# 2008 Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito season

Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito's 2008 season is the club's 55th year in professional football, and the 47th in the top level of national football, Ecuador's Serie A.
In the domestic tournament, the club unsuccessfully defended their 2007 title, finishing as the runner-up to Deportivo Quito. The club reached a level of success in international tournaments that no other Ecuadorian club has ever achieved. LDU Quito became the first Ecuadorian club to win an international title by winning their first Copa Libertadores. The win allowed the club to participate in FIFA's annual Club World Cup, which they finished in 2nd place.
2008 marked the last season Argentine manager Edgardo Bauza will remain at the position. He would be replaced by Uruguayan Jorge Fossati, who previously led the team from 2003-2004.

## Club
### Coaching staff

| Position | Staff |
| Head coach | Edgardo Bauza |
| Assistant coach | Jose Daniel Di Leo |
| Physical trainer | Bruno Militano |
| Club doctor | Juan Barriga Marco Lascano |
| Physical therapist | Fernando Iza Edgar Alvarez |
Last updated: December 17, 2008 Source: Plantel 2008

### Kit

Supplier: Umbro Sponsor(s): Holcim
| CS alt. | Club World Cup |

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ECU | José Francisco Cevallos |
| 2 | DF | ARG | Norberto Araujo |
| 3 | DF | ECU | Renán Calle |
| 4 | MF | ECU | Paúl Ambrosi |
| 5 | MF | ECU | Alfonso Obregón |
| 7 | MF | ECU | Luis Bolaños |
| 8 | FW | ECU | Patricio Urrutia (captain) |
| 9 | FW | ECU | Agustín Delgado |
| 10 | MF | ECU | Edder Vaca |
| 11 | FW | ECU | Franklin Salas |
| 12 | GK | ECU | Carlos Espinoza |
| 13 | MF | ECU | Néicer Reasco |
| 14 | MF | ECU | Diego Calderón |
| 15 | DF | ECU | William Araujo |
| 16 | FW | ARG | Claudio Bieler |
| 17 | FW | ECU | Christian Suárez |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | DF | ECU | Byron Camacho |
| 19 | FW | CHI | Reinaldo Navia |
| 20 | MF | ECU | Pedro Larrea |
| 21 | MF | ARG | Damián Manso |
| 22 | GK | ECU | Alexander Domínguez |
| 23 | DF | ECU | Jayro Campos |
| 24 | MF | ECU | Gabriel Espinosa |
| 25 | GK | ECU | Daniel Viteri |
| 27 | FW | ECU | Víctor Estupiñán |
| 50 | MF | ECU | Danny Vaca |
| 51 | FW | ECU | Jefferson Lara |
| 52 | MF | ECU | Israel Chango |
| 53 | MF | ECU | Tito Valencia |
| 54 | MF | ECU | Carlos Alfredo Delgado |
| 55 | FW | ECU | Lenin Ibujes |
| 57 | MF | ECU | Efren de la Cruz |

### Copa Libertadores squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ECU | José Francisco Cevallos |
| 2 | DF | ARG | Norberto Araujo |
| 3 | DF | ECU | Renán Calle |
| 4 | DF | ECU | Paúl Ambrosi |
| 5 | MF | ECU | Alfonso Obregón |
| 6 | DF | ECU | Jefferson Lara |
| 7 | FW | ECU | Luis Bolaños |
| 8 | MF | ECU | Patricio Urrutia (captain) |
| 9 | FW | ECU | Agustín Delgado |
| 10 | FW | ECU | Víctor Estupiñán |
| 11 | FW | ECU | Franklin Salas |
| 12 | GK | ECU | Luis Preti |
| 13 | MF | ECU | Pedro Larrea |
| 14 | MF | ECU | Diego Calderón |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | MF | ECU | William Araujo |
| 16 | FW | ARG | Claudio Bieler |
| 17 | MF | ECU | Christian Suárez |
| 18 | MF | ECU | Byron Camacho |
| 19 | FW | ECU | Joffre Guerrón |
| 20 | MF | PAR | Enrique Vera |
| 21 | MF | ARG | Damián Manso |
| 22 | MF | ECU | Edder Vaca |
| 23 | DF | ECU | Jayro Campos |
| 24 | MF | ECU | Israel Chango |
| 25 | GK | ECU | Daniel Viteri |
| — | MF | ECU | Andrés Arrunátegui |
| — | FW | ECU | Iván Kaviedes |

### Copa Sudamericana squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ECU | José Francisco Cevallos |
| 2 | DF | ECU | Norberto Araujo |
| 3 | DF | ECU | Renán Calle |
| 4 | MF | ECU | Paúl Ambrosi |
| 5 | MF | ECU | Alfonso Obregón |
| 6 | DF | ECU | Jefferson Lara |
| 7 | MF | ECU | Luis Bolaños |
| 8 | MF | ECU | Patricio Urrutia (captain) |
| 9 | FW | ECU | Agustín Delgado |
| 10 | MF | ECU | Edder Vaca |
| 11 | FW | ECU | Franklin Salas |
| 12 | MF | ECU | Gabriel Espinosa |
| 13 | MF | ECU | Néicer Reasco |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 14 | MF | ECU | Diego Calderón |
| 15 | DF | ECU | William Araujo |
| 16 | FW | ARG | Claudio Bieler |
| 17 | FW | ECU | Christian Suárez |
| 18 | MF | ECU | Byron Camacho |
| 19 | FW | CHI | Reinaldo Navia |
| 20 | MF | ECU | Pedro Larrea |
| 21 | MF | ARG | Damián Manso |
| 22 | GK | ECU | Alexander Domínguez |
| 23 | DF | ECU | Jayro Campos |
| 24 | MF | ECU | Israel Chango |
| 25 | GK | ECU | Daniel Viteri |

### Club World Cup squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ECU | José Francisco Cevallos |
| 2 | DF | ARG | Norberto Araujo |
| 3 | DF | ECU | Renán Calle |
| 4 | MF | ECU | Paúl Ambrosi |
| 5 | MF | ECU | Alfonso Obregón |
| 7 | MF | ECU | Luis Bolaños |
| 8 | FW | ECU | Patricio Urrutia (captain) |
| 9 | FW | ECU | Agustín Delgado |
| 10 | MF | ECU | Edder Vaca |
| 11 | MF | ECU | Danny Vaca |
| 13 | MF | ECU | Néicer Reasco |
| 14 | MF | ECU | Diego Calderón |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | DF | ECU | William Araujo |
| 16 | FW | ARG | Claudio Bieler |
| 17 | FW | ECU | Christian Suárez |
| 19 | FW | CHI | Reinaldo Navia |
| 20 | MF | ECU | Pedro Larrea |
| 21 | MF | ARG | Damián Manso |
| 22 | GK | ECU | Alexander Domínguez |
| 23 | DF | ECU | Jayro Campos |
| 24 | MF | ECU | Gabriel Espinosa |
| 25 | GK | ECU | Daniel Viteri |
| 28 | MF | ECU | Israel Chango |

## Competitions
### Overall

| Competition | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| Serie A | First Stage | 4th | Feb 1 | Dec 6 |
| Copa Libertadores | Second Stage | Winner | Feb 20 | Jul 2 |
| Copa Sudamericana | First Stage | Round of 16 | Aug 14 | Oct 1 |
| Club World Cup | Semifinal | Runner-up | Dec 17 | Dec 21 |

### Serie A

2008 was the club's 47th season in the top-flight national tournament.

#### First stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Deportivo Quito | 22 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 38 | 17 | +21 | 45 | 2008 Copa Sudamericana Preliminary Round & Liguilla Final |
| 2 | LDU Quito | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 36 | 22 | +14 | 38 | Qualified to the Liguilla Final |
| 3 | Deportivo Cuenca | 22 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 26 | 16 | +10 | 37 | Qualified to the Liguilla Final |
| 4 | El Nacional | 22 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 21 | 9 | +12 | 37 | Qualified to the Liguilla Final |
| 5 | Barcelona | 22 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 34 | 27 | +7 | 35 | |
LDU Quito qualified for the Liguilla Final with 2 bonus points.

#### Second stage

For the second stage, LDU Quito was drawn into Group B.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Macará | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 13 | +4 | 18 | Qualified to the Liguilla Final |
| 2 | LDU Quito | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 16 | |
| 3 | Técnico Universitario | 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 9 | +1 | 15 | |
| 4 | Universidad Católica | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 16 | −2 | 12 | |
| 5 | Deportivo Cuenca | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 13 | −1 | 10 | |

#### Aggregate table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Deportivo Quito | 32 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 53 | 27 | +26 | 62 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 32 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 47 | 31 | +16 | 57 |
| 3 | LDU Quito | 32 | 15 | 9 | 8 | 48 | 32 | +16 | 54 |
| 4 | El Nacional | 32 | 14 | 8 | 10 | 37 | 32 | +5 | 50 |
| 5 | Macará | 32 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 35 | 32 | +3 | 48 |

#### Liguilla Final

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Deportivo Quito (C) | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 23 | 2009 Copa Libertadores Second Stage |
| 2 | LDU Quito | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 14 | +1 | 18 | |
| 3 | Deportivo Cuenca | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 15 | 2009 Copa Libertadores First Stage |
| 4 | El Nacional | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 9 | +1 | 14 | 2009 Copa Libertadores First Stage |
| 5 | Barcelona | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 13 | |
* 1 2 3 4 Points include Bonus Points earned in the previous rounds: Deportivo Quito (3); LDU Quito (2); Barcelona, Deportivo Cuenca, & Macará (1).

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source:

### Copa Libertadores

LDU Quito qualified to the 2008 Copa Libertadores as the 2007 Serie A champion. It would be their 13th participation in CONMEBOL's top continental tournament. LDU Quito was drawn into Group 8 with Argentine 2006–07 season 5th place finishers Arsenal de Sarandí, 2007 Copa do Brasil winner Fluminense FC, and Paraguayan Clausura 2007 winner Club Libertad. They were the first team in the tournament to qualify to the knock-out round.
LDU Quito advanced to their first Copa Libertadores finals; they were the second Ecuadorian club to do so (the first being Barcelona). Los Albos won their first Copa Libertadores by penalty shootout after a 5-5 aggregate score at the end of the second leg. Goalkeeper José Francisco Cevallos blocked three penalty kicks to secure the title for his team.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Fluminense | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 13 |
| 2 | LDU Quito | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 10 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 14 | −8 | 9 |
| 4 | Libertad | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 3 |

### Copa Sudamericana

LDU Quito participated in their 5th Copa Sudamericana. They qualified by finishing first in the second stage of the 2007 Serie A.

### FIFA Club World Cup

LDU Quito was the first Ecuadorian club to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup and the first non-Argentine/Brazilian club from CONMEBOL to participate. As the winner of the Copa Libertadores, they received a bye into the semifinals.

## Statistics
### Top scorer

Season: Claudio Bieler (17 goals)
* Serie A: Claudio Bieler (13 goals)
* International: Luis Bolaños (7 goals)
** Copa Libertadores: Luis Bolaños (5 goals)
** Copa Sudamericana: Reinaldo Navia (2 goals)
** FIFA Club World Cup: Claudio Bieler & Luis Bolaños (1 goal each)