The 1998 Recopa Sudamericana was the tenth Recopa Sudamericana, an annual football match between the winners of the previous season's Copa Libertadores and Supercopa Sudamericana competitions. This will become the last Recopa Sudamericana on this format as the Supercopa Sudamericana was discontinued by CONMEBOL in 1998. With no existing secondary tournament, the Recopa Sudamericana became an impracticable competition until the introduction of the Copa Sudamericana in 2002.

The series was contested between Cruzeiro, winners of the 1997 Copa Libertadores, and River Plate, winners of the 1997 Supercopa Sudamericana, in a two-legged series. Due to schedule congestion, this edition was played as part of the 1999 Copa Mercosur (one of the two tournaments that replaced the Supercopa Sudamericana) two years after the participating clubs won their respective qualifying tournaments (instead of the regular 6–12 months).River y Colón no tienen fecha fija La Nación, 13 Dec 1997 Further devaluing this year's Recopa, River Plate sent a reserved squad on the first leg losing 2-0.River debe ganar para seguir , La Nación, 23 Sep 1999River, con varios suplentes La Nación, 3 Aug 1999 On the return leg, Cruzeiro thrashed River Plate 3–0 and won their first Recopa Sudamericana (after failing to do so in 1992 and 1993).Recopa Sudamericana 1998 on the RSSSFCruzeiro volvió a dejar a River con las manos vacías by Pablo Tomino on La Nación, 24 Sep 1999

Qualified teams TeamPrevious finals app. River Plate 1997 Cruzeiro 1992, 1993

Venues

Match details First leg

GK 1 AndréDF 19 Donizete AmorimDF 3 Marcelo DjianDF 13 MárcioDF 17 TércioMF 5 Donizete Oliveira MF 20 RicardinhoMF 10 Valdo FW 7 MüllerFW 11 Alex AlvesFW 9 Marcelo Ramos Substitutes:GK 12 MaizenaDF 14 GustavoDF 23 CrisMF 16 Geovanni MF 18 Paulo Isidoro MF 22 LeandroFW 21 TúlioManager: Levir Culpi GK 1 Roberto BonanoDF 19 Leonardo RamosDF 2 Roberto TrottaDF 6 Pedro SarabiaDF 3 Diego PlacenteMF 23 Guillermo Pereyra MF 16 Damián Álvarez MF 24 Marcelo Gómez FW 25 Nelson CuevasFW 11 Martín Cardetti FW 9 Sebastián Rambert Substitutes:GK 12 Alejandro SacconeDF 13 Ariel GarcéDF 14 Norberto AcostaDF 15 Ariel Franco MF 20 Leonel Gancedo MF 22 Gabriel PereyraFW 18 Cristian Gastón Castillo Manager: Ramón Díaz

Assistant referees: Saúl Feldmann (Uruguay) William Martínez (Uruguay)

Second leg

GK 1 Roberto BonanoDF 4 Gustavo LombardiDF 2 Roberto Trotta DF 14 Norberto AcostaDF 19 Leonardo RamosMF 23 Guillermo Pereyra MF 16 Damián Álvarez MF 20 Leonel Gancedo MF 8 Marcelo Escudero FW 25 Nelson CuevasFW 11 Martín Cardetti Substitutes:MF 24 Marcelo Gómez FW 18 Cristian Castillo DF 13 Ariel Garcé GK 17 Franco Constanzo DF 15 Ariel FrancoFW 22 Gabriel Pereyra Manager: Ramón Díaz GK 1 AndréDF 14 Gustavo DF 3 Marcelo DjianDF 23 Cris DF 6 André LuizMF 15 Marcos PauloMF 20 Ricardinho MF 19 Donizete Amorim FW 18 Paulo IsidoroFW 16 Geovanni FW 11 Alex Alves Substitutes:MF 8 Djair DF 25 Arnaldo Espínola FW 9 Marcelo Ramos GK 12 MaizenaDF 4 IsaíasMF 5 Donizete OliveiraFW 21 TúlioManager: Levir Culpi

Assistant referees: Robert Troxler Ayala (Paraguay) Nelson Cano (Paraguay)

References