The 2020 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores was the 61st edition of the CONMEBOL Libertadores (also referred to as the Copa Libertadores), South America's premier club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL.
On 17 October 2019, CONMEBOL announced that the final would be played at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 21 November 2020. Brazilian club Palmeiras defeated fellow Brazilian club Santos by a 1–0 score in the final to win their second tournament title. As champions, Palmeiras qualified for the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar, and earned the right to play against the winners of the 2020 Copa Sudamericana in the 2021 Recopa Sudamericana. They also automatically qualified for the 2021 Copa Libertadores group stage. Flamengo were the defending champions, but were eliminated by Racing in the round of 16.
In March 2018, the Liga MX President, Enrique Bonilla, said that Liga MX and Major League Soccer (MLS) were open to start talks to have Mexican teams return and MLS teams from Canada and the United States to join if they could agree on terms with the CONMEBOL officials. Teams from Mexico had withdrawn from the Copa Libertadores since 2017, but could return in the future if the issue of schedule conflicts could be solved.
On 21 May 2019, CONMEBOL announced that clubs must pass certain eligibility requirements in order to compete in the 2020 Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana. One of the original requirements was that teams must be in the top division of their member association, but this was removed after many associations stated that they had not adapted the regulations of their qualifying competitions for the 2020 Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana.
The tournament was suspended after group stage matchday 2 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and resumed on 15 September 2020, ending with the final on 30 January 2021.
Teams The following 47 teams from the 10 CONMEBOL member associations qualified for the tournament: Copa Libertadores champions Copa Sudamericana champions Brazil: 7 berths Argentina: 6 berths All other associations: 4 berths each
The entry stage was determined as follows: Group stage: 28 teams Copa Libertadores champions Copa Sudamericana champions Teams which qualified for berths 1–5 from Argentina and Brazil Teams which qualified for berths 1–2 from all other associations Second stage: 13 teams Teams which qualified for berths 6–7 from Brazil Team which qualified for berth 6 from Argentina Teams which qualified for berths 3–4 from Chile and Colombia Teams which qualified for berth 3 from all other associations First stage: 6 teams Teams which qualified for berth 4 from Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela
AssociationTeam Entry stageQualification methodRacing Group stage2018–19 Superliga Argentina championsDefensa y Justicia 2018–19 Superliga Argentina runners-upRiver Plate 2018–19 Copa Argentina championsTigre 2019 Copa de la Superliga championsBoca Juniors 2018–19 Superliga Argentina 3rd placeAtlético Tucumán Second stage2018–19 Superliga Argentina 5th placeBolívar Group stage2019 Apertura championsJorge Wilstermann 2019 Clausura championsThe Strongest Second stage2019 Primera División aggregate table best team not yet qualifiedSan José First stage2019 Primera División aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualifiedFlamengo Group stage2019 Copa Libertadores and 2019 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A championsAthletico Paranaense 2019 Copa do Brasil championsSantos 2019 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A runners-upPalmeiras 2019 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 3rd placeGrêmio 2019 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 4th placeSão Paulo 2019 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 6th placeInternacional Second stage2019 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 7th placeCorinthians 2019 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 8th placeUniversidad Católica Group stage2019 Primera División championsColo-Colo 2019 Primera División runners-upPalestino Second stage2019 Primera División 3rd placeUniversidad de Chile 2019 Copa Chile runners-upJunior Group stage2019 Apertura championsAmérica de Cali 2019 Finalización championsDeportes Tolima Second stage2019 Primera A aggregate table best team not yet qualifiedIndependiente Medellín 2019 Copa Colombia championsIndependiente del Valle Group stage2019 Copa Sudamericana championsDelfín 2019 Serie A championsLDU Quito 2019 Serie A runners-upMacará Second stage2019 Serie A classification table best team not yet qualifiedBarcelona First stage2019 Serie A classification table 2nd best team not yet qualifiedOlimpia Group stage2019 Apertura and 2019 Clausura championsLibertad 2019 Primera División aggregate table best team not yet qualifiedCerro Porteño Second stage2019 Primera División aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualifiedGuaraní First stage2019 Primera División aggregate table 3rd best team not yet qualifiedBinacional Group stage2019 Liga 1 championsAlianza Lima 2019 Liga 1 runners-upSporting Cristal Second stage2019 Liga 1 3rd placeUniversitario First stage2019 Liga 1 aggregate table best team not yet qualifiedNacional Group stage2019 Primera División championsPeñarol 2019 Primera División runners-upCerro Largo Second stage2019 Primera División aggregate table best team not yet qualifiedProgreso First stage2019 Primera División aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualifiedCaracas Group stage2019 Primera División championsEstudiantes de Mérida 2019 Primera División runners-upDeportivo Táchira Second stage2019 Primera División aggregate table best team not yet qualifiedCarabobo First stage2019 Primera División aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified
Schedule The schedule of the competition was as follows.
On 12 March 2020, CONMEBOL announced that the tournament would be temporarily suspended after matchday 2 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with matches on matchday 3, originally scheduled for 17–19 March 2020, postponed to a later date yet to be confirmed. On 18 March 2020, CONMEBOL announced that the tournament would be suspended until 5 May 2020. On 17 April 2020, CONMEBOL announced that the tournament would be suspended indefinitely, and no date had been set for its resumption. On 10 July 2020, CONMEBOL announced the new schedule for the remainder of the competition.
StageDraw dateFirst legSecond legFirst stage17 December 201921–22 January 202028–29 January 2020Second stage4–6 February 202011–13 February 2020Third stage18–20 February 202025–27 February 2020Group stageRound of 1623 October 2020(originally 13 May 2020)24–26 November & 2 December 2020(originally 21–23 July 2020)1–3 & 9 December 2020(originally 28–30 July 2020)Quarter-finals8–10 & 16 December 2020(originally 18–20 August 2020)15–17 & 23 December 2020(originally 25–27 August 2020)Semi-finals5–7 January 2021(originally 22–24 September 2020)12–14 January 2021(originally 29 September – 1 October 2020)Final30 January 2021 (originally 21 November 2020) at Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro
Draws
Qualifying stages
First stage
Second stage
Third stage
Copa Sudamericana qualification
Group stage
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
Final stages
Qualified teams The winners and runners-up of each of the eight groups in the group stage advanced to the round of 16.
Seeding
Bracket
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Statistics Top scorers RankPlayerTeam Total1 Fidel Martínez Barcelona112112 82 River Plate 11 1 3 173 Eduardo Salvio 221 1 64 Luiz Adriano Palmeiras 13 1 5 Julián Álvarez River Plate 1121 Kaio Jorge Santos 1 1 12 Rony Palmeiras 111 11 8 Óscar Cardozo Libertad 1 12 4 Bruno Henrique Flamengo 1 21 Marinho Santos 11 1 1 Javier Reina 2 1 1 José Rivas 1 1 2 Gabriel Torres 1 11 1 Willian Palmeiras 1 1 11 1 Fernando Zampedri 11 2
Team of the tournament The CONMEBOL technical study group; conformed by Nery Pumpido, Gerardo Pelusso, Diego Gavilán, Faryd Mondragón, Francisco Maturana, Dorival Júnior, Daniel Bañales and César Sampaio, selected the following 11 players as the team of the tournament. All players belong to one of the 4 semi-finalist teams.
PositionPlayerTeamGoalkeeper Weverton PalmeirasDefenders Gonzalo Montiel River Plate Lucas Veríssimo Santos Gustavo Gómez Palmeiras Matías Viña PalmeirasMidfielders Gabriel Menino Palmeiras Enzo Pérez River Plate Yeferson Soteldo SantosForwards Marinho Santos Rafael Santos Borré River Plate Carlos Tévez Boca Juniors
See also 2020 Copa Sudamericana 2021 Recopa Sudamericana
References
External links CONMEBOL Libertadores 2020, CONMEBOL.com