History of The Copa Libertadores - The Dawn To The Copa Libertadores

The Dawn To The Copa Libertadores

See also: Copa Río de La Plata and 1948 Copa de Campeones

The roots of the competition had existed for a long while the South American spirit of competition at club level was present since the beginning of the century. During the 1930s and 1940s, Argentinean and Uruguayan clubs vied for the Copa Río de La Plata between their respective champions rotating the location of the final every a year Buenos Aires and Montevideo. The delegates of Colo-Colo, after years of insistence, managed to push CONMEBOL into creating the first continental tournament. The Copa de Campeones became the first "prototype" and it was successfully played in 1948 in what is now considered an official title in South America; Vasco da Gama won the competition played entirely in Santiago, Chile.

For all this, the subject of the South American Congress held in 1958 in Rio de Janeiro was not unknown to board members: Raúl Colombo and Eduardo Palma of Argentina, Fermín Sorhueta, Washington Cataldi, Luis Tróccoli and Bracco of Uruguay, doctor Quiroga of Bolivia, Lydio Quevedo of Paraguay, Teófilo Salinas of Perú, Alberto Goñi of Chile, and Joao Havelange and Abilio D'Almeida of Brazil. The secretary general of the Union des Associations Européennes de Football, or UEFA, Henry Delaunay, submitted a proposal to the then-head of CONMEBOL José Ramos de Freitas of Brazil to organize an annual double confrontation between the champions of Europe and South America in what was seen as a welcomed but unneeded incentive. The proposal for the creation of a South American club championship was supported by Argentina and Brazil but was opposed by Uruguay, a country which at that time still had a transcendent pre-eminence in the decision-making of the confederation, sharing political and continental power with Argentina. Brazil had just won their first World Cup and had not yet the privileges or political weight that presently holds.

Uruguay's opposition was based on that "the competition being promoted would go against the interest of the South American national-team championships". Moreover, Argentina, with the support of Brazil, had proposed that those tournaments should be played every four years instead of every two in early 1957 (in which Uruguay strongly opposed as they were the main architects of the Campeonato Sudamericano). On March 5, 1959, the Chilean delegates insisted and proposed the creation of the South American club tournament at the 24th South American Congress held in Buenos Aires which was approved by the International Affairs Committee. Only the Uruguayans voted against it. The tournament would be named in homage of the heroes of South American history such as Simón Bolívar, José de San Martín, Manuel Belgrano, Bernardo O'Higgins, José Miguel Carrera, José Gervasio Artigas, Antonio José de Sucre, Ramón Castilla, José Joaquín de Olmedo, among others: the Copa Libertadores de America. That was the last deed of José Ramos de Freitas as president of CONMEBOL who relinquished his position to the newly elected president, Uruguayan Sorhueta Fermin. In Montevideo, the idea was approved with the presence of all 10 CONMEBOL representatives to finally begin the development of the tournament with the first edition being played by seven participants. The club President of Peñarol, Washington Cataldi, explained years later:

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The history of the Copa Libertadores is well known by everyone. We have been pioneers, along with other South American leaders, to establish it (1960) and to add later the runners-up of each league (1966). It was said that this was a maneuver to ensure the presence of the two giants of Uruguayan football. Some of that is true. But it wasn't the only basis. I personally toured every South American nation to show everyone that to make the Cup everlasting it was better to play it with 20 teams instead of 10. History has proven me right.

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