The Copa Libertadores 1976 was the 17th edition of the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL's annual international club tournament. The tournament began on February 23 and ended on July 30.
Cruzeiro won the competition, being the first Brazilian team, after Pelé's Santos, to win the continental competition. During the tournament, Cruzeiro suffered a great setback: the loss of the player Roberto Batata, who died in a car crash.
This tournament is also known for having the fastest goal ever scored in any edition of the Copa Libertadores tournament with Alianza Lima forward Félix Suárez Becerra scoring the first of three goals against Independiente Santa Fe in only six seconds.
Independiente, the defending champions who had won four consecutive titles till the 1975 edition of the tournament, were defeated in the semifinals by fellow Argentina club River Plate.
Qualified teams CountryTeamQualification method2 + 1 berthsIndependiente1975 Copa Libertadores championRiver Plate1975 Metropolitano champion1975 Nacional championEstudiantes1975 Metropolitano runner-up2 berthsGuabirá1975 Copa Simón Bolívar championBolívar 1975 Copa Simón Bolívar runner-up2 berthsInternacional1975 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A championCruzeiro1975 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A runner-up2 berthsUnión Española1975 Primera División championPalestino1975 Miniliga Pré-Libertadores champion2 berthsSanta Fe1975 Campeonato Profesional championMillonarios1975 Campeonato Profesional runner-up2 berthsLDU Quito1975 Serie A championDeportivo Cuenca1975 Serie A runner-up2 berthsOlimpia1975 Primera División championSportivo Luqueño1975 Primera División runner-up2 berthsAlianza Lima1975 Descentralizado championAlfonso Ugarte1975 Descentralizado runner-up2 berthsPeñarol1975 Primera División championNacional1975 Primera División runner-up2 berthsPortuguesa1975 Venezuelan championDeportivo Galicia1975 Venezuelan Championship runner-up
Draw The champions and runners-up of each football association were drawn into the same group along with another football association's participating teams. Three clubs from Argentina competed as Independiente was champion of the 1975 Copa Libertadores. They entered the tournament in the Semifinals.
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5
Group stage Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
1st Place Playoff
Semi-finals
Group 1
Group 2
Playoffs
Finals
Champions
References
External links
Eternal matches: Cruzeiro 5x4 Internacional, in Portuguese Cruzeiro 3x2 River Plate, in Portuguese In English Match result at RSSSF's website