Copa Sudamericana
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History
After 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 for several years.
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.
List of Champions
| Year | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Scores | Runner-Up
| ||
| 2002 Details | San Lorenzo (ARG) | 4 - 0 0 - 0 Agg: 4 - 0 | Atlético Nacional (COL)
| |
| 2003 Details | Cienciano (PER) | 3 - 3 1 - 0 Agg: 4 - 3 | River Plate (ARG)
| |
| 2004 Details | Boca Juniors (ARG) | 0 - 1 2 - 0 Agg: 2 - 1 | Bolívar (BOL)
| |
| 2005 Details | Boca Juniors (ARG) | 1 - 1 1 - 1 Agg: 2 - 2 (ps: 4 - 3) | UNAM Pumas (MEX)
| |
| 2006 Details | Competition to be played from August-December 2006. Finals scheduled for November 29 and December 6. | |||
Cups by Team
- Boca Juniors () - 2 titles
- Cienciano () - 1 titles
- San Lorenzo () - 1 titles
Cups by Country
Argentina 3 timesPeru 1 time
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 | 4 |
| 2004 |
Horacio Chiorazzo |
Bolívar | 5 |
| 2005 |
Bruno Marioni |
UNAM Pumas | 7 |
External links
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