Copa Libertadores 2012

The Copa Libertadores 2012 , also known as the Copa Santander Libertadores due to the sponsorship of the Santander banking group , was the 53rd edition of the most important South American football competition for club teams. A total of 38 teams took part this season, 35 from the 10 member associations of CONMEBOL , including defending champions FC Santos from Brazil and the 2011 Copa Sudamericana winner, CF Universidad de Chile from Chile, and 3 from Mexico. The tournament began on January 25th with the qualifying round and ended on July 4th with the final second leg.

The Brazilian club Corinthians São Paulo defeated the Boca Juniors in the finals , remained unbeaten for the entire competition and thus secured their first title in this competition.

Participating teams

The following teams took part in the 2012 Copa Libertadores. Since FC Santos was automatically qualified as the defending champion, Brazil was allowed to send six instead of the usual five participants to the tournament, with two having to qualify. Mexico, which actually belongs to CONCACAF , sent three teams to the tournament, one of which had to qualify. The teams that had to qualify for the main round are marked with a (Q) in the table.

country	society	Qualification reason
Argentina 5 starting places	CA Vélez Sarsfield	Master of the Clausura 2011
	Boca Juniors	Master of the Apertura 2011
	CA Lanus	First in the combined table of the last two seasons (without champions)
	CD Godoy Cruz	Second in the combined table (without champions)
	Arsenal de Sarandí (Q)	Best participation in the Copa Sudamericana 2011
Bolivia 3 starting places	Club Bolívar	Master of the Adecuación 2011
	Club The Strongest	Master of the Apertura 2011
	Real Potosí (Q)	Second adecuación 2011
Brazil 5 + 1 starting places	FC Santos	Defending champion
	CR Vasco da Gama	Cup winner 2011
	Corinthians São Paulo	Champion 2011
	Fluminense Rio de Janeiro	Third 2011
	Flamengo Rio de Janeiro (Q)	Fourth 2011
	SC Internacional (Q)	Fifth 2011
Chile 3 starting places	CF Universidad de Chile	Master of the Apertura 2011
	CD Universidad Católica	Master of the Clausura 2011
	Unión Española (Q)	First in round 1 of the Primera División (without champions)
Ecuador 3 starting places	Deportivo Quito	Champion 2011
	CS Emelec	Second in 2011
	CD El Nacional (Q)	Third 2011
Colombia 3 starting places	Atlético Nacional	Master of the Apertura 2011
	Atlético Junior	Master of the Finalización 2011
	Once Caldas (Q)	First in the overall table 2011 (without champions)
Mexico ( CONCACAF ) 3 starting places	Deportivo Guadalajara	Top team at Apertura 2011
	CD Cruz Azul	Runner-up at Apertura 2011
	UANL Tigres (Q)	Third place at Apertura 2011
Paraguay 3 starting places	Club Olimpia	Master of the Clausura 2011
	Club Nacional	Second at Apertura 2011
	Club Libertad (Q)	First in the overall table (without master)
Peru 3 starting places	Juan Aurich	Champion 2011
	Alianza Lima	Second in 2011
	Sport Huancayo (Q)	Third 2011
Uruguay 3 starting places	Nacional Montevideo	Champion 2011
	Defensor Sporting Club	Second in 2011
	Club Atlético Peñarol (Q)	Best placed non-finalist
Venezuela 3 starting places	Deportivo Táchira FC	Master Apertura 2011
	Zamora FC	Master Clausura 2011
	FC Caracas (Q)	Third in the overall table 2011 (without champions)

1. ↑ The top 3 teams were qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League 2011/12 and therefore not eligible to play for the Copa Libertadores.

mode

If there is a tie in the group stage, the goal difference is decisive for progress, then the number of goals scored, then the number of goals scored away . If these are also the same, the lot decides. In the knockout rounds, the away goal rule also applies in the event of a tie between points and goals. If their number is the same, a penalty shoot-out immediately followed without extra time . Only in the final there when the score is level after 90 minutes before the penalty shoot another extension .

qualification

The first leg took place on January 25, the second leg on February 1, 2012. The first team had home rights in the first leg, the second in the second leg.

	total		First leg	Return leg
Arsenal de Sarandí	4: 1	Sports Huancayo	3-0	1: 1
Real Potosí	2: 3	Flamengo Rio de Janeiro	2: 1	0: 2
Club Atlético Peñarol	5: 1	Caracas FC	4-0	1: 1
CD El Nacional	2: 4	Club Libertad	1-0	1: 4
SC Internacional	3: 2	Once Caldas	1-0	2: 2
Unión Española	3: 2	UANL Tigres	1-0	2: 2

Group stage

Group 1

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	FC Santos	6th	4th	1	1	012: 500	+7	13
2.	SC Internacional	6th	2	2	2	010: 600	+4	08th
3.	Club The Strongest	6th	2	1	3	005:110	−6	07th
4th	Juan Aurich	6th	2	0	4th	004: 900	−5	06th

February 9, 2012
SC Internacional	2-0	Juan Aurich	Estádio Beira-Rio
February 15, 2012
The Strongest	2: 1	FC Santos	Estadio Hernando Siles
February 23, 2012
The Strongest	2: 1	Juan Aurich	Estadio Hernando Siles
March 8, 2012
FC Santos	3: 1	SC Internacional	Estádio Urbano Caldeira
March 13, 2012
SC Internacional	5-0	The Strongest	Estádio Beira-Rio
March 15, 2012
Juan Aurich	1: 3	FC Santos	Estadio Elías Aguirre
March 21, 2012
The Strongest	1: 1	SC Internacional	Estadio Hernando Siles
March 22, 2012
FC Santos	2-0	Juan Aurich	Estádio Urbano Caldeira
April 4, 2012
SC Internacional	1: 1	FC Santos	Estádio Beira-Rio
April 5, 2012
Juan Aurich	1-0	The Strongest	Estadio Elías Aguirre
April 19, 2012
Juan Aurich	1-0	SC Internacional	Estadio Elías Aguirre
FC Santos	2-0	The Strongest	Estádio Urbano Caldeira

Group 2

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	CA Lanus	6th	3	1	2	011: 600	+5	10
2.	CS Emelec	6th	3	0	3	007: 800	−1	09
3.	Flamengo Rio de Janeiro	6th	2	2	2	012:100	+2	08th
4th	Club Olimpia	6th	2	1	3	010:160	−6	07th

February 9, 2012
CS Emelec	1-0	Club Olimpia	Estadio George Capwell
February 15, 2012
CA Lanus	1: 1	Flamengo Rio de Janeiro	Estadio Ciudad de Lanús - Néstor Díaz Pérez
February 23, 2012
Club Olimpia	2: 1	CA Lanus	Estadio Defensores del Chaco
March 8, 2012
Flamengo Rio de Janeiro	1-0	CS Emelec	Estádio do Maracanã
March 13, 2012
CA Lanus	1-0	CS Emelec	Estadio Ciudad de Lanús - Néstor Díaz Pérez
March 15, 2012
Flamengo Rio de Janeiro	3: 3	Club Olimpia	Estádio do Maracanã
March 20, 2012
Emelec	0: 2	CA Lanus	Estadio George Capwell
March 28, 2012
Club Olimpia	3: 2	Flamengo Rio de Janeiro	Estadio Defensores del Chaco
April 3, 2012
CA Lanus	6-0	Club Olimpia	Estadio Ciudad de Lanús - Néstor Díaz Pérez
April 4, 2012
CS Emelec	3: 2	Flamengo Rio de Janeiro	Estadio George Capwell
April 12, 2012
Flamengo Rio de Janeiro	3-0	CA Lanus	Estádio do Maracanã
Club Olimpia	2: 3	CS Emelec	Estadio Defensores del Chaco

Group 3

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Unión Española	6th	3	1	2	010: 700	+3	10
2.	Club Bolívar	6th	3	1	2	009: 700	+2	10
3.	Atlético Junior	6th	2	1	3	008: 800	± 0	07th
4th	CD Universidad Católica	6th	1	3	2	006:110	−5	06th

February 8, 2012
Unión Española	2-0	Atlético Junior	Estadio Santa Laura
February 9, 2012
CD Universidad Católica	1: 1	Club Bolívar	Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo
February 21, 2012
Club Bolívar	1: 3	Unión Española	Estadio Hernando Siles
February 23, 2012
CD Universidad Católica	2: 2	Atlético Junior	Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo
March 6, 2012
Unión Española	1: 1	CD Universidad Católica	Estadio Santa Laura
March 8, 2012
Atlético Junior	0: 1	Club Bolívar	Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez
March 20, 2012
Club Bolívar	2: 1	Atlético Junior	Estadio Hernando Siles
March 28, 2012
CD Universidad Católica	2: 1	Unión Española	Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo
April 5, 2012
Atlético Junior	3-0	CD Universidad Católica	Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez
April 10, 2012
Unión Española	2: 1	Club Bolívar	Estadio Santa Laura
April 17, 2012
Atlético Junior	2: 1	Unión Española	Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez
Club Bolívar	3-0	CD Universidad Católica	Estadio Hernando Siles

Group 4

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Fluminense Rio de Janeiro	6th	5	0	1	007: 400	+3	15th
2.	Boca Juniors	6th	4th	1	1	009: 300	+6	13
3.	Arsenal de Sarandí	6th	2	0	4th	006: 700	−1	06th
4th	Zamora FC	6th	0	1	5	000: 800	−8	01

February 7, 2012
Fluminense Rio de Janeiro	1-0	Arsenal de Sarandí	Estádio Olímpico João Havelange
February 14, 2012
Zamora FC	0-0	Boca Juniors	Estadio Agustín Tovar
February 21, 2012
Arsenal de Sarandí	3-0	Zamora FC	Estadio Julio H. Grondona
March 7, 2012
Boca Juniors	1: 2	Fluminense Rio de Janeiro	La Bombonera
March 14, 2012
Arsenal de Sarandí	1: 2	Boca Juniors	Estadio Julio H. Grondona
Fluminense Rio de Janeiro	1-0	Zamora FC	Estádio Olímpico João Havelange
March 29, 2012
Boca Juniors	2-0	Arsenal de Sarandí	La Bombonera
Zamora FC	0: 1	Fluminense Rio de Janeiro	Estadio Agustín Tovar
April 10, 2012
Zamora FC	0: 1	Arsenal de Sarandí	Estadio Agustín Tovar
April 11, 2012
Fluminense Rio de Janeiro	0: 2	Boca Juniors	Estádio Olímpico João Havelange
April 18, 2012
Arsenal de Sarandí	1: 2	Fluminense Rio de Janeiro	Estadio Julio H. Grondona
Boca Juniors	2-0	Zamora FC	La Bombonera

Group 5

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Club Libertad	6th	4th	1	1	011: 700	+4	13
2.	CR Vasco da Gama	6th	4th	1	1	010: 600	+4	13
3.	Nacional Montevideo	6th	2	0	4th	005: 700	−2	06th
4th	Alianza Lima	6th	1	0	5	006:120	−6	03

February 8, 2012
CR Vasco da Gama	1: 2	Nacional Montevideo	Estádio São Januário
February 9, 2012
Club Libertad	4: 1	Alianza Lima	Estadio Dr. Nicolás Leoz
February 16, 2012
Nacional Montevideo	1: 2	Club Libertad	Estadio Gran Parque Central
March 6, 2012
CR Vasco da Gama	3: 2	Alianza Lima	Estádio São Januário
March 13, 2012
Alianza Lima	1-0	Nacional Montevideo	Estadio Alejandro Villanueva
March 14, 2012
Club Libertad	1: 1	CR Vasco da Gama	Estadio Dr. Nicolás Leoz
March 21, 2012
CR Vasco da Gama	2-0	Club Libertad	Estádio São Januário
March 27, 2012
Nacional Montevideo	1-0	Alianza Lima	Estadio Gran Parque Central
April 3, 2012
Alianza Lima	1: 2	CR Vasco da Gama	Estadio Alejandro Villanueva
April 5, 2012
Club Libertad	2: 1	Nacional Montevideo	Estadio Dr. Nicolás Leoz
April 12, 2012
Nacional Montevideo	0: 1	CR Vasco da Gama	Estadio Gran Parque Central
Alianza Lima	1: 2	Club Libertad	Estadio Alejandro Villanueva

Group 6

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Corinthians São Paulo	6th	4th	2	0	013: 200	+11	14th
2.	CD Cruz Azul	6th	3	2	1	011: 400	+7	11
3.	Club Nacional	6th	1	1	4th	006:130	−7	04th
4th	Deportivo Táchira FC	6th	0	3	3	004:150	−11	03

February 8, 2012
Club Nacional	1: 2	CD Cruz Azul	Estadio Defensores del Chaco
February 15, 2012
Deportivo Táchira FC	1: 1	Corinthians São Paulo	Estadio Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo
February 21, 2012
CD Cruz Azul	4-0	Deportivo Táchira FC	Estadio Azul
March 7, 2012
Corinthians São Paulo	2-0	Club Nacional	Estádio do Pacaembu
March 13, 2012
Club Nacional	3: 2	Deportivo Táchira FC	Estadio Defensores del Chaco
March 14, 2012
CD Cruz Azul	0-0	Corinthians São Paulo	Estadio Azul
March 21, 2012
Corinthians São Paulo	1-0	CD Cruz Azul	Estádio do Pacaembu
March 27, 2012
Deportivo Táchira FC	0-0	Club Nacional	Estadio Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo
April 3, 2012
Deportivo Táchira FC	1: 1	CD Cruz Azul	Estadio Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo
April 11, 2012
Club Nacional	1: 3	Corinthians São Paulo	Estadio Defensores del Chaco
April 18, 2012
Corinthians São Paulo	6-0	Deportivo Táchira FC	Estádio do Pacaembu
CD Cruz Azul	4: 1	Club Nacional	Estadio Azul

Group 7

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	CA Vélez Sarsfield	6th	4th	0	2	010: 600	+4	12
2.	Deportivo Quito	6th	3	1	2	011: 400	+7	10
3.	Defensor Sporting Club	6th	3	0	3	006: 700	−1	09
4th	Deportivo Guadalajara	6th	1	1	4th	002:120	−10	04th

February 7, 2012
Defensor Sporting Club	0: 3	CA Vélez Sarsfield	Estadio Luis Franzini
Deportivo Guadalajara	1: 1	Deportivo Quito	Estadio Omnilife
February 14, 2012
Defensor Sporting Club	2-0	Deportivo Quito	Estadio Luis Franzini
February 22, 2012
CA Vélez Sarsfield	3-0	Deportivo Guadalajara	Estadio José Amalfitani
March 7, 2012
Deportivo Quito	3-0	CA Vélez Sarsfield	Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa
March 13, 2012
Deportivo Guadalajara	1-0	Defensor Sporting Club	Estadio Omnilife
March 22, 2012
CA Vélez Sarsfield	1-0	Deportivo Quito	Estadio José Amalfitani
March 28, 2012
Defensor Sporting Club	1-0	Deportivo Guadalajara	Estadio Luis Franzini
April 10, 2012
Deportivo Quito	2-0	Defensor Sporting Club	Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa
April 11, 2012
Deportivo Guadalajara	0: 2	CA Vélez Sarsfield	Estadio Omnilife
April 17, 2012
CA Vélez Sarsfield	1: 3	Defensor Sporting Club	Estadio José Amalfitani
Deportivo Quito	5-0	Deportivo Guadalajara	Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa

Group 8

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	CF Universidad de Chile	6th	4th	1	1	011: 600	+5	13
2.	Atlético Nacional	6th	3	2	1	016: 800	+8	11
3.	CD Godoy Cruz	6th	1	2	3	010:160	−6	05
4th	Club Atlético Peñarol	6th	1	1	4th	006:130	−7	04th

February 14, 2012
Atlético Nacional	2-0	CF Universidad de Chile	Estadio Atanasio Girardot
February 16, 2012
CD Godoy Cruz	1-0	Club Atlético Peñarol	Estadio Malvinas Argentinas
February 21, 2012
Club Atlético Peñarol	0: 4	Atlético Nacional	Estadio Centenario
February 22, 2012
CF Universidad de Chile	5: 1	CD Godoy Cruz	Estadio Nacional de Chile
March 6, 2012
Club Atlético Peñarol	1: 1	CF Universidad de Chile	Estadio Centenario
March 8, 2012
CD Godoy Cruz	4: 4	Atlético Nacional	Estadio Malvinas Argentinas
March 22, 2012
Atlético Nacional	2: 2	CD Godoy Cruz	Estadio Atanasio Girardot
March 27, 2012
CF Universidad de Chile	2: 1	Club Atlético Peñarol	Estadio Nacional de Chile
April 4, 2012
CD Godoy Cruz	0: 1	CF Universidad de Chile	Estadio Malvinas Argentinas
April 10, 2012
Atlético Nacional	3-0	Club Atlético Peñarol	Estadio Atanasio Girardot
April 19, 2012
CF Universidad de Chile	2: 1	Atlético Nacional	Estadio Nacional de Chile
Club Atlético Peñarol	4: 2	CD Godoy Cruz	Estadio Centenario

Round of 16

The first leg took place on May 2, 2012, the second leg on May 9, 2012.

The first and second in each group qualified for the round of 16.

The games were not drawn, but determined by a seeding list. The eight group winners were given start numbers 1 to 8 according to their ranking, so the best group winner received 1, the second best group winner received 2, etc. The eight runners-up were given start numbers 9 to 16. In the round of 16 then played 1 - 16, 2 - 15, 3 - 14 ..., so the best group first against the worst group second etc.

Seeding list	team	Points	Goal difference
1	Fluminense Rio de Janeiro	15th	+3
2	Corinthians São Paulo	14th	+11
3	FC Santos	13	+7
4th	CF Universidad de Chile	13	+5
5	Club Libertad	13	+4
6th	CA Vélez Sarsfield	12	+4
7th	CA Lanus	10	+5
8th	Unión Española	10	+3
9	Boca Juniors	13	+6
10	CR Vasco da Gama	13	+4
11	Atlético Nacional	11	+8
12	CD Cruz Azul	11	+7
13	Deportivo Quito	10	+7
14th	Club Bolívar	10	+2
15th	CS Emelec	9	−1
16	SC Internacional	8th	+4
Color legend: group winners group runner-up 

	total		First leg	Return leg
SC Internacional	1: 2	Fluminense Rio de Janeiro	0-0	1: 2
CS Emelec	0: 3	Corinthians São Paulo	0-0	0: 3
Club Bolívar	2: 9	FC Santos	2: 1	0: 8
Deportivo Quito	4: 7	CF Universidad de Chile	4: 1	0: 6
CD Cruz Azul	1: 3	Club Libertad	1: 1	0: 2
Atlético Nacional	1: 2	CA Vélez Sarsfield	0: 1	1: 1
CR Vasco da Gama	3: 3 (5: 4 on behalf)	CA Lanus	2: 1	1: 2
Boca Juniors	5: 3	Unión Española	2: 1	3: 2

Quarter finals

The first legs took place on 16 and 17, the second legs on 23 and 24 May 2012.

	total		First leg	Return leg
Boca Juniors	2: 1	Fluminense Rio de Janeiro	1-0	1: 1
CR Vasco da Gama	0: 1	Corinthians São Paulo	0-0	0: 1
CA Vélez Sarsfield	1: 1 (2: 4 i.E.)	FC Santos	1-0	0: 1
Club Libertad	2: 2 (3: 5 on behalf)	CF Universidad de Chile	1: 1	1: 1

Semifinals

The first legs took place on June 13th and 14th, the second legs on June 20th and 21st, 2012.

	total		First leg	Return leg
FC Santos	1: 2	Corinthians São Paulo	0: 1	1: 1
Boca Juniors	2-0	CF Universidad de Chile	2-0	0-0

final

First leg

Boca Juniors		Corinthians São Paulo		Lineup
	June 27, 2012 in La Bombonera ( Buenos Aires ) Result: 1: 1 (0: 0) Referee: Enrique Osses ( Chile )
	Agustín Orión - Facundo Roncaglia , Rolando Schiavi , Matías Caruzzo , Clemente Rodríguez - Leandro Somoza - Pablo Ledesma (82nd Diego Rivero ), Walter Erviti , Juan Román Riquelme , Pablo Mouche (87th Darío Cvitanich ) - Santiago Silva (85th Lucas Viatri ) Coach: Julio Falcioni	Cássio - Alessandro , Chicão , Leandro Castán , Fábio Santos - Ralf , Paulinho , Alex (90th + 2 Wallace ), Danilo (83rd Romarinho ) - Emerson Sheik , Jorge Henrique (39th Liédson ) Trainer: Tite
	1-0 Facundo Roncaglia (73.)	1: 1 Romarinho (85.)
	Roncaglia (19th), Riquelme (42nd), Erviti (88th)	Chicão (74.), Fábio Santos (87.)

Return leg

Corinthians São Paulo		Boca Juniors		Lineup
	4th July 2012 in Estádio do Pacaembu ( São Paulo ) Result: 2: 0 (0: 0) Referee: Wilmar Roldán ( Colombia )
	Cássio - Alessandro , Chicão , Leandro Castán , Fábio Santos - Danilo , Ralf , Paulinho , Alex (88th Douglas ) - Emerson Sheik (90th + 1 ' Wallace ), Jorge Henrique Trainer: Tite	Agustín Orión (32nd Sebastián Sosa ) - Facundo Roncaglia , Rolando Schiavi , Matías Caruzzo , Clemente Rodríguez - Pablo Ledesma (65th Darío Cvitanich ), Leandro Somoza , Walter Erviti - Juan Román Riquelme - Pablo Mouche (81st Lucas Viatri ), Santiago Silva coach: Julio Falcioni
	1: 0 Emerson Sheik (53.) 2: 0 Emerson Sheik (72.)
	Chicão (4th), Castán (70th)	Mouche (4th), Silva (44th), Schiavi (51st), Caruzzo (54th)

Best goal scorers

rank	player	club	Gates
1	Matías Alustiza	Deportivo Quito	8th
	Neymar	FC Santos	8th
3	Dorlan Pabón	Atlético Nacional	7th
4th	Junior Fernándes	Universidad de Chile	6th
	Leandro Damião	SC Internacional	6th
6th	Emerson Sheik	Corinthians São Paulo	5
	Emanuel Herrera	Union Española	5
	Javier Orozco	CD Cruz Azul	5

→ Main article : List of Copa Libertadores top scorers

See also

• Copa Sudamericana 2012

Web links

• Competition 2012 on rsssf.com (English)