1976 Copa Libertadores finals

1976 Copa Libertadores finals

Event	1976 Copa Libertadores
Cruzeiro River Plate
2–2 on points Cruzeiro won after a play-off
First leg
Cruzeiro River Plate 4 1
Date	21 July 1976
Venue	Mineirão, Belo Horizonte
Referee	Vicente Llobregat (Venezuela)
Second leg
River Plate Cruzeiro 2 1
Date	28 July 1976
Venue	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires
Referee	José Martínez Bazán (Uruguay)
Play-off
River Plate Cruzeiro 2 3
Date	30 July 1976 (1976-07-30)
Venue	Estadio Nacional, Santiago
Referee	Alberto Martínez (Chile)
Attendance	35,182
← 1975 1977 →

The 1976 Copa Libertadores finals was the final two-legged tie to determine the 1976 Copa Libertadores champion. It was contested by Argentine club River Plate and Brazilian club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube. The first leg of the tie was played on 21 July at Cruzeiro' home field, with the second leg played on 28 July at River'. Cruzeiro and Boca Juniors played in their 1st Copa Libertadores finals.^[1]

Cruzeiro won the series after winning a tie-breaking playoff 3–2 at Santiago's Estadio Nacional, with the winning goal by Joaozinho being scored by the end of the match.^[2]

Qualified teams

Team	Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
Cruzeiro	None
River Plate	1966

Stadiums

Mineirão, Monumental and Nacional de Santiago, venues of the final series

Rules

The finals were played over two legs; home and away. The team that accumulated the most points —two for a win, one for a draw, zero for a loss— after the two legs would be crowned the champion. In case of two teams tied on points after the second leg a playoff at a neutral venue would be played to crown a champion, with goal difference used as a last resort.

Route to the finals

Cruzeiro qualified to the 1976 Copa Libertadores as the 1975 Copa Brasil runners-up, defeated by Internacional 1-0 in the final match. River Plate qualified as champions of both 1975 Metropolitano and 1975 Nacional.

Cruzeiro			Round	River Plate
Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD Cruzeiro 11 6 5 1 0 20 9 +11 Internacional 7 6 3 1 2 10 8 +2 Olimpia 4 6 1 2 3 7 11 -4 Sportivo Luqueño 2 6 1 0 5 5 14 -9			Group stage	Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD River Plate 10 6 5 0 1 10 3 +7 Estudiantes 9 6 4 1 1 11 3 +8 Portuguesa 5 6 2 1 3 8 11 -3 Deportivo Galicia 0 6 0 0 6 3 15 -12
Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD Cruzeiro 8 4 4 0 0 18 3 15 LDU Quito 2 4 1 0 3 4 10 -6 Alianza Lima 2 4 1 0 3 4 13 -9			Semi-finals	Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD River Plate 5 4 2 1 1 4 1 +3 Independiente 5 4 2 1 3 2 1 +1 Peñarol 2 4 1 0 3 1 5 -4

Group stage

River Plate was drawn into Group 1 alongside Estudiantes de La Plata, runners-up of the 1975 Metropolitano Championship, and Venezuelan sides Portuguesa and Deportivo Galicia. The millonarios cruised to the Semifinals after winning five of six matches, and losing just one. River won the three matches played at your home ground, scoring seven goals and suffering just two. River also won the two matches in Venezuela, against Portuguesa and Deportivo Galicia, by 2-0 and 1-0 respectively. The only defeat was against Estudiantes, in La Plata, by 0-1.

Cruzeiro was drawn into Group 3. They were joined by fellow Brazilian club Internacional and Paraguayan outfits Olimpia and Sportivo Luqueño. Like River Plate, Cruzeiro made a campaign with five wins in six matches, with the difference that the Brazilian club tied a game instead of losing. Cruzeiro won the three matches played at your home ground scoring thirteen goals and suffering six. Cruzeiro also won Internacional in Porto Alegre and Sportivo Luqueño in Luque, but tied 2-2 against Olimpia in Asunción.

Semi-finals

The Semifinals round was another group phase. Cruzeiro were drown in Group 1 alongside LDU Quito and Alianza Lima. This time, Cruzeiro won all their four matches including the historic 7-1 drubbing against Alianza Lima. It was the first game after the death of striker Roberto Batata, killed in an automobile accident. To honor his companion, players of Cruzeiro scored seven goals, which is the number of the shirt that was worn by Batata. Cruzeiro advanced to the finals with a 100% success.

In the Semifinals, River Plate played against defending champions Independiente and the Uruguayan club Peñarol. The two Argentine clubs finished tied on stage five points apiece, necessitating a playoff, where River Plate won Independiente by 1-0.

Matches

First leg

1976 Copa Libertadores finals

21 July 1976

First leg

Cruzeiro	4–1	River Plate
Nelinho 22' Palhinha 29', 40' Valdo 80'		Más 63'

Mineirão, Belo Horizonte

Attendance: 58,720

Referee: Vicente Llobregat, Venezuela

Cruzeiro

River Plate

GK 1 Raul DF 9 Nelinho DF 3 Morais DF 12 Darci DF 6 Vanderlei MF 13 Piazza (c)  62' MF 11 Eduardo  68' MF 8 Zé Carlos FW 7 Jairzinho FW 10 Joãozinho FW 5 Palhinha Substitutes: MF 20 Valdo  62' MF 16 Ronaldo  68' Manager: Zezé Moreira

GK 1 Ubaldo Fillol  35' DF 4 Pablo Comelles DF 2 Roberto Perfumo (c) DF 19 Daniel Lonardi DF 3 Héctor López MF 8 Juan José López MF 5 Reinaldo Merlo MF 16 Alejandro Sabella FW 7 Pedro Alexis González FW 9 Leopoldo Luque FW 11 Oscar Más Substitutes: GK 12 Luís Landaburu  35' Manager: Ángel Labruna

---

Second leg

28 July 1976

Second leg

River Plate	2–1	Cruzeiro
López 10' González 76'		Palhinha 48'

Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires

Attendance: 90,000

Referee: José Martínez Bazán (Paraguay)

River Plate

Cruzeiro

GK 12 Luís Landaburu DF 4 Pablo Comelles DF 2 Roberto Perfumo  56' DF 6 Daniel Passarella (c) DF 3 Hector López  16' MF 8 Juan José López  79' MF 5 Reinaldo Merlo MF 10 Norberto Alonso FW 7 Pedro Alexis González FW 9 Leopoldo Luque FW 11 Oscar Más  69' Substitutes: DF 19 Héctor Ártico  16' FW 16 Alejandro Sabella  69' Manager: Ángel Labruna

GK 1 Raul DF 9 Nelinho DF 3 Morais DF 12 Darci DF 6 Vanderlei MF 13 Piazza (c) MF 11 Eduardo  80' MF 8 Zé Carlos FW 7 Jairzinho  56' FW 10 Joãozinho FW 5 Palhinha Substitutes: FW 16 Ronaldo  80' Manager: Zezé Moreira

---

Playoff

30 July 1976

Playoff

Cruzeiro	3–2	River Plate
Nelinho 24' Eduardo 55' Joãozinho 88'		Más 59' Urquiza 64'

Estadio Nacional, Santiago

Attendance: 35,182

Referee: Alberto Martínez (Chile)

Cruzeiro

River Plate

GK 1 Raul DF 9 Nelinho DF 3 Morais DF 12 Darci DF 6 Vanderlei MF 13 Piazza (c)  88' MF 11 Eduardo MF 8 Zé Carlos FW 16 Ronaldo  88' FW 10 Joãozinho FW 5 Palhinha Substitutes: DF 20 Valdo  88' Manager: Zezé Moreira

GK 12 Luís Landaburu DF 4 Pablo Comelles DF 14 Héctor Artico DF 19 Daniel Lonardi DF 23 Alberto H. Urquiza MF 16 Alejandro Sabella (c) MF 5 Reinaldo Merlo MF 10 Norberto Alonso  89' FW 7 Pedro Alexis González FW 9 Leopoldo Luque FW 11 Oscar Más  59' Substitutes: FW 20 Daniel Crespo  59' Manager: Ángel Labruna

References

1. ^ 1976 Copa Libertadores on RSSSF
2. ^ En la llamada "guerra de Chile", River perdía su segunda final de Copa on Infobae, 29 July 2013

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