2012 Copa Libertadores finals explained

2012 Copa Libertadores de América finals
Event:2012 Copa Libertadores de América
Team1:Boca Juniors
Team1association:
Team1score:1
Team2:Corinthians
Team2association:
Team2score:3
Details:on points
Firstleg:First leg
Team1score1:1
Team2score1:1
Date1:June 27, 2012
Stadium1:Estadio Alberto J. Armando (La Bombonera)
City1:Buenos Aires
Man Of The Match1a:Matías Caruzzo
Referee1:Enrique Osses (Chile)
Attendance1:51,901
Secondleg:Second leg
Team1score2:0
Team2score2:2
Date2:July 4, 2012
Stadium2:Estádio Municipal Paulo Machado de Carvalho (Pacaembu)
City2:São Paulo
Man Of The Match2a:Emerson Sheik
Referee2:Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)
Attendance2:40,186
Previous:2011
Next:2013

The 2012 Copa Libertadores de América finals were the final two-legged tie that decided the winner of the 2012 Copa Libertadores de América, the 53rd edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, South America's premier international club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL.

It was the fourth Libertadores decisive-match final to be held at the Pacaembu as well as the tenth final to be held in São Paulo and the seventeenth final to be held in Brazil. While Corinthians progressed to the knockout stages by finishing top of their group, Boca progressed to the knockout stages by finishing runners-up of their group. Boca then beat Unión Española, Fluminense and Universidad de Chile to reach the finals, while Corinthians knocked out Emelec, Vasco da Gama and defending champions Santos.

In the first leg of the final on 27 June at the Estadio Alberto J. Armando (La Bombonera), Boca Juniors took the lead with a goal from Facundo Roncaglia after 73 minutes when he drove the ball high into the net.[1] [2] Corinthians equalised in the 85th minute when Romarinho lobbed the ball over fallen Boca Juniors goalkeeper Agustín Orión with the game finishing at 1–1.[3] [4] [5]

In the second leg of the final on 4 July at the Estádio Municipal Paulo Machado de Carvalho (Pacaembu), Emerson Sheik scored two second half goals to give Corinthians a 2–0 win.[6] [7] [8] [9] As a result, Corinthians won their first Copa Libertadores, and finished the tournament undefeated. As winners, Corinthians represented CONMEBOL at the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup, in which they entered at the semifinal stage[10] [11] and made it to the final, where they defeated Chelsea 1–0. They are also playing against 2012 Copa Sudamericana winners São Paulo in the 2013 Recopa Sudamericana.

Qualified teams

TeamPrevious finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
Boca Juniors1963, 1977, 1978, 1979, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007
CorinthiansNone

Background

To reach the finals, in the knockout phase Boca defeated Unión Española, Fluminense, and Universidad de Chile (2–0 on aggregate score), while Corinthians overcame Emelec, Vasco da Gama, and the defending champions Santos (2–1 on aggregate).

Boca and Corinthians reached the final having already lost out in their domestic and state leagues respectively (the Torneo Clausura de la Primera División and Paulistão respectively). But Boca having also reached the final of their domestic cup competition (the Copa Argentina), that will play against Racing on August 8 (in other words, after these finals). Meanwhile, Corinthians (that, like the others Brazilians teams in this Libertadores, didn't play their domestic cup – Copa do Brasil – because of schedule conflicts) reached the final occupying 17th place of their domestic league (the Brasileirão).

In their most recent Libertadores finals, Boca won in 2007 to Grêmio 5–0 (3–0 in Buenos Aires, 2–0 in Porto Alegre). While Corinthians had never played a Libertadores/Copa de Campeones finals before, Boca have played in nine Libertadores/Copa de Campeones finals, winning six (1977, 1978, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2007) and losing three (1963, 1979 and 2004). The two clubs have met each other twice in Americas before, with Boca winning 4–2 on aggregate in the round of 16 of the 1991 Copa Libertadores, and in the group stage of the 2000 Copa Mercosur, with Boca victory 3–0 in Buenos Aires, and a 2–2 draw in São Paulo (as Boca progressed in the competition – would be later eliminated by Atlético Mineiro in quarter-finals -, Corinthians was eliminated in this stage).

Road to finals

Boca JuniorsRound Corinthians
width=25%Opponentwidth=10%Venuewidth=10%Scorewidth=10%width=25%Opponentwidth=10%Venuewidth=10%Score
ByeFirst stageBye
Away 0–0Second stageAway 1–1
Home 1–2Home 2–0
Away 1–2Away 0–0
Home 2–0Home 1–0
Away 0–2Away 1–3
Home 2–0Home 6–0
Group 4 runner-up
Team
Fluminense650174+315
Boca Juniors641193+613
Arsenal620467−16
Zamora601508−81
Group 6 winner
Team
Corinthians6420132+1114
Cruz Azul6321114+711
Nacional6114613−74
Deportivo Táchira6033415−113
Home 2–1Round of 16Away 0–0
Away 2–3Home 3–0
Home 1–0QuarterfinalsAway 0–0
Away 1–1Home 1–0
Home 2–0SemifinalsAway 0–1
Away 0–0Home 1–1

Rules

The final is played over two legs; home and away. The higher seeded team plays the second leg at home. The team that accumulates the most points —three for a win, one for a draw, zero for a loss— after the two legs is crowned the champion. Should the two teams be tied on points after the second leg, the team with the best goal difference wins. If the two teams have equal goal difference, the away goals rule is not applied, unlike the rest of the tournament. Extra time is played, which consists of two 15-minute halves. If the tie is still not broken, a penalty shootout ensues according to the Laws of the Game.[12]

Matches

First leg

width=25!width=25
GK 1 Agustín Orión
RB 23
CB 2 Rolando Schiavi
CB 6 Matías Caruzzo
LB 3 Clemente Rodríguez
DM 18 Leandro Somoza
CM 16
CM 11
AM 10 Juan Román Riquelme (c)
CF 19
CF 7
Substitutes:
GK 13 Sebastián Sosa
DF 5 Juan Sánchez Miño
DF 14 Gastón Sauro
MF 8
MF 21 Cristian Chávez
FW 20
FW 24
Manager:
Julio César Falcioni
width=25!width=25
GK 24 Cássio
RB 2 Alessandro
CB 3
CB 4 Leandro Castán
LB 6
CM 8 Paulinho
CM 5 Ralf
RW 23
AM 12
LW 11 Emerson Sheik
CF 20 Danilo (c)
Substitutes:
GK 1 Júlio César
DF 10 Marquinhos
DF 18 Weldinho
DF 25
MF 15 Douglas
FW 9
FW 21
Manager:
Tite
Man of the Match:
Matías Caruzzo

Assistant referees:[13]
Francisco Mondria (Chile)
Carlos Astroza (Chile)
Fourth official:
Patricio Polic (Chile)

----

Second leg

width=25!width=25
GK 24 Cássio
RB 2 Alessandro (c)
CB 3
CB 4
LB 6 Fábio Santos
CM 8 Paulinho
CM 5 Ralf
RW 23 Jorge Henrique
AM 12
LW 11
CF 20 Danilo
Substitutes:
GK 1 Júlio César
DF 10 Marquinhos
DF 16 Ramon
DF 25
MF 15 Douglas
FW 9 Liédson
FW 21 Romarinho
Manager:
Tite
width=25!width=25
GK 1
RB 4 Franco Sosa
CB 2
CB 6
LB 3 Clemente Rodríguez
DM 18 Leandro Somoza
CM 16
CM 11 Walter Erviti
AM 10 Juan Román Riquelme (c)
CF 19
CF 7
Substitutes:
GK 13
DF 5 Juan Sánchez Miño
DF 14 Gastón Sauro
MF 8 Diego Rivero
MF 21 Cristian Chávez
FW 20
FW 24
Manager:
Julio César Falcioni
Man of the Match:
Emerson Sheik

Assistant referees:
Abraham González (Colombia)
Humberto Clavijo (Colombia)
Fourth official:
José Buitrago (Colombia)

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Corinthians earn draw at Boca Juniors. 27 June 2012. Fox News. 28 June 2012. https://archive.today/20130123093118/http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/sports/2012/06/28/corinthians-earn-draw-at-boca-juniors/. January 23, 2013. dead. mdy-all.
  2. Web site: Boca stunned by late Romarinho strike. 27 June 2012. ESPNstar.com. 28 June 2012. https://archive.today/20130122203801/http://www.espnstar.com/football/other-football/news/detail/item821456/Boca-stunned-by-late-Romarinho-strike/. January 22, 2013. dead.
  3. Web site: Romarinho's late goal helps Corinthians to draw. 27 June 2012. San Francisco Chronicle. 28 June 2012 .
  4. Web site: Copa Libertadores: Boca Juniors 1 Corinthians 1. 27 June 2012. Soccerway.com. 28 June 2012 .
  5. Web site: Boca y Corinthians, iguales (1-1). CONMEBOL.com. 2012-06-28. es.
  6. Web site: ¡Corinthians, brillante campeón!. CONMEBOL.com. 5 July 2012. es. July 5, 2012. July 8, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120708210346/http://www.conmebol.com/copasantanderlibertadores/Corinthians-brillante-campeon-20120705-0001.html. dead.
  7. Web site: Corinthians claim Copa glory. https://web.archive.org/web/20120713021936/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1122784/copa-libertadores:-corinthians-down-boca-juniors-to-win-title?cc=5739. dead. July 13, 2012. 5 July 2012. ESPN Soccernet. 10 July 2012 .
  8. Web site: Corinthians finally break their duck as Emerson sees off Boca Juniors. 5 July 2012. Guardian. 10 July 2012 .
  9. Corinthians wins Copa Libertadores for 1st time. 5 July 2012. Sports Illustrated. 10 July 2012 .
  10. Web site: Corinthians, the cream of South America. https://web.archive.org/web/20120708232023/http://www.fifa.com/clubworldcup/news/newsid=1660813/index.html. dead. July 8, 2012. 6 July 2012. FIFA.com. 13 December 2012 .
  11. Web site: Corinthians claim Copa glory. https://web.archive.org/web/20130205180153/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1122784/copa-libertadores:-corinthians-down-boca-juniors-to-win-title?cc=5901. dead. February 5, 2013. ESPN. 5 June 2012. 5 June 2012.
  12. Web site: Copa Santander Libertadores 2012: reglamento del torneo . es . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120324044850/http://www.conmebol.com/export/sites/conmebol/Docs/Copa_Libertadores/2012/Reglamento_Libertadores_2012.pdf . March 24, 2012 .
  13. Web site: Copa Santander Libertadores 2012–árbitros finales 2012. CONMEBOL. 2012-06-22.