The Supercopa Libertadores (English: Libertadores Supercup), also known as the Supercopa Sudamericana, Supercopa Libertadores João Havelange, Supercopa João Havelange or simply Supercopa, was a football club competition contested annually between 1988 and 1997 by the past winners of the Copa Libertadores. The tournament is one of the many South American club competitions that have been organized by CONMEBOL.Supercopa Libertadores (Supercopa João Havelange) by Karel Stokkermans on the RSSSF

History As through the successive editions of this cup were added new champions from the Copa Libertadores, in 1997 the CONMEBOL decided that the last teams of each group would descend to reduce the number of teams to disputed it. That year descended Velez Sarsfield, Racing Club and Boca Juniors (all teams from Argentina) and Gremio (Brazil).

The competition was discontinued to make way for the Copa Mercosur and Copa Merconorte in 1998, which also grew in importance after the final season of the Copa CONMEBOL in 1999. These tournaments were also discontinued in favor of the Copa Sudamericana which allowed the revival of the Recopa Sudamericana.

Prior to its abolition, the Supercopa Libertadores was regarded as the second most prestigious South American club competition out of the three major tournaments, behind the Copa Libertadores and ahead of the Copa CONMEBOL. The winner of the tournament played the winner of the Copa Libertadores in the Recopa Sudamericana. Since the abolition of the Supercopa, the Recopa Sudamericana place previously reserved for the Supercopa winner has been taken by the winner of the Copa Sudamericana.POR PRIMERA VEZ EN 15 AÑOS, NO HAY EQUIPOS ARGENTINOS EN LAS SEMIFINALES DE LA LIBERTADORES O SUDAMERICANA on Digital Sports

The last champion of the competition was River Plate, while Cruzeiro and Independiente are the most successful clubs in the cup history, having won the tournament two times each. The cup has been won by eight different clubs and won consecutively by Cruzeiro and Independiente.

1n 1998 a new tournament the Supercopa Masters 1998 was planned to be played between the 8 former winners of the Supercopaa Libertadores. It was scheduled for May 28-June 7, 1998, in Avellaneda (Argentina) as a knock-out competition. It was then postponed until after the 1998 World Cup due to the fact that no sponsors could be found. Eventually the competiition was cancelled.Supercopa Masters 1998 - rsssf.org

Format and rules The format for the Supercopa Libertadores underwent changes nearly every season. The most common reason behind it was the addition of a new Copa Libertadores winner. The only way to participate in the Supercopa was being a past winner of the Copa Libertadores. Vasco da Gama was later admitted into the competition as winners of the Copa Libertadores' predecessor, the Campeonato Sudamericano de Campeones. The tournament was predominantly a single-elimination tournament with several stages, exception made the last edition in 1997, which consisted of a group stage from where four teams advanced to knock-out semifinals.

Every round of the competition was contested over a two-legged tie. The teams accumulate points as per the results of the match (3 for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss). The team with more points after both legs advanced to the next round. Unlike European club competitions, South America did not use extra time to decide a tie that was level on aggregate. Ties in points would be broken first by goal difference, and ultimately by a penalty shootout after the culmination of the second leg.

Records and statistics

Finals

Year Winners1st.leg2nd.leg Runners-up Venue (1st leg) City (1st leg) Venue (2nd leg) City (2nd leg) 1988 Racing Cruzeiro El Cilindro Avellaneda Mineirão Belo Horizonte 1989 Boca Juniors Independiente La Bombonera Buenos Aires La Doble Visera Avellaneda 1990 Olimpia Nacional Centenario Montevideo Defensores del Chaco Asunción 1991 Cruzeiro River Plate Monumental Buenos Aires Mineirão Belo Horizonte 1992 Cruzeiro Racing Mineirão Belo Horizonte El Cilindro Avellaneda 1993 São Paulo Flamengo Maracanã Rio de Janeiro Morumbi São Paulo 1994 Independiente Boca Juniors La Bombonera Buenos Aires La Doble Visera Avellaneda 1995 Independiente Flamengo La Doble Visera Avellaneda Maracanã Rio de Janeiro 1996 Vélez Sarsfield Cruzeiro Mineirão Belo Horizonte José Amalfitani Buenos Aires 1997 River Plate São Paulo Morumbi São Paulo Monumental Buenos Aires

Performances by club ClubTitlesRunners-upSeasons wonSeasons runner-up Cruzeiro221991, 19921988, 1996 Independiente211994, 19951989 Racing1119881992 Boca Juniors1119891994 São Paulo1119931997 River Plate1119971991 Olimpia101990 Vélez Sársfield101996 Flamengo021993, 1995 Nacional011990

Participants (1988–1997)

Argentinos Juniors Boca Juniors Estudiantes Independiente Racing River Plate Vélez Sarsfield Cruzeiro Flamengo Grêmio Santos São Paulo Vasco da Gama Colo-Colo Atlético Nacional Olimpia Nacional Peñarol

Top scorers

YearPlayer (team)Goals1988 Antonio Alzamendi Sergio Olivera 41989 Mauro Airez Rubén Darío Insúa John Jairo Tréllez 31990 Raúl Amarilla 71991 Juan José Borrelli Charles Gaúcho Sergio Martínez 31992 Renato Gaúcho 61993 Ronaldo 81994 Sebastián Rambert 51995 Enzo Francescoli 71996 Patricio Camps 41997 Ivo Basay 8

See also Copa Mercosur Copa Merconorte

References