# 2008 Copa Libertadores

The 2008 Copa Libertadores de América was the 49th edition of the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL's premier annual international club tournament. This marked the first year the competition was sponsored by Spanish bank Santander. As such, the competition is officially the 2008 Copa Santander Libertadores de América for sponsorship reasons. The draw took place on December 19, 2007, in Asunción.
Ecuadorian club LDU Quito won the competition for the first time in a final decided on penalties. It is the first time a team from Ecuador has won the competition. LDU Quito earned a berth in the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup and 2009 Recopa Sudamericana.

## Qualified teams

Thirty-eight teams qualified for the competition, with twenty-six teams directly qualifying to the Second Stage and twelve entering in the First Stage. Seven countries sent their Apertura champions and Clausura champions for their first two berths. The remaining berth, or berths in Argentina's case, went to the best-placed non-champions shown by an aggregate table. Brazil's league uses a European-style format and thus does not have an Apertura and Clausura tournament. Therefore, they sent their cup champion and the best four of the Brazilian Serie A. Ecuador sent the top three finishers of their national tournament as determined by the Liguilla Final. Uruguay had a Mini-League (Liguilla) to determine who qualified, and Mexico usespecially the InterLiga to determine two of its qualifiers. The last qualified team in each country played in the First Stage; the defending champion's country had two teams in the first stage because the defending champion automatically qualified.
| Association | Team (berth) | Qualification method |
| Argentina 5+1 berths | Boca Juniors (Argentina 1) | 2007 Copa Libertadores champion |
| Argentina 5+1 berths | Estudiantes (Argentina 2) | 2006 Apertura champion |
| Argentina 5+1 berths | San Lorenzo (Argentina 3) | 2007 Clausura champion |
| Argentina 5+1 berths | River Plate (Argentina 4) | 2006–07 Primera División best-placed non-champion |
| Argentina 5+1 berths | Arsenal (Argentina 5) | 2006–07 Primera División 2nd best-placed non-champion |
| Argentina 5+1 berths | Lanús (Argentina 6) | 2006–07 Primera División 3rd best-placed non-champion |
| Bolivia 3 berths | Real Potosí (Bolivia 1) | 2007 Apertura champion |
| Bolivia 3 berths | San José (Bolivia 2) | 2007 Clausura champion |
| Bolivia 3 berths | La Paz (Bolivia 3) | 2007 Apertura and Clausura Runners-up Playoff winner |
| Brazil 5 berths | São Paulo (Brazil 1) | 2007 Série A champion |
| Brazil 5 berths | Santos (Brazil 2) | 2007 Série A runner-up |
| Brazil 5 berths | Flamengo (Brazil 3) | 2007 Série A 3rd place |
| Brazil 5 berths | Fluminense (Brazil 4) | 2007 Copa do Brasil champion |
| Brazil 5 berths | Cruzeiro (Brazil 5) | 2007 Série A 5th place |
| Chile 3 berths | Colo-Colo (Chile 1) | 2007 Apertura & 2007 Clausura champion |
| Chile 3 berths | Universidad Católica (Chile 2) | 2007 Apertura runner-up |
| Chile 3 berths | Audax Italiano (Chile 3) | Best-placed team in the 2007 Clausura First Stage |
| Colombia 3 berths | Atlético Nacional (Colombia 1) | 2007 Apertura & 2007 Finalización champion |
| Colombia 3 berths | Cúcuta Deportivo (Colombia 2) | 2007 season best-placed non-champion |
| Colombia 3 berths | Boyacá Chicó (Colombia 3) | 2007 season 2nd best-placed non-champion |
| Ecuador 3 berths | LDU Quito (Ecuador 1) | 2007 Serie A champion |
| Ecuador 3 berths | Deportivo Cuenca (Ecuador 2) | 2007 Serie A runner-up |
| Ecuador 3 berths | Olmedo (Ecuador 2) | 2007 Serie A 3rd place |
| Paraguay 3 berths | Sportivo Luqueño (Paraguay 1) | 2007 Apertura champion |
| Paraguay 3 berths | Libertad (Paraguay 2) | 2007 Clausura champion |
| Paraguay 3 berths | Cerro Porteño (Paraguay 3) | 2007 Primera División best-placed non-champion |
| Peru 3 berths | Universidad San Martín (Peru 1) | 2007 Decentralizado champion |
| Peru 3 berths | Coronel Bolognesi (Peru 2) | 2007 Decentralizado champion |
| Peru 3 berths | Cienciano (Peru 3) | 2007 Decentralizado best-placed non-champion |
| Uruguay 3 berths | Danubio (Uruguay 1) | 2006–07 Primera División champion |
| Uruguay 3 berths | Nacional (Uruguay 2) | 2007 Liguilla Pre-Libertadores champion |
| Uruguay 3 berths | Montevideo Wanderers (Uruguay 3) | 2007 Liguilla Pre-Libertadores runner-up |
| Venezuela 3 berths | Caracas (Venezuela 1) | 2006 Apertura champion |
| Venezuela 3 berths | Unión Atlético Maracaibo (Venezuela 2) | 2007 Clausura champion |
| Venezuela 3 berths | Mineros de Guayana (Venezuela 3) | 2006–07 Primera División best-placed non-finalist |
| Mexico 3 invitees (CONCACAF) | Guadalajara (Mexico 1) | 2006 Apertura champion |
| Mexico 3 invitees (CONCACAF) | América (Mexico 2) | 2008 InterLiga winner |
| Mexico 3 invitees (CONCACAF) | Atlas (Mexico 3) | 2008 InterLiga runner-up |

### Teams' starting round

Second Stage :
| Boca Juniors | San Lorenzo | Estudiantes | River Plate |
| Flamengo | São Paulo | Santos | Fluminense |
| Real Potosí | San José | Colo-Colo | Universidad Católica |
| Atlético Nacional | Cúcuta Deportivo | LDU Quito | Deportivo Cuenca |
| Sportivo Luqueño | Libertad | Universidad San Martín | Coronel Bolognesi |
| Danubio | Nacional | Caracas | Unión Atlético Maracaibo |
| Guadalajara | América | | |
| First Stage ||||
| Arsenal | Lanús | Cruzeiro | La Paz |
| Audax Italiano | Boyacá Chicó | Olmedo | Cerro Porteño |
| Cienciano | Montevideo Wanderers | Mineros de Guayana | Atlas |

## Round and draw dates

The calendar shows the dates of the rounds and draw.
| Date | Event |
| December 19, 2007 | The draw took place |
| January 29-February 12, 2008 | First stage |
| February 12-April 23, 2008 | Second stage |
| April 30-May 7, 2008 | Round of 16 |
| May 14-May 21, 2008 | Quarterfinals |
| May 28-June 4, 2008 | Semifinals |
| June 25-July 2, 2008 | Finals |

## Tie breakers

Teams at every stage of the tournament will be awarded points depending on the result of a game: 3 for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss. The following criteria will be used for breaking ties on points:
* Goal difference
* Goals scored
* Away goals
* Draw
For the first stage, round of 16, quarterfinals, and semifinals, the fourth criterion is replaced by a penalty shoot-out if necessary. The Finals have their own set of criteria; see the finals section for more details.

## First stage

The First Stage was played between January 29 and February 12. Team #1 played the second leg at home.
| Teams | Teams | Teams | Scores | Scores | Tie-breakers | Tie-breakers | Tie-breakers |
| Team #1 | Points | Team #2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | GD | AG | Pen. |
| Lanús | 3:3 | Olmedo | 0–1 | 3–0 | +2:−2 | — | — |
| Cerro Porteño | 0:6 | Cruzeiro | 1–3 | 2–3 | — | — | — |
| Mineros de Guayana | 3:3 | Arsenal | 0–2 | 2–1 | −1:+1 | — | — |
| La Paz | 3:3 | Atlas | 0–2 | 1–0 | −1:+1 | — | — |
| Montevideo Wanderers | 1:4 | Cienciano | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | — | — |
| Audax Italiano | 3:3 | Boyacá Chicó | 3–4 | 1–0 | 0:0 | 3:0 | — |

## Second stage

A total of 26 teams qualified directly to this phase and were joined by six teams from the First Stage, bringing the total to 32 teams. The top two teams from each group advanced to the round of 16. This stage was played between February 12 and April 23.
In results tables, the home team is listed in the left-hand column.

### Group 1

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | CRU | SLO | CAR | RPO |
| 1 | Cruzeiro | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 11 | | 3–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 |
| 2 | San Lorenzo | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 10 | 0–0 | | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| 3 | Caracas | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 7 | 1–1 | 2–0 | | 2–1 |
| 4 | Real Potosí | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 5–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | |

### Group 2

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | ELP | LAN | CUE | DAN |
| 1 | Estudiantes | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 11 | | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| 2 | Lanús | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 10 | 3–3 | | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| 3 | Deportivo Cuenca | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 6 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | 0–0 |
| 4 | Danubio | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 4 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | |

### Group 3

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | ATS | BOC | CC | MBO |
| 1 | Atlas | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 11 | | 3–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 |
| 2 | Boca Juniors | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 9 | +3 | 10 | 3–0 | | 4–3 | 3–0 |
| 3 | Colo-Colo | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 10 | 1–1 | 2–0 | | 2–0 |
| 4 | Unión Atlético Maracaibo | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 13 | −10 | 2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | |

### Group 4

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | FLA | NAC | CIE | BSI |
| 1 | Flamengo | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 13 | | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| 2 | Nacional | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 12 | 3–0 | | 3–1 | 1–0 |
| 3 | Cienciano | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 7 | 0–3 | 2–1 | | 1–0 |
| 4 | Coronel Bolognesi | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | |

### Group 5

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | RIV | AME | UC | USM |
| 1 | River Plate | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 12 | | 2–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 |
| 2 | América | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 4–3 | | 2–1 | 3–1 |
| 3 | Universidad Católica | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 1–2 | 2–0 | | 1–0 |
| 4 | Universidad San Martín | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 6 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | |

### Group 6

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | CUC | SFC | GDL | SJO |
| 1 | Cúcuta Deportivo | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 11 | | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| 2 | Santos | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 10 | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 7–0 |
| 3 | Guadalajara | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 9 | 0–1 | 3–2 | | 2–0 |
| 4 | San José | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 17 | −13 | 4 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 0–3 | |

### Group 7

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | SAO | AN | LUQ | AUD |
| 1 | São Paulo | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 11 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| 2 | Atlético Nacional | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 8 | 1–1 | | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| 3 | Sportivo Luqueño | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 7 | 1–1 | 1–3 | | 4–1 |
| 4 | Audax Italiano | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 7 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | |

### Group 8

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | FLU | LDU | ARS | LIB |
| 1 | Fluminense | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 13 | | 1–0 | 6–0 | 2–0 |
| 2 | LDU Quito | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 10 | 0–0 | | 6–1 | 2–0 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 14 | −8 | 9 | 2–0 | 0–1 | | 1–0 |
| 4 | Libertad | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 3 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | |

## Knockout stages

The last four stages of the tournament (round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals) form a single-elimination tournament, commonly known as a knockout stages. Sixteen teams advanced into the first of these stages: the round of 16.

### Seeding

The 16 qualified teams were seeded according to their results in the Second Stage. The top teams from each group were seeded 1–8, with the team with the most points as seed 1 and the team with the least as seed 8. The second-best teams from each group were seeded 9–16, with the team with the most points as seed 9 and the team with the least as seed 16.
Teams qualified as a group winner :
| Teams qualified as a group winner Seed Team Pts GD GF AG 1 Fluminense13+8112 2 Flamengo13+483 3 River Plate12+6145 4 Atlas11+5112 5 Cruzeiro11+4112 6 Estudiantes11+495 7 Cúcuta Deportivo11+376 8 São Paulo11+262 | Teams qualified as a runner-up Seed Team Pts GD GF AG 9 Nacional12+492 10 Santos10+7133 11 LDU Quito10+5102 12 Boca Juniors10+3122 13 Lanús10+393 14 San Lorenzo10+184 15 América90101 16 Atlético Nacional8+383 |

### Bracket

| Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Fluminense | 2 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Atlético Nacional | 1 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Atlético Nacional | 1 | 0 | 1 | Fluminense | 0 | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | 8 | São Paulo | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | São Paulo | 0 | 2 | 8 | São Paulo | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Nacional | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Nacional | 0 | 0 | | | | | 1 | Fluminense | 2 | 3 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | 12 | Boca Juniors | 2 | 1 | | | | | |
| 4 | Atlas | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | 12 | Boca Juniors | 2 | 1 | | | | | |
| 13 | Lanús | 0 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Lanús | 0 | 2 | 4 | Atlas | 2 | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | 12 | Boca Juniors | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Cruzeiro | 1 | 1 | 12 | Boca Juniors | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Boca Juniors | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Boca Juniors | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | 1 | Fluminense | 2 | 3 (1) |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | 11 | LDU Quito (p) | 4 | 1 (3) |
| 6 | Estudiantes | 0 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 11 | LDU Quito (p) | 4 | 1 (3) |
| 11 | LDU Quito | 2 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | LDU Quito | 2 | 1 | 11 | LDU Quito (p) | 1 | 1 (5) | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | 14 | San Lorenzo | 1 | 1 (3) | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | River Plate | 1 | 2 | 14 | San Lorenzo | 1 | 1 (3) | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | San Lorenzo | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | San Lorenzo | 2 | 2 | | | | | 11 | LDU Quito (a) | 1 | 0 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | 15 | América | 1 | 0 | | | | | |
| 7 | Cúcuta Deportivo | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | 15 | América | 1 | 0 | | | | | |
| 10 | Santos | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Santos | 2 | 2 | 10 | Santos | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | 15 | América | 2 | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Flamengo | 4 | 0 | 15 | América | 2 | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| 15 | América | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

### Round of 16

The Round of 16 was played between April 29 and 30, and May 1, 6, and 8. Team #1 played the second leg at home.
| Teams | Teams | Teams | Scores | Scores | Tie-breakers | Tie-breakers | Tie-breakers |
| Team #1 | Points | Team #2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | GD | AG | Pen. |
| Fluminense | 6-0 | Atlético Nacional | 2–1 | 1–0 | — | — | — |
| Flamengo | 3-3 | América | 4–2 | 0–3 | −1:+1 | — | — |
| River Plate | 1-4 | San Lorenzo | 1–2 | 2–2 | — | — | — |
| Atlas | 4-1 | Lanús | 1–0 | 2–2 | — | — | — |
| Cruzeiro | 0-6 | Boca Juniors | 1–2 | 1–2 | — | — | — |
| Estudiantes | 3-3 | LDU Quito | 0–2 | 2–1 | −1:+1 | — | — |
| Cúcuta Deportivo | 0-6 | Santos | 0–2 | 0–2 | — | — | — |
| São Paulo | 4-1 | Nacional | 0–0 | 2–0 | — | — | — |

### Quarterfinals

The Quarterfinals were played on May 14, 15, and May 21 and 22. Team #1 played the second leg at home.
| Teams | Teams | Teams | Scores | Scores | Tie-breakers | Tie-breakers | Tie-breakers |
| Team #1 | Points | Team #2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | GD | AG | Pen. |
| Fluminense | 3:3 | São Paulo | 0–1 | 3–1 | +1:−1 | — | — |
| Atlas | 1:4 | Boca Juniors | 2–2 | 0–3 | — | — | — |
| Santos | 3:3 | América | 0–2 | 1–0 | −1:+1 | — | — |
| LDU Quito | 2:2 | San Lorenzo | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0:0 | 1:1 | 5:3 |

### Semifinals

The Semifinals were played between May 27, 28, and June 3, 4. Team #1 played the second leg at home.
| Teams | Teams | Teams | Scores | Scores | Tie-breakers | Tie-breakers | Tie-breakers |
| Team #1 | Points | Team #2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | GD | AG | Pen. |
| Fluminense | 4:1 | Boca Juniors | 2–2 | 3–1 | — | — | — |
| LDU Quito | 2:2 | América | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0:0 | 1:0 | — |

### Finals

* Copa Santander Libertadores de América 2008 Champion
* LDU Quito First Title

## Top goalscorers

| Pos | Name | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Salvador Cabañas | América | 8 |
| 1 | Marcelo Moreno | Cruzeiro | 8 |
| 3 | Sebastián Abreu | River Plate | 7 |
| 3 | Bruno Marioni | Atlas | 7 |
| 3 | Thiago Neves | Fluminense | 7 |
| 3 | Martín Palermo | Boca Juniors | 7 |
| 7 | Adriano | São Paulo | 6 |
| 7 | Kléber Pereira | Santos | 6 |
| 7 | Mauricio Molina | Santos | 6 |
| 7 | Washington | Fluminense | 6 |