Copa Libertadores

The Copa Libertadores is an club international football tournament organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football.

History
The history of the Copa Libertadores can be traced back to 1947 with the South American Championship of Champions which was held twice in 1947 and 1948. The tournament which saw the league champions of five (six in the second edition) would compete in a round-robin tournament with the winner being Brazilian champions, Vasco da Gama. The format of the tournament though wouldn't be until decided until a meeting in October 8, 1958 with CONMEBOL deciding the format for the first edition that would be held two years in 1960. The format which would follow the European Cup would see the champions of each team take on each other all the way where the final where a two leg final would be played.

This creation would also see the birth of the Intercontinental Cup with the winners of Europe and South America taking on each other in two legs. The first Copa Libertadores (known at the time as the Copa de Campeones de América) began on April 19 with the winners of Uruguay (Nacional taking on the Bolivian champions, (Jorge Wilstermann). In the first final that was held, the Argentine champions in San Lorenzo took Nacional from Uruguay with the match being held in two legs. The first leg which was held in Argentina saw San Lorenzo take a two goal lead into Uruguay which they would hold onto despite losing the second match by a score of 1-0.

The following year in 1961 saw two new finalists with Colombian champions, Santa Fe taking on Chilean champions, Colo-Colo. In the final, it would go to the Chilean champions in Colo-Colo who would go on to win the final 5-1 on aggregate. This title also meant that they had qualified through to the next Libertadores as the as the former changed to include the defending champions in the tournament after San Lorenzo missed out on qualifying for the tournament after finishing third in the domestic league.