page_title: Clube Atlético Mineiro in international club football
section_title: Libertadores winner and regular (2013–)
hierarchical_section_title: Clube Atlético Mineiro in international club football / History / Libertadores winner and regular (2013–)
caption_attribution_description: Português: Festa na entrega da taça da Libertadores 2013
context_page_description: The involvement of Clube Atlético Mineiro in international club football began in 1972, the year of its first appearance in an official competition at that level. Since then, the Brazilian club, based in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, has participated in 23 continental and one intercontinental tournament. Atlético Mineiro has won four official titles at the international level: the Copa Libertadores in 2013; the inaugural edition of the Copa CONMEBOL in 1992, and again in 1997; and the Recopa Sudamericana in 2014. In addition, the club finished as runner-up of the Copa CONMEBOL in 1995, the Copa de Oro in 1993, and the Copa Master de CONMEBOL in 1996.
  Prior to the existence of official continental football in South America, Atlético Mineiro had played against foreign clubs since 1929, and toured Europe in 1950. As Brazilian champion in 1971, the club qualified for the 1972 Copa Libertadores, its first continental tournament. Atlético Mineiro then debuted in the inaugural editions of the Copa CONMEBOL, in 1992, of the Copa de Oro, in 1993, and of the Copa Master de CONMEBOL, in 1996.
context_section_description: After an unsuccessful season in the national league in 2011, where it did not qualify for the following season's continental tournaments, Atlético finished as runner-up in the 2012 Campeonato Brasileiro, qualifying for the Copa Libertadores for the first time in twelve years. The team entered the competition in the second stage, and was drawn into Group 3, together with Argentine club Arsenal de Sarandí, Bolivia's The Strongest, and São Paulo once again. With a squad composed of Ronaldinho, Jô, Diego Tardelli, Bernard and a returning Gilberto Silva, Atlético dominated the group, winning its first five matches. São Paulo inflicted the team's only loss in the last match, but Atlético had already secured the best performance of the competition's group stage, which meant the second legs in further rounds would be played at home. São Paulo, as the worst runner-up of the group stage, was also the team's opponent in the round of 16. Atlético won the first leg, played at the Morumbi, after a 2–1 comeback; in the second leg, played at the Estádio Independência (the club's new first-choice home ground since the previous year), the team won 4–1 with a hat-trick by Jô to advance.
  Mexico's Club Tijuana was the opponent in the quarter-finals, and the first leg, contested in Tijuana, ended 2–2 with an equaliser goal by Atlético's Luan in injury time. In the second leg, Tijuana opened the scoring but Atlético evened the score in the first half with a goal by the team's captain, Réver. An iconic moment for the club occurred when a penalty kick was awarded to Tijuana in injury time. If Duvier Riascos' shot had scored, it would have meant elimination, but it was saved by Atlético's goalkeeper Victor with his foot. The save, according to sports commentators and supporters, represented the "kicking out" of the club's historic "jinx". In the semi-finals, Atlético faced Argentine champion Newell's Old Boys, and lost the first leg 2–0 in Rosario. In the second leg, after an interruption at 1–0 because of a failure in the Independência's floodlights, Atlético made the score 2–0 six minutes into injury time to equalise the series. The team advanced after winning 3–2 on penalties.
  In the finals, Atlético faced Olimpia for the second time in a continental decision, and the Paraguayan club won the first leg, played at the Defensores del Chaco, by 2–0. The competition's rules demanded a stadium with at least a capacity of 40,000 for the finals, and the second leg was played at the Mineirão. A Jô goal in the beginning of the second half, and a header by Leonardo Silva at the 87th minute, equalised the aggregate, and the match ended with the same score after extra-time. The title was decided by a penalty shootout, which Atlético Mineiro won 4–3 to claim its first Copa Libertadores trophy. Jô was the top goalscorer in the competition with seven goals, and Victor was selected as the tournament's best goalkeeper. The team's victory also ensured awards for Atlético players at a continental level: Ronaldinho was named South American Footballer of the Year and selected for the continent's ideal team of 2013, along with Bernard, Réver, Marcos Rocha and Jô.
  As winner of South America's main continental tournament, Atlético won the right to play in the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco, its first official intercontinental competition. However, it was unsuccessful, as Atlético fell in the semi-finals to host club (as Moroccan champions) Raja Casablanca in a 3–1 loss. After the unexpected defeat, the team faced the Chinese club, and Asian champion, Guangzhou Evergrande in the third place match, which it won 3–2 with an injury time goal. The Copa Libertadores victory also ensured the club a berth in the 2014 edition of the competition. In that season, Atlético was drawn in Group 4, together with Paraguay's Nacional, Venezuela's Zamora, and Santa Fe. The team finished the group in first place, with three wins and three draws, and advanced to the knockout stages, where it faced Colombian club Atlético Nacional. Atlético Mineiro lost the first leg 1–0 in Medellín a
caption: Atlético Mineiro supporters at the Mineirão in the second leg of the 2013 Copa Libertadores Finals
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