1964 Copa Libertadores
The 1964 Copa de Campeones de América was the fifth edition of South America's premier club football tournament, the Copa de Campeones or better known today as the Copa Libertadores. For the first time since its inception, every member of CONMEBOL was represented in the competition. Deportivo Italia became the first club from Venezuela to participate, providing an unexpectedly impressive performance after eliminating Bahía of Brazil in the preliminary round and beating Barcelona in Guayaquil.
Building up on Boca Juniors's great showing in the last season, Argentine football managed to put themselves on the international map as Independiente won Argentina's first title. El Diablo Rojo, or Red Devil, eliminated the powerful Santos of Pelé after winning both matches of their semifinal series and dispatched Nacional in the finals. Mario Rodríguez became a key factor in Independiente's triumph as he became top scorer of the tournament with 6 goals.
Read more about 1964 Copa Libertadores: Qualified Teams, Tie-breaking Criteria, Preliminary Round, First Round, Semifinals, Finals, Champion, Top Goalscorers, Footnotes