2008 Copa Libertadores finals

2008 Copa Libertadores finals

Event	2008 Copa Libertadores
LDU Quito Fluminense 5 5
on aggregate LDU Quito won 3–1 on penalties
First leg
LDU Quito Fluminense 4 2
Date	25 June 2008
Venue	Estadio Casa Blanca, Quito
Referee	Carlos Chandía
Attendance	62,262
Second leg
Fluminense LDU Quito 3 1
After extra time
Date	2 July 2008
Venue	Estádio Mario Filho (Maracanã), Rio de Janeiro
Man of the Match	José Francisco Cevallos
Referee	Héctor Baldassi
Attendance	86,027
← 2007 2009 →

The 2008 Copa Libertadores finals was a two-legged football match-up to determine the 2008 Copa Libertadores champion. The series was contested between Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito from Quito, Ecuador, and Fluminense Football Club from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, both of whom were playing in their first finals. The first leg was played at LDU Quito's home field, La Casa Blanca in Quito, Ecuador on 25 June 2008; the second leg was played at Fluminense's home field, Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 2 July 2008. LDU Quito won the final on penalties 3–1, after each team won a game apiece, and equalized on goal difference after the end of extra-time of the second leg.^[1] With this achievement, LDU Quito became the first Ecuadorian club to win a Copa Libertadores title.^[2][3]

The winner will qualify to 2008 FIFA Club World Cup and 2009 Recopa Sudamericana but losing 1–0 by 2007–08 UEFA Champions League winner Manchester United in the final, and won 4–0 after defeated 2008 Copa Sudamericana winner Internacional.

Qualified teams

Team	Previous finals app.
LDU Quito	None
Fluminense	None

Finals rules

Like other match-ups in the knockout round, the teams will play two games, one at each team's home stadium. As the highest seeded team determined at the beginning of the knockout stage, Fluminense had home-field advantage for the second leg. Unlike other Copa Libertadores match-ups in the knockout round, the away goals rule is not used. If the teams remained tied after 90 minutes of play during the 2nd leg, extra time will be used, followed by a penalty shootout if necessary.

Route to the finals

Group 8 of the Second Stage

Final Group 8 standings

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Fluminense	6	4	1	1	11	3	+8	13
LDU Quito	6	3	1	2	10	5	+5	10
Arsenal	6	3	0	3	6	14	−8	9
Libertad	6	1	0	5	5	10	−5	3

Estadio Casa Blanca (left) and Maracanã, venues for the series

Fluminense and LDU Quito both started in the Second Stage and were drawn into Group 8 along with Arsenal of Argentina and Libertad of Paraguay. Their first match was against each other in La Casa Blanca in Quito. The game ended in a goal-less draw.

LDU Quito then hosted Libertad on March 4. Patricio Urrutia and Joffre Guerrón scored for LDU Quito to give them a 2–0 win. They then visited Arsenal in Buenos Aires on March 12. Patricio Urrutia scored the loan goal of the game. The roles were reversed as LDU Quito hosted Arsenal on March 26. Liga walloped Arsenal 6–1 with goals by Patricio Urrutia, Damián Manso, Luis Bolaños (2), Claudio Bieler, and Alfonso Obregón; Luciano Leguizamón scored for Arsenal. On April 8, Liga travelled to Asuncion to play Libertad, where they lost 3–1. Alfonso Obregón scored the lone goal for Liga.

After the first game against Liga, Fluminense hosted Arsenal on March 5. The drubbing ended 6–0 in favor of Flu. Thiago Neves, Dodô (2), Gabriel, Washington, and Cícero provided the scores. Flu then travelled to Asuncion to face Libertad on March 19. Washington scored twice to give Flu a 2–1 win. Flu then played host for Libertad in a game that ended in a 2–0 win for Fluminense. Cícero and Thiago Silva provided the scores. Fluminense then travelled to Buenos Aires to play Arsenal on April 8. They were beat 2–0.

The last match of group play for LDU Quito and Fluminense was against each other on April 17. Cícero scored the only goal of the game to give Fluminense a 1–0 win. The win gave Fluminense the group. Fluminense and LDU Quito finished 1 & 2 with 13 and 10 points, respectively, and each advanced to the Round of 16 as the 1st and 11th seed.

Fluminense in the knockout stage

Fluminense was seeded 1 for the knockout stage, guaranteeing home field advantage for the second leg of any series. In the round of 16, they faced Atlético Nacional of Colombia, whom they defeated on aggregate 3-1 (2-1 & 1-0). In the quarter-finals, they faced fellow Brazilian side São Paulo. They won on aggregate 3-2 (0-1 & 3-1). In the semi-finals, they face defending Copa Libertadores champions Boca Juniors. After tying 2-2 on the first leg, they won 3-1 in the second leg to advance to their first Copa Libertadores finals.

LDU Quito in the knockout stage

LDU Quito was seeded 11 for the knockout stage. In the Round of 16, they faced Estudiantes, whom they beat on aggregate 3-2 (2-0 & 1-2) to advance. They faced another Argentine team, San Lorenzo in the quarter-finals. After tying 1-1 in both legs, the teams went into penalties, where LDU Quito triumphed 5-3. In the semi-finals, they faced Club América of Mexico. They tied both legs 1-1 in Mexico City and 0-0 in Quito. Since LDU Quito scored an away goal, they won the series and advanced to their first Copa Libertadores finals.

Fluminense			LDU Quito
Atlético Nacional A 2–1	Thiago Neves 22' Conca 76'	Round of 16 First leg		Estudiantes H 2–0	Guerrón 64' Manso 78'
Atlético Nacional H 1–0	Roger 52'	Second leg		Estudiantes A 1–2	Bolaños 26'
São Paulo A 0–1		Quarterfinals First leg		San Lorenzo A 1–1	Bieler 35'
São Paulo H 3–1	Washington 11', 90+1' Dodô 71'	Second leg		San Lorenzo H 1–1 (p. 5–3)	Manso 26'
Boca Juniors A 2–2	Thiago Silva 16' Thiago Neves 76'	Semifinals First leg		América A 1–1	Bolaños 62'
Boca Juniors H 3–1	Washington 63' Ibarra 71' (o.g.) Dodô 90+3'	Second leg		América H 0–0

Finals summary

First leg

The First Leg was played in front of a capacity crowd at Estadio Casa Blanca in Quito. Claudio Bieler of LDU Quito scored first in the 2nd minute, but Fluminense answered back with a goal by Darío Conca in the 12th minute. LDU Quito scored three unanswered goals by the end of the half with goals by Joffre Guerrón (29'), Jairo Campos (34'), and Patricio Urrutia (45'). Thiago Neves scored again for Fluminense with the only goal of the second half at the 52nd minute. The final score left LDU Quito with a 2-goal advantage going into the next leg.

2008 Copa Libertadores finals

25 June 2008

19:50 (UTC-5)

First leg

LDU Quito	4–2	Fluminense
Bieler 2' Guerrón 29' Campos 34' Urrutia 45'	Report	Conca 12' Thiago Neves 52'

Estadio Casa Blanca, Quito

Attendance: 55,359

Referee: Carlos Chandía (Chile)

LDU Quito

Fluminense

GK 1 José Francisco Cevallos DF 3 Renán Calle DF 2 Norberto Araujo  61' DF 23 Jairo Campos FW 19 Joffre Guerrón MF 20 Enrique Vera  22' MF 8 Patricio Urrutia (c)  88' DF 4 Paúl Ambrosi MF 7 Luis Bolaños MF 21 Damián Manso  74' FW 16 Claudio Bieler  41'  82' Substitutes: GK 25 Daniel Viteri FW 9 Agustín Delgado  82' MF 5 Alfonso Obregón MF 14 Diego Calderón FW 11 Franklin Salas MF 15 William Araujo  74' MF 22 Edder Vaca Manager: Edgardo Bauza

GK 1 Fernando Henrique DF 2 Gabriel DF 3 Thiago Silva DF 4 Luiz Alberto (c)  28' DF 6 Júnior César MF 5 Ygor  43' MF 8 Arouca  67' MF 17 Cícero MF 18 Darío Conca MF 10 Thiago Neves  90' FW 9 Washington  68'  72' Substitutes: GK 12 Diego DF 13 Roger  90' FW 11 Dodô  72' MF 14 Fabinho MF 15 Maurício  67' FW 23 Alan FW 24 Tartá Manager: Renato Portaluppi

Second leg

The Second Leg was played in front of a capacity crowd at the legendary Maracanã in a game that would crown the South American champions. Luis Bolaños of LDU Quito scored first in the 6th minute to put LDU Quito up 1–0 in the game, and a three-goal advantage. Fluminense answered back with a hat-trick by Thiago Neves who scored goals in the 12th, 28th, and 56th minute. The score at the end of regulation was 3–1, leaving both teams equal on goal difference; extra-time was needed. After a scoreless extra-time, the game went on to a penalty shootout. LDU Quito goalkeeper José Francisco Cevallos blocked three of four penalty kicks, while his teammates put in three of four to give LDU Quito the win, and their first Copa Libertadores title.

2 July 2008

21:50 (UTC-3)

Second leg

Fluminense	3–1 (a.e.t.)	LDU Quito
Thiago Neves 12', 28', 56'	Report	Bolaños 6'
Penalties
Conca Thiago Neves Cícero Washington	1–3	Urrutia Campos Salas Guerrón

Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro

Attendance: 86,027

Referee: Héctor Baldassi (Argentina)

Fluminense

LDU Quito

GK 1 Fernando Henrique DF 2 Gabriel  105' DF 3 Thiago Silva  106' DF 4 Luiz Alberto (c)  65'  120' DF 6 Júnior César MF 5 Ygor  46' MF 8 Arouca  110' MF 17 Cícero  87' MF 18 Darío Conca MF 10 Thiago Neves FW 9 Washington Substitutes: GK 22 Ricardo Berna FW 7 Somália FW 11 Dodô  46' DF 13 Roger  110' MF 14 Fabinho MF 15 Maurício  105' FW 24 Tartá Manager: Renato Gaúcho

GK 1 José Francisco Cevallos  118' DF 23 Jairo Campos DF 3 Renán Calle DF 2 Norberto Araujo DF 4 Paúl Ambrosi FW 19 Joffre Guerrón  120' MF 20 Enrique Vera  62' MF 8 Patricio Urrutia (c) MF 7 Luis Bolaños  105' MF 21 Damián Manso  88' FW 16 Claudio Bieler  31' Substitutes: GK 25 Daniel Viteri MF 14 Diego Calderón MF 5 Alfonso Obregón FW 9 Agustín Delgado DF 18 Byron Camacho MF 15 William Araujo  88' FW 11 Franklin Salas  105' Manager: Edgardo Bauza

Aftermath

Prior to the matches, Fluminense was favored to win since they had eliminated the defending champion (Boca Juniors) in the semifinals, and defeated LDU Quito in an earlier encounter at Maracanã. Following the surprise loss in Quito, pressure was on Fluminense to win at home. When LDU Quito sealed the deal at Maracanã, the media dubbed the match a "Maracanazo", a slang term in Latin American football given to a game at Maracanã where the underdog team upsets the hosts. As the hosts were expected to win, that the celebratory confetti for the award presentation was in Fluminense's color.

LDU Quito had won their first Copa Libertadores title, becoming the first Ecuadorian team to do so. The title is also the first international title ever won by a team from Ecuador. LDU Quito captain Patricio Urrutia was named player of the finals, and Joffre Guerrón was named player of the tournament. By winning the tournament, LDU Quito won the right to represent South American in the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup, for which they qualify directly to the semi-finals. LDU Quito winning the Copa Libertadores was called historic by major newspapers that followed the competition, and won praise throughout the continent.

Throughout the tournament, the team and its player gained wide support from across Ecuador, not just by their typical fan-base in Quito. Following the win, they were publicly applauded by every sector of Ecuadorian society and government, and were treated as heroes upon their return to the country.

Currently, this year's finals hold or shares two Copa Libertadores finals records: most goals in a single game (6) for Game 1; most goals in two legs (10).

References