1996 Copa Libertadores finals

1996 Copa Libertadores América de Cali River Plate COL 30px ARG 30px 1 2 1 0 0 2 First leg Second leg 19 June 1996 26 June 1996 Estadio Pascual Guerrero Estadio Monumental Cali Buenos Aires 45,326River Campeón de América El Gráfico June 1996 101 es 59 73,567River Campeón de América El Gráfico June 1996 101 es 8 Óscar Velásquez (Paraguay) Júlio Matto (Uruguay) 1995 1997 The 1996 Copa Libertadores finals were the final matches of the 1996 Copa Libertadores, South America's primary club football competition. The two-legged event was contested between América de Cali of Colombia and River Plate of Argentina. The first leg was played at the Estadio Pascual Guerrero, Cali, on 19 June 1996 and the second leg was played on 26 June 1996 at the Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires. Both teams were appearing in their fourth Copa Libertadores final. Each club needed to progress through the group stage and knockout rounds to reach the final, playing 12 matches in total. América de Cali won their group and faced Minervén, Junior and Grêmio before reaching the final. River Plate also won their group and subsequently beat Sporting Cristal, San Lorenzo and Universidad de Chile to progress to the final. A crowd of 45,326 observed the first leg at the Estadio Pascual Guerrero, in which América de Cali took the lead in the series courtesy of the lone goal scored by Antony de Ávila. Watched by a crowd of 73,567 at the Estadio Monumental, River Plate tied the match early in the opening half thanks to Hernán Crespo. In the second half, the Argentine striker scored once again to put the home side on the lead. No further goals were scored, thus crowning River Plate as winners of their second Copa Libertadores. Background The final was a rematch of the 1986 final which River Plate won 3–1 over two legs. It was both teams' fourth appearance in a Copa Libertadores final; River Plate were looking to win their second title, while América de Cali were looking for their first, after losing three finals in a row between 1985 and 1987.Copa Libertadores de América https://www.rsssf.org/sacups/copalib.html Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation 2026-02-01 Stokkermans Karel 24 May 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150524152408/http://www.rsssf.com/sacups/copalib.html live Route to the finals 1996 Copa Libertadores The competition proper started with the group stage, contested as five double round-robin groups of four teams, with the top three qualifying for the knockout stages. The reigning champions, Grêmio, were given a bye and thus entered the tournament in the Round of 16. The knockout stage ties were decided based on home and away matches. COL América de CaliRoundARG River PlateOpponentResultGroup stageOpponentResultCOL Junior0–1 (A)Matchday 1ARG San Lorenzo1–1 (A)BOL Guabirá2–0 (A)Matchday 2VEN Minervén2–1 (A)BOL San José0–1 (A)Matchday 3VEN Caracas4–1 (A)BOL Guabirá5–0 (H)Matchday 4ARG San Lorenzo0–0 (H)COL Junior2–0 (H)Matchday 5VEN Minervén5–0 (H)BOL San José2–0 (H)Matchday 6VEN Caracas2–0 (H)Group 3 winner Group 3 yes no AMEFinal standingsGroup 5 winner Group 5 yes no RIVOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legFinal stagesOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legVEN Minervén5–21–1 (A)4–1 (H)Round of 16PER Sporting Cristal6–41–2 (A)5–2 (H)COL Junior2–11–1 (A)1–0 (H)Quarter-finalsARG San Lorenzo3–22–1 (A)1–1 (H)BRA Grêmio3–20–1 (A)3–1 (H)Semi-finalsCHI Universidad de Chile3–22–2 (A)1–0 (H) América de Cali qualified for the 1996 Copa Libertadores by finishing in second place of the 1995 Categoría Primera A season, the top-flight football league of Colombia.Colombia 1995 https://www.rsssf.org/tablesc/col95.html Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation 2026-02-01 Nieto Jaime Andres Ballesteros Frank River Plate entered the competition after winning the 1994 Torneo Apertura, the first of the two league titles played during the 1994–95 Argentine Primera División season.Argentina 1994/95 https://www.rsssf.org/tablesa/arg95.html Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation 2026-02-01 Ciullini Pablo Both teams would start their campaign in the group stage. América de Cali América de Cali's opening game of the tournament ended in a 1–0 loss to fellow Colombian team Junior. They bounced back by beating Guabirá 2–0 at the Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, but suffered another 1–0 defeat against San José just three days later. Having played all of their away scheduled matches, América de Cali were now to host their remaining group stage fixtures at their home ground of Estadio Pascual Guerrero. They would earn a 5–0 rout against Guabirá and a pair of 2–0 victories against Junior and San José to top their group with 12 points.Copa Libertadores 1996 https://www.rsssf.org/sacups/copa96.html Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation 2026-02-01 Ciullini Pablo Stokkermans Karel Their opposition in the Round of 16 were Venezuelan team Minervén. At the Polideportivo Cachamay, América de Cali tied 1–1 with the hosts. The second leg at their home ground ended 4–1 in their favour, progressing through. They were then paired against Junior. The first leg at the Estadio Metropolitano ended with another 1–1 draw. América de Cali won the return leg, and went on to play reigning champions Grêmio of Brazil in the semi-finals. At the Estadio Olímpico Monumental in Porto Alegre, the Colombian side lost 1–0, which meant they had to pull a comeback in the second leg to reach the finals. At the Estadio Pascual Guerrero, América de Cali started from behind once again after Mário Jardel scored for the visitors. However, two goals courtesy of Jorge Bermúdez and Álex Escobar would eventually tie the match for the hosts, and just minutes away from stoppage time, the former signed a brace to send his team into their fourth Copa Libertadores final. River Plate River Plate's first group stage game was against fellow Argentine squad San Lorenzo, in a 1–1 draw. Their two following matches were in Venezuela, against Minervén and Caracas. They won 2–1 and 4–1 respectively, and sat with seven out of nine points with their three home fixtures still to play. At the Estadio Monumental, they tied once more to San Lorenzo, that time in a goalless draw. Their remaining two matches were won comfortably as they finished in first position of their group with 14 points.2021-06-26 A 25 de la Libertadores del 96: el camino a la gloria https://lapaginamillonaria.com/riverplate/El-camino-de-River-en-la-Copa-Libertadores-de-1996-20210612-0008.html 2026-02-02 La Página Millonaria es-AR Toschi Lautaro Their Round of 16 opponents were Sporting Cristal of Peru. At the Estadio Nacional, River Plate faced a 2–0 deficit until the 87th minute when striker Hernán Crespo pulled one back. Therefore, they were obligated to score at least once in the second leg. In just over a half hour at the Estadio Monumental, they had scored four times through their attacking line of Crespo, Enzo Francescoli and Ariel Ortega. Sporting Cristal managed to shorten the aggregate deficit to one goal, but Gabriel Cedrés scored for the home team to ensure their progression into the quarter-finals. River Plate then played San Lorenzo. The first leg at the Estadio Nuevo Gasómetro resulted in a River Plate victory, following a 2–1 scoreline. The rematch at their home ground ended 1–1, which sent the home side into the semi-finals, where they faced Chilean team Universidad de Chile. The opening leg, held at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez, resulted in a 2–2 draw. The return leg at the Estadio Monumental ended 1–0 to River Plate thanks to a Matías Almeyda goal, which allowed their side to reach their fourth continental final. First leg Summary thumb|353x353px|Antony de Ávila scored the winning goal of the game. The first leg was held at the Estadio Pascual Guerrero, the home ground of América de Cali. The visitors attempted to control possession from the beginning of the match, and funneled danger with free kicks from Enzo Francescoli. The home side replied in kind through Frankie Oviedo, who began to be a nuisance after switching to the left side of the pitch. Right-back Hernán Díaz suffered most, as he failed to tend to his flank, creating imbalances between his team's midfield and defensive lines. Thus, the weakness on the right side of the River Plate defense started to be exploited.Un paso en falso de River https://www.lanacion.com.ar/deportes/un-paso-en-falso-de-river-nid175523/ LA NACION 1996-06-20 2026-02-02 es Bernardi Alfredo In the 18th minute, Alfredo Berti found Foad Maziri on an overlapping run. The defender challenged the ball and won possession, proceeding to filter for Oviedo, who was then brought down by Guillermo Rivarola inside the area. Referee Óscar Velásquez gave the penalty to América de Cali, which James Cardona stood up to take. The defender was unable to convert it, however, as Germán Burgos guessed correctly and dived to save his shot. Nonetheless, the home team would shrug off the miss six minutes later, when Álex Escobar combined with Maziri, who then laid it off to Oviedo. The midfielder followed up by sending a loft for Antony de Ávila, who took advantage of a misunderstanding in defense by turning and chipping the ball over Burgos, making it 1–0.La victoria y algunas dudas https://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/mam-458734 El Tiempo 1996-06-20 2026-02-02 spanish Carlos Eduardo Gonzalez The level of play would diminish as the game progressed. América de Cali began to count on counter-attacks to extend their lead, while their opposition, although lacking ideas, sought after the equaliser. They would achieve it 35 minutes into the match, when a right-footed shot from Hernán Crespo beat goalkeeper Óscar Córdoba. However, linesman Ubaldo Aquino called a supposed offside, which prompted Velásquez to disallow the goal. Nine minutes into the second half, Leonardo Astrada was sent off for River Plate, product of a second booking. As a result of being a man down, the visitors adopted a defensive scheme. Ramón Díaz, manager for their side, first replaced Crespo with full-back Pablo Lavallén in the 65th minute. He would follow up by subbing off forward Francescoli for defensive midfielder Juan Andrés Gómez, ten minutes away from stoppage time. América de Cali gave way to a more aggressive approach towards the end of the game, but were unable to find a second goal, thus remaining the score. Details 19 June 1996 20:10 UTC-5 América de Cali COL 1–0 Report ARG River Plate De Ávila 26 Estadio Pascual Guerrero, Cali 45,326 Óscar Velásquez (Paraguay) _americadecali_95-96_H _americadecali_95-96_H B00000 B00000 B00000 B00000 B00000 América de Cali _redlines _riverplate9596a _redlines _river9596h _color_3_stripes_red FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF 000000 FFFFFF River Plate GK 1 COL Óscar CórdobaDF 13 COL James Cardona 56DF 5 COL Jorge BermúdezDF 22 COL Carlos AsprillaDF 4 COL Foad Maziri MF 6 COL Wilmer CabreraMF 14 ARG Alfredo BertiMF 10 COL Álex Escobar (c)MF 8 COL Frankie OviedoFW 17 COL Henry Zambrano 70FW 7 COL Antony de ÁvilaSubstitutes: MF 6 COL Giovanni Hernández 56 FW 10 COL Ricardo Pérez 70Manager: COL Diego Umaña GK 1 ARG Germán BurgosDF 4 ARG Hernán DíazDF 2 PAR Celso AyalaDF 3 ARG Guillermo RivarolaDF 19 ARG Ricardo AltamiranoMF 21 ARG Matías AlmeydaMF 8 ARG Leonardo Astrada 2 54MF 18 ARG Juan Pablo Sorín 78MF 20 ARG Ariel OrtegaFW 11 ARG Hernán Crespo 65FW 9 URU Enzo Francescoli (c) 80Substitutes:DF23ARG Pablo Lavallén65MF10ARG Marcelo Gallardo78 MF 6 ARG Juan Andrés Gómez80Manager: ARG Ramón Díaz Assistant refereesUbaldo Aquino (Paraguay)Jesús Merele (Paraguay) Second leg Summary thumb|347x347px|Hernán Crespo scored twice to give River Plate their second Copa Libertadores. América de Cali's 1–0 victory in the first leg meant that River Plate needed to score to tie the match. At the Estadio Monumental, the home side rapidly established themselves in the opposing half.River Campeón de América El Gráfico June 1996 101 es 63 The visitors stood up to the River Plate approach in the opening minutes,Pegó en los momentos justos https://www.lanacion.com.ar/deportes/pego-en-los-momentos-justos-nid175587/ LA NACION 1996-06-27 2026-02-02 es Tomino Pablo but they ultimately conceded an early goal, after Ariel Ortega orchestrated a play from the right side.Otro gol de River: 2 a 0 https://www.lanacion.com.ar/deportes/otro-gol-de-river-2-a-0-nid174832/ LA NACION 1996-06-26 2026-02-02 es The playmaker had received a filtered pass from Matías Almeyda, which he followed up with a low cross into the centre of the box; this delivery was tapped into the net by Hernán Crespo to tie the match. The renewed scoreline would lay tranquility to their side, allowing them to display a fast and precise level of football, with Ortega being the centrepiece of the showing. In contrast, América de Cali lacked ball possession, and their attacking line was isolated from the game. 1996-06-27 América quedó con el Crespo hecho https://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/mam-450844 2026-02-21 El Tiempo spanish During this period, River Plate made use of crosses to dictate their chances, which they were unable to capitalise upon. They had two clear prospects courtesy of Ortega in the 24th minute and Crespo in the 27th, but Óscar Córdoba stepped up to save both. América de Cali managed to withstand the offensive pressure, and stuck to their initial plan of maintaining possession while progressively making advances towards the opposing area. The home side eventually lost ball control, which prompted the Colombian side to become more incisive. Midfielder Alfredo Berti would step up in this instance, handling the ball and making it circulate with accuracy and precision, while occasionally joining the attack. Nonetheless, the score remained. América de Cali grew bolder during the opening minutes of the second half, as they started to threaten the goal defended by Germán Burgos. The level of play shown by River Plate, for their part, declined. As a result of their improvement, the visitors created two chances to equalise through their strikers. In the 53rd minute, Antony de Ávila beat the opposing defenders on a run, but he was intercepted by Burgos before he could make a finish. The subsequent rebound fell to Henry Zambrano, but he sent his effort high despite having an empty net. 1996-06-27 Hasta el minuto 14, Córdoba era figura https://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/mam-450859 2026-02-21 El Tiempo spanish Just two minutes later, Frankie Oviedo laid the ball off to Zambrano, but he again squandered the opportunity after taking too long to muster a shot. Even though the Colombian side looked to be on the verge of the equaliser, the hosts responded at a crucial moment. In the 59th minute, América de Cali goalkeeper Córdoba left the penalty area to make an attempt at playing the ball out from the back. Ortega followed him closely, and eventually pressured him into a clearance, which he fumbled. The ball then fell to River Plate's Marcelo Escudero, who crossed for Crespo inside the box. The striker, unmarked, headed the delivery into the net to extend their lead.River Campeón de América El Gráfico June 1996 101 es 9 During the remainder of the game, América de Cali continued in their search for a goal, while River Plate battled back by defending their advantage. Although suffering a few scares, they fended off the efforts from their opposition and held on to secure their second Copa Libertadores title. Details 26 June 1996 21:10 UTC-3 River Plate ARG 2–0 Report COL América de Cali Crespo 6 59 Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires 73,567 Júlio Matto (Uruguay) _redlines _riverplate9596a _redlines _river9596h _color_3_stripes_red FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF 000000 FFFFFF River Plate _americadecali_95-96_H _americadecali_95-96_H B00000 B00000 B00000 B00000 B00000 América de Cali GK 1 ARG Germán BurgosDF 4 ARG Hernán DíazDF 2 PAR Celso Ayala DF 3 ARG Guillermo Rivarola DF 19 ARG Ricardo Altamirano MF 21 ARG Marcelo Escudero 74MF 8 ARG Matías Almeyda MF 18 URU Gabriel CedrésMF 20 ARG Ariel Ortega 88FW 9 URU Enzo Francescoli (c)FW 11 ARG Hernán Crespo 87 Substitutes: MF 6 ARG Juan Andrés Gómez 74 MF 10 ARG Marcelo Gallardo 87 MF 23 ARG Juan Pablo Sorín 88Manager: ARG Ramón Díaz GK 1 COL Óscar CórdobaDF 13 COL Carlos AsprillaDF 5 COL Jorge Bermúdez DF 22 COL Arley DinasDF 4 COL Foad MaziriMF 6 COL Wilmer CabreraMF 14 ARG Alfredo Berti MF 10 COL Frankie OviedoMF 8 COL Álex Escobar (c)FW 17 COL Henry ZambranoFW 7 COL Antony de ÁvilaManager: COL Diego Umaña Assistant refereesEduardo Dluzniewski (Uruguay)Héctor Bonora (Uruguay) See also 1986 Copa Libertadores finals – contested by same teams 1996 Intercontinental Cup 1996 Supercopa Libertadores finals References June 2017 final 1996 l l l l Category:Football competitions in Buenos Aires Category:International sports competitions in Buenos Aires Category:Sports competitions in Cali Category:20th century in Cali Category:1990s in Buenos Aires Category:June 1996 sports events in South America 1996 Category:Football matches in Argentina Category:Football matches in Colombia