Copa Sudamericana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Copa Sudamericana |
|---|
 Copa Sudamericana 2008 |
 |
| Founded |
| 2002 |
| Continent |
| South America (CONMEBOL) |
| Number of Teams |
| 34 |
| Current Champions (2007) |
 Arsenal de Sarandí |
| Most successful club |
| Boca Juniors (2 times) |
| Website |
| (Website) |
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 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 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, thus the level of both tournaments is closely matched. The competition is used to starting in August and deciding the champion in December every year.
It can be said that the Copa Sudamericana is an equivalent of sorts to the now-defunct Copa Conmebol.
The winner faces the Copa Libertadores' champion for the Recopa Sudamericana.
Contents |
[edit] History
After the Copa CONMEBOL first, and the Copa Merconorte and the Copa Mercosur were discontinued, a Pan-American club cup competition was intended, under the name of Copa Pan-Americana, but instead, a South American clubs only tournament was created.
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 Major League Soccer and 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Tournament results
| Season | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 Details |
To be played. | ||
| 2008 Details |
To be played. | ||
| 2007 Details |
Arsenal de Sarandí |
3 - 2 / 1 - 2 Aggregate 4 - 4 |
 América |
| 2006 Details |
CF Pachuca |
1 - 1 / 2 - 1 Aggregate 3 - 2 |
 Colo-Colo |
| 2005 Details |
Boca Juniors |
1 - 1 / 1 - 1 Aggregate 2 - 2 4-3 pens |
UNAM Pumas |
| 2004 Details |
Boca Juniors |
0 - 1 / 2 - 0 Aggregate 2 - 1 |
 Club Bolívar |
| 2003 Details |
 Cienciano |
3 - 3 / 1 - 0 Aggregate 4 - 3 |
River Plate |
| 2002 Details |
San Lorenzo |
4 - 0 / 0 - 0 Aggregate 4 - 0 |
 Atlético Nacional |
[edit] Performances
[edit] 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) | - |
| CF Pachuca |
1 | 0 | (2006) | - |
| Arsenal de Sarandí |
1 | 0 | (2007) | - |
[edit] By country
| Nation | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina |
4 | 1 |
| Mexico |
1 | 2 |
| Peru |
1 | 0 |
| Bolivia |
0 | 1 |
| Chile |
0 | 1 |
| Colombia |
0 | 1 |
[edit] Top Scorers by Year
| Year | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 |  Rodrigo Astudillo |
San Lorenzo de Almagro |
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 |
[edit] Media coverage
In Australia the Copa Sudamericana is currently available on Setanta Sports.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- CONMEBOL: Copa Sudamericana
- (Spanish) Copa Sudamericana en Univision
- Nissan South American Cup 2007: general qualifying chart
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