largest clubs of the Central-Western part of Brazil and they won the 'Série B once.Its main rival is Vila Nova...
of Brazil by penalties in the final.
Qualification
Each national association is assigned a number of entries determined by CONMEBOL and the associations decide how to fill those slots. These can include: performance over the first semester of the year; best teams from previous season that did not qualify for the Copa Libertadores; a qualifying tournament previous to the competition, etc. The tournament itself is played in two-legged knockout stages. In addition, the defending champion receives a bye to the Round of 16. The champion of the Copa Sudamericana is guaranteed a spot in the following year's Copa Libertadores.The competitors of the 2010 edition were distributed as follows:
- The defending champion
- 8 from BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
- 6 from ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
- 3 from BoliviaBoliviaBolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, EcuadorEcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, ParaguayParaguayParaguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, UruguayUruguayUruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, and VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
each
Tournament
The tournament starts in the first stage in which a number of clubs, currently 16, are paired in a series of two-legged knockout ties. The eight survivors join 22 clubs in the second stage, in which they are paired again in another series of two-legged knockout ties. The winner then progress to the round of 16, the first of four stage that work on a single elimination phases knockout system that culminates in the finals.During each stage of the tournament, ties are decided on points, followed by goal difference, away goals, then a penalty shootout after full time of the second leg, if necessary. The exception is the finals, which uses two fifteen-minute extra periods instead of the away goals rule.
La Otra Mitad de La Gloria
La Otra Mitad de La Gloria (The other half of glory) is a promotional SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
phrase
Phrase
In everyday speech, a phrase may refer to any group of words. In linguistics, a phrase is a group of words which form a constituent and so function as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence. A phrase is lower on the grammatical hierarchy than a clause....
used in the context of winning or attempting on winning the Copa Sudamericana. It is a term widely used by Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n media. The tournament itself has become highly regarded among its participants since its inception. In 2004, Cienciano's conquest of the trophy ignited a party across Peru. The Mexican football federation regards Pachuca's victory in 2006 as the most important title won by any Mexican club. Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
qualified Arsenal, unlikely contenders for the 2007 edition, as "the underdog that couldn't be stopped". Internacional, following a dismal 2007 season, resurged with the 2008 title to eventually win the 2010 Copa Libertadores
2010 Copa Libertadores
The 2010 Copa Libertadores de América was the 51st edition of the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL's premier international club tournament. The tournament began on January 26 and ended on August 18...
.
Sponsorship
The first primary sponsor of the tournament was Nissan MotorsNissan Motors
, usually shortened to Nissan , is a multinational automaker headquartered in Japan. It was a core member of the Nissan Group, but has become more independent after its restructuring under Carlos Ghosn ....
. As part of their sponsorship agreement, the name of the tournament was official called the Copa Nissan Sudamericana. Their sponsorship agreement with CONMEBOL lasted until 2010. In 2011, the tournament's primary became Bridgestone Corporation
Bridgestone
The is a multinational rubber conglomerate founded in 1931 by in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of ishibashi, meaning "stone bridge" in Japanese....
, a multinational
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
conglomerate
Conglomerate (company)
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
headquartered in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. As the main sponsor of the tournament, the competition will carry the name of the company and, thus, the competition is known officially as Copa Bridgestone Sudamericana. The competition has had many secondary sponsors that invests in the tournament; many of these sponsors are nationally based but has expanded to other nations. Embratel
Embratel
Embratel - Empresa Brasileira de Telecomunicações S.A. is a second major Brazilian telecommunications company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. The company was the long distance arm of Telebras until it was bought by the U.S. company MCI Communications for 2.65 billion reais during the 1998...
, a brand of Telmex
Telmex
Telmex is a telecommunications company headquartered in Mexico City that provides telecommunication products and services in Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil and other countries in Latin America. In addition to traditional fixed-line telephone service, Telmex also offers Internet access, data,...
, is the only telecommunications sponsor of the tournament.
The tournament's current secondary sponsors are:
- Visa Inc.
- Fox Sports (Fox Sports en LatinoaméricaFox Sports en LatinoaméricaFox Sports, is a Latin American cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-recorded event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming, Fox Sports compete with the largest international sports network, ESPN.The channel broadcast...
and Fox Sports en EspañolFox Sports en EspañolFox Deportes is a cable television network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming 24 hours a day in Spanish...
are the brands advertised.) - EmbratelEmbratelEmbratel - Empresa Brasileira de Telecomunicações S.A. is a second major Brazilian telecommunications company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. The company was the long distance arm of Telebras until it was bought by the U.S. company MCI Communications for 2.65 billion reais during the 1998...
- SanDiskSanDiskSanDisk Corporation is an American multinational corporation that designs, develops and manufactures data storage solutions in a range of form factors using the flash memory, controller and firmware technologies. It was founded in 1988 by Dr. Eli Harari and Sanjay Mehrotra, non-volatile memory...
- T&T Sports Marketing
- Panasonic Corporation
- CasioCasiois a multinational electronic devices manufacturing company founded in 1946, with its headquarters in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Casio is best known for its electronic products, such as calculators, audio equipment, PDAs, cameras, musical instruments, and watches...
Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
supplies the official match ball, as they do for all other CONMEBOL competitions. Individual clubs may wear jerseys with advertising, even if such sponsors conflict with those of the Copa Sudamericana.
Match ball
The match ball for the Copa Sudamericana, manufactured by NikeNike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, is named the Total 90 Omni CSF. It is one of the many balls produced by the American sports equipment maker for CONMEBOL, replacing the Mercurial Veloci Hi-Vis in 2009. The ball, approved by FIFA and weighting approximately 422 g
Gram
The gram is a metric system unit of mass....
, has a spherical shape that allows the ball to fly faster, farther, and more accurately. According to Nike, the ball's geometric precision distributes pressure evenly across panels and around the ball. The compressed polyethylene
Polyethylene
Polyethylene or polythene is the most widely used plastic, with an annual production of approximately 80 million metric tons...
layer stores energy from impact and releases it at launch, and the 6-wing carbon-latex air chamber improves acceleration. Another feature of the ball is its rubber layer; it was designed to allow a better response while retaining the impact energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
and releases it in the coup. Its support material of cross-linked nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
-expanded foam
Foam
-Definition:A foam is a substance that is formed by trapping gas in a liquid or solid in a divided form, i.e. by forming gas regions inside liquid regions, leading to different kinds of dispersed media...
improves its retention and durability of its shape. Polyester
Polyester
Polyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...
support fabric enhances structure and stability. The asymmetrical high-contrast
Contrast (vision)
Contrast is the difference in visual properties that makes an object distinguishable from other objects and the background. In visual perception of the real world, contrast is determined by the difference in the color and brightness of the object and other objects within the same field of view...
graphic around the ball creates an optimal flicker as the ball rotates for a more powerful visual signal, allowing the player to more easily identify and track the ball.
Prize money
Clubs in the Copa Sudamericana receive $400,000 for qualifying for the competition. Afterwards, each club earns $90,000 per home match. That amount is derived from television rights and stadium advertising. In addition, CONMEBOL pays $500,000 to the winners.Records and statistics
Humberto Suazo
Humberto Andrés Suazo Pontivo , nicknamed Chupete, is a Chilean football player, who currently plays as a striker in Monterrey. In 2006 he was awarded by IFFHS as the world's top goal scorer of the year....
, scorer of 10 goals. Suazo also holds the record for the most goals scored in a single Copa Sudamericana. All his 10 goals were scored in the 2006 tournament.
No coach has won the tournament more than once. All Copa Sudamericana winning head coaches were natives of the country they coached to victory except for Jorge Fossati
Jorge Fossati
Jorge Daniel Fossati Lurachi is a former football goalkeeper, mainly in Peñarol. While playing at Peñarol, he helped the club win five league titles...
. Fossati, from Uruguay, coached Ecuadorian club LDU Quito to triumph in 2009. Mexican manager Enrique Meza coached Pachuca to win the 2006 edition, the only non-South American manager to win the title.
As of the end of the 2009 tournament, San Lorenzo has played 32 matches, the most by any team. LDU Quito have scored the most goals, netting 57.
LDU Quito is the only team to be in the semifinals four times, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011.
Argentina is the country with more finalists ever, with seven appearances: San Lorenzo in 2002, River Plate in 2003, Boca Juniors in 2004 and 2005, Arsenal in 2007, Estudiantes in 2008 and Independiente in 2010.
See also
- International club competition recordsInternational club competition recordsBelow is a list of clubs with the most confederation club competitions won in the world, and in each continent , including all the international club competitions organized by one of the six Confederations of international football, defined as "confederation club competitions", and...
- Supercopa SudamericanaSupercopa SudamericanaThe Supercopa Sudamericana , also known as the Supercopa Libertadores João Havelange, Supercopa Libertadores, Supercopa João Havelange or simply Supercopa, was a football club competition contested annually by the past winners of the Copa Libertadores...
- Copa CONMEBOLCopa CONMEBOLThe Copa CONMEBOL was an annual football cup competition organized by CONMEBOL between 1992 and 1999 for eligible South American football clubs. During its time of existence, it was the third most prestigious South American club football contest after the Copa Libertadores and Supercopa...
- Copa MercosurCopa MercosurThe Copa Mercosur was a football competition played from 1998 to 2001 by the traditional top clubs from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Chile. The competition was created by CONMEBOL to generate TV money to the participating teams, but it went beyond and ended up as a natural replacement...
- Copa MerconorteCopa MerconorteThe Copa Merconorte was an international football competition played from 1998 to 2001 by clubs from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and later the United States, Costa Rica and Mexico...
External links
- Conmebol.com Official Site of the Copa Nissan Sudamericana.
- Copa Sudamericana results at RSSSF.com
- Copa Sudamericana at worldfootball.net
- Current Copa Sudamericana News
- Copa Sudamericana en Univision