1976 Copa Libertadores

17th season of Copa Libertadores Copa Libertadores de América 1976 February 25 – July 30 21 10 BRA Cruzeiro 1 ARG River Plate 76 208 1975 1977 The Copa Libertadores 1976 was the 17th edition of the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL's annual international club tournament. The tournament began on February 23 and ended on July 30. Cruzeiro won the competition, being the first Brazilian team, after Pelé's Santos, to win the continental competition. During the tournament, Cruzeiro suffered a great setback: the loss of the player Roberto Batata, who died in a car crash. This tournament is also known for having the fastest goal ever scored in any edition of the Copa Libertadores tournament with Alianza Lima forward Félix Suárez Becerra scoring the first of three goals against Independiente Santa Fe in only six seconds.18 September 2025 Quién marcó el gol más rápido de la historia de la Libertadores https://espndeportes.espn.com/futbol/copa-libertadores/nota/_/id/14033881/quien-marco-el-gol-mas-rapido-de-la-historia-de-la-libertadores ESPN Deportes es-US 24 January 2026 Independiente, the defending champions who had won four consecutive titles till the 1975 edition of the tournament, were defeated in the semifinals by fellow Argentina club River Plate. Qualified teams CountryTeamQualification method2 + 1 berthsIndependiente1975 Copa Libertadores championRiver Plate1975 Metropolitano champion1975 Nacional championEstudiantes1975 Metropolitano runner-up2 berthsGuabirá1975 Copa Simón Bolívar championBolívar 1975 Copa Simón Bolívar runner-up2 berthsInternacional1975 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A championCruzeiro1975 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A runner-up2 berthsUnión Española1975 Primera División championPalestino1975 Miniliga Pré-Libertadores champion2 berthsSanta Fe1975 Campeonato Profesional championMillonarios1975 Campeonato Profesional runner-up2 berthsLDU Quito1975 Serie A championDeportivo Cuenca1975 Serie A runner-up2 berthsOlimpia1975 Primera División championSportivo Luqueño1975 Primera División runner-up2 berthsAlianza Lima1975 Descentralizado championAlfonso Ugarte1975 Descentralizado runner-up2 berthsPeñarol1975 Primera División championNacional1975 Primera División runner-up2 berthsPortuguesa1975 Venezuelan championDeportivo Galicia1975 Venezuelan Championship runner-up Draw The champions and runners-up of each football association were drawn into the same group along with another football association's participating teams. Three clubs from Argentina competed as Independiente was champion of the 1975 Copa Libertadores. They entered the tournament in the Semifinals. Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5Argentina Venezuela 1930Bolivia EcuadorBrazil 1968 ParaguayColombia PeruChile Uruguay Group stage Group 1 main WDL true FBR Q 165 2 RIV Argentina River Plate EST Argentina Estudiantes POR Venezuela Portuguesa DGA Venezuela Deportivo Galicia 5 0 1 10 3 4 1 1 11 3 2 1 3 8 11 0 0 6 3 15 #CCFFCC Qualified to Semi-Finals QSF complete 1-0 2-1 4-1 1-0 3-0 4-0 0-2 2-2 3-1 0-1 0-1 1-2 Group 2 main WDL true FBR Q Group 2 standings 165 2 LDQ ECU LDU Quito CDC ECU Deportivo Cuenca BOL BOL Bolívar GUA BOL Guabirá 3 2 1 10 5 3 2 1 9 6 3 0 3 16 11 1 0 5 2 15 #CCFFCC Qualified to the 1st Place Playoff Q1P Q1P complete 1-1 2-1 4-0 0-0 3-1 1-0 3-2 4-2 7-1 0-1 0-2 1-0 Group 3 main WDL true FBR Q 165 2 CRU Brazil Cruzeiro INT Brazil Internacional OLI Paraguay Olimpia SLU Paraguay Sportivo Luqueño 5 1 0 20 9 3 1 2 10 8 1 2 3 7 11 1 0 5 5 14 #CCFFCC Qualified to Semi-Finals QSF complete 5-4 4-1 4-1 0-2 1-0 3-0 2-2 1-1 2-3 1-3 0-1 0-1 Group 4 main WDL true FBR Q 165 2 ALI Peru Alianza Lima MIL Colombia Millonarios AUG Peru Alfonso Ugarte ISF Colombia Santa Fe 3 2 1 8 4 2 2 2 8 5 1 4 1 5 8 1 2 3 7 11 #CCFFCC Qualified to Semi-Finals QSF complete 2-1 0-0 3-0 1-0 4-0 1-1 0-0 1-1 2-1 2-3 1-0 2-2 Group 5 main WDL true FBR Q 165 2 PEÑ Uruguay Peñarol UES Chile Unión Española PAL Chile Palestino NAC Uruguay Nacional 3 2 1 7 4 3 2 1 5 3 2 1 3 5 6 0 3 3 5 9 #CCFFCC Qualified to Semi-Finals QSF complete 2-0 2-1 1-1 0-0 1-0 2-0 1-0 0-1 2-1 1-2 1-1 1-1 1st Place Playoff main WDL Q Playoff standings 2 LDQ ECU LDU Quito CDC ECU Deportivo Cuenca 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 2 #CCFFCC Qualified to the Semi-Finals QSF complete April 22 First Stage LDU Quito ECU 2–1 y W Report ECU Deportivo Cuenca Carrera 66Rivadeneira 115 Villagra 63 Guayaquil, Ecuador Estadio Modelo Alberto Spencer Herrera 50,000 Óscar Veiro (Argentina) Semi-finals Group 1 main WDL true FBR Q Group 1 standings 165 2 CRU BRA Cruzeiro LDQ ECU LDU Quito ALI PER Alianza Lima 4 0 0 18 3 1 0 3 4 10 1 0 3 4 13 #CCFFCC Qualified to the Final QF complete 4-1 7-1 1-3 2-1 0-4 2-0 Group 2 main WDL true FBR Q 165 2 RIV Argentina River Plate IND Argentina Independiente PEÑ Uruguay Peñarol 2 1 1 4 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 0 3 1 5 #CCFFCC Qualified to the Final QF complete 0-0 3-0 0-1 1-0 1-0 0-1 Playoffs |- River Plate ARG 1–0 ARG Independiente |- |} Finals 1976 Copa Libertadores Finals July 21, 1976 Cruzeiro Brazil 4–1 River Plate Argentina Nelinho 22Palhinha 29, 40Valdo 80 Más 63 Mineirão, Belo Horizonte 58,720 (65,000) Vicente Llobregat, Venezuela July 28, 1976 River Plate Argentina 2–1 Cruzeiro Brazil J. J. López 10P. González 76 Palhinha 48 Monumental de Nuñez, Buenos Aires 90,000 José Martínez Bazán, Uruguay July 30, 1976 Cruzeiro Brazil 3–2 River Plate Argentina Nelinho 24Eduardo 55Joãozinho 88 Más 59Urquiza 64 Nacional, Santiago 40,000 Alberto Martínez, Chile Champions 1976 Copa Libertadores champions BRA Cruzeiro First References External links Eternal matches: Cruzeiro 5x4 Internacional, in Portuguese Cruzeiro 3x2 River Plate, in Portuguese https://web.archive.org/web/20150528011208/http://blogs.lancenet.com.br/maurobeting/2009/07/07/cruzeiro-3-x-2-river-plate-o-jogo-que-eu-pude-ver-em-1976/ 2015-05-28 In English Match result at RSSSF's website 1976 Category:1976 in South American men's continental football