Copa Sudamericana
| Founded | 2002 |
|---|---|
| Region | South America (CONMEBOL) |
| Number of teams | 34 |
| Current champions |  Internacional (1) |
| Most successful club |  Boca Juniors (2) |
 Copa Sudamericana 2008 |
|
The Copa Sudamericana (English: South American Cup, Portuguese: Copa Sul-Americana), also known as Copa Nissan Sudamericana due to sponsorship reason, is an international football cup competition that started in 2002 played annually by clubs of CONMEBOL and, since 2005, from CONCACAF. It is the second most important competition for South American club teams, the first being the Copa Libertadores. It can be said that the Copa Sudamericana is an equivalent of sorts to the now-defunct Copa Conmebol[1][2][3][4][5] because It is comparable to the UEFA Cup in European club football competition, with the exception that some teams can play in this tournament and the Copa Libertadores. The winner faces the Copa Libertadores' champion the following year in the Recopa Sudamericana.
The tournament's format has changed since it started but the current format includes a preliminary round, a two-legged first round and the final knockout stages starting from the Round of 16. The tournament has been won by 5 different teams and played 6 times. The tournament has been won by Argentine clubs 4 times and once by a Peruvian and Mexican club. Boca Juniors is the only team to have defended the title. The current champion is Arsenal F.C. of Argentina who won its first international title.
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History
In 1992, the Copa CONMEBOL became South America's first secondary international tournament. This tournamented was discontinued in 1999 and replaced by the Copa Merconorte and Copa Mercosur. These tournaments started in 1998 and discontinued in 2001. A Pan-American club cup competition was intended, under the name of Copa Pan-Americana, but instead, the Copa Sudamericana was introduced in 2002.
In 2003, the Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan Motors started sponsoring the tournament. Thus, the competition has since been officially called Copa Nissan Sudamericana, much in the style of the Copa Libertadores branding as Copa Toyota Libertadores. Also, Brazilian teams participated for the first time, after refusing to play in the first edition due to scheduling conflicts with the Campeonato Brasileiro.
In 2005, D.C. United of the Major League Soccer, Club América and UNAM from Mexico accepted invitations to play in the tournament. The only South American club competition in which teams from the United States had played before was the rather minor Copa Merconorte, while Mexican teams had already participated in the Copa Libertadores since 1998.
The tournament has been won 4 times by Argentine clubs. The first edition was won by San Lorenzo de Almagro. The second edition was won by Cienciano, the first Peruvian team to win an international title. The two following editions were won by Boca Juniors. Pachuca C.F. won Mexico's first international title in a South American competition. Arsenal won the last edition and won its first major trophy and international title.
Format
Each national association is assigned a number of entries, usually determined by its league's strength, and decides on its own selection criteria to fill those spots. These can include: direct invitation; performance over the first semester of the year; best teams from previous season that did not qualify for the Copa Libertadores (similar to UEFA Cup entries); a qualifying tournament previous to the competition, etc. The tournament itself is played in two-legged knockout stages (there have also been cases of 3-team groups, with each team playing one home and one away game). In the first rounds of the competition the teams from the same country play against each other.
The format of the tournament has changed year after year. The current format includes a Preliminary Round, the First Round, and a knockout bracket starting from the Round of 16. 8 teams contest the Preliminary Round with 4 proceeding to the First Round. 28 teams contest the First Round and 14 qualify for the Round of 16. The invitees Boca Juniors and River Plate are directly seeded in the Round of 16. The final has the same rules as the Copa Libertadores; no away goals rule and extra time will be played if the finalists are tied on goals.
Criticism
The media has brought up allegations of gerrymandering involving the set up and automatic invitations of Buenos Aires based clubs Boca Juniors and River Plate onto the second round in each tournament. In comparison to the Copa Libertadores Brazil and Argentina have more representatives than the other countries. Their fate is decided on merit; theoretically they could all be eliminated in the group phase, and there is no pre-organisation of the clashes in the knock-out rounds, which depend on results in the group games. In contrast the Copa Sudamericana is set up in such a way that in the second round all eight ties are guaranteed to feature a team from either Brazil or Argentina diminishing the tournaments credibility.[6]
Tournament results
| Season | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 Details |
Internacional |
1 - 0 (A) / 1 - 1 a.e.t. (H) Aggregate: 2 - 1 |
Estudiantes |
| 2007 Details |
Arsenal |
3 - 2 (A) / 1 - 2 (H) Aggregate: 4 - 4 |
 América |
| 2006 Details |
Pachuca |
1 - 1 (H) / 2 - 1 (A) Aggregate: 3 - 2 |
 Colo-Colo |
| 2005 Details |
Boca Juniors |
1 - 1 (A) / 1 - 1 (H) Aggregate: 2 - 2 (4-3 p.k.) |
UNAM Pumas |
| 2004 Details |
Boca Juniors |
0 - 1 (A) / 2 - 0 (H) Aggregate: 2 - 1 |
 Bolívar |
| 2003 Details |
 Cienciano |
3 - 3 (A) / 1 - 0 (H) Aggregate: 4 - 3 |
River Plate |
| 2002 Details |
San Lorenzo |
4 - 0 (A) / 0 - 0 (H) Aggregate: 4 - 0 |
 Atlético Nacional |
- Key:
- (H) - Home match.
- (A) - Away match.
- p.k. - Match decided on penalty kicks.
- a.e.t. - Match decided on extra time.
Performances
By club
| Team | Winners | Runners-Up | Years Won | Years Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boca Juniors |
2 | 0 | 2004 and 2005 | |
| San Lorenzo |
1 | 0 | 2002 | |
| Cienciano |
1 | 0 | 2003 | |
| Pachuca C.F. |
1 | 0 | 2006 | |
| Arsenal F.C. |
1 | 0 | 2007 | |
| Internacional |
1 | 0 | 2008 | |
| Atlético Nacional |
0 | 1 | 2002 | |
| River Plate |
0 | 1 | 2003 | |
| Bolívar |
0 | 1 | 2004 | |
| UNAM Pumas |
0 | 1 | 2005 | |
| Colo-Colo |
0 | 1 | 2006 | |
| América |
0 | 1 | 2007 | |
| Estudiantes |
0 | 1 | 2008 |
By country
| Nation | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina |
4 | 2 |
| Mexico |
1 | 2 |
| Brazil |
1 | 0 |
| Peru |
1 | 0 |
| Bolivia |
0 | 1 |
| Chile |
0 | 1 |
| Colombia |
0 | 1 |
Top scorers by year
| Year | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Rodrigo Astudillo Gonzalo Galindo Pierre Webo |
San Lorenzo de Almagro Bolívar Nacional |
4 |
| 2003 | Germán Carty |
Cienciano |
6 |
| 2004 | Horacio Chiorazzo |
Bolívar |
5 |
| 2005 | Bruno Marioni |
UNAM Pumas |
7 |
| 2006 | Humberto Suazo |
Colo-Colo |
10 |
| 2007 | Ricardo Ciciliano |
Millonarios |
6 |
| 2008 | Alex |
Internacional |
5 |
Media coverage
Australia - Setanta Sports Australia
United Kingdom - Setanta Sports
Ireland - Setanta Sports- South America (except Brazil) - FOX Sports
- Brazil - TV Globo (only Brazilian teams matches), SporTV and FX
United States - FOX Sports- Mexico - FOX Sports
Italy - Sportitalia
France - Ma Chaine Sport
See also
- International club competition records
References
External links
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International club football
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South American club football competitions
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Copa Sudamericana seasons
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