1997 Supercopa Libertadores finals

Background

The Supercopa Libertadores was founded in the late 1980s. It was established with the purpose of determining who would face the Copa Libertadores' season champion in the Recopa Sudamericana for the title of best team in South America. The competition brought together every past winner of the Copa Libertadores into a single-elimination tournament until the final edition, when the format was changed to have a double round-robin precede the two-legged semi-final and final matches. The Supercopa Libertadores was regarded as the second most prestigious South American club competition.

São Paulo first qualified for the Supercopa Libertadores as winners of the 1992 Copa Libertadores. They won their first Copa Libertadores final after beating Argentine team Newell's Old Boys 3–2 on penalties, following a 1–1 tie over two legs. Their debut tournament saw them beat fellow Brazilian squad Santos, but lose their quarter-final match against Club Olimpia of Paraguay. São Paulo would reach the final of the Supercopa Libertadores a year later, which they won against Flamengo. After a 4–4 aggregate draw, the penalty shoot-out at the Estádio do Morumbi went in favour of the host team 5–3.

River Plate had first won the Copa Libertadores in 1986, when they beat Colombian team América de Cali on both legs of the final. Therefore, they had played in every season of the Supercopa Libertadores since 1988. During their run in the first edition of the tournament, River Plate defeated Club Olimpia and Grêmio, but fell short in their semi-final match against Racing Club, to whom they suffered a 3–2 loss on the aggregate. They would eventually qualify for the 1991 final, which they lost to Cruzeiro. The first leg went in their favour 2–0, but their opposition managed a 3–0 comeback to take the match.

Route to the finals

The competition proper started with the group stage, contested as four double round-robin groups of four teams, with the winner of each group advancing to the knockout stages. The semi-final and final knockout stage ties were decided based on home and away matches.

São Paulo

São Paulo entered the competition in the group stage. They were drawn in Group 2 alongside Flamengo, Olimpia and Vélez Sarsfield. São Paulo lost 3–2 their opening match at the Estádio do Maracanã, but proceeded to win their two following home fixtures, with a resounding victory against Vélez Sarsfield and a close 1–0 affair against their fellow Brazilian team Flamengo. After the latter failed to secure a 3–1 advantage on their fifth matchday, São Paulo would be set to qualify if they were to earn a victory against Olimpia in their final fixture. They won 4–1 and topped their group, subsequently reaching the knockout stage.

Their opponent in the semi-finals would be Colo-Colo of Chile, who finished in first position of Group 1. The first leg of the series would go 3–1 in favour of São Paulo at the Estádio do Morumbi, courtesy of goals from Fabiano, Víctor Aristizábal and Dodô. Colo-Colo would pull one back through Ivo Basay, who later had a penalty stopped by Rogério Ceni. The second leg at the Estadio Monumental David Arellano would also result in a São Paulo win, after Dodô scored the lone goal of the game in stoppage time.

River Plate

River Plate also entered the competition in the group stage. The draw determined they would be playing Vasco da Gama, Santos and Racing Club in Group 3. They earned four wins over their first four matchdays, following a pair of 3–2 home victories against Racing Club and Santos, a 5–1 rout against Vasco da Gama, and another 3–2 away win against Racing Club. A triumph at Santos' Vila Belmiro would have qualified them to the knockout stage with a game to spare, but a 2–1 loss prevented it. Thus, the first and second place of Group 3 would be decided at Vasco da Gama's home ground. River Plate came with an advantage into the matchup, as a win or draw in their final fixture would allow them to progress. They earned a 2–0 win that qualified them to the next stage.

Their first knockout stage match would be against Atlético Nacional of Colombia, winners of Group 4. The opening leg played at River Plate's Estadio Monumental resulted in a 2–0 victory for the home side, after Chilean striker Marcelo Salas scored a brace in the first half. The return leg hosted at the Estadio Atanasio Girardot ended 2–1 to Atlético Nacional, but a 3–2 aggregate win ensured the visitors reached the finals.

First leg

Summary

The first leg was held at the Estádio do Morumbi, the home ground of São Paulo. The home side attempted to exert pressure from the first whistle, and had their first prospect just two minutes into the match. Marcelinho Paraíba ran down his flank and crossed for Fabiano, who was unable to shoot on target. River Plate responded swiftly through right-back Hernán Díaz, whose delivery met Enzo Francescoli, although the striker also failed to capitalize. The visitors started to gradually prevail, as they started to press their opposition's build-up. Another opportunity to score arose for their side in the tenth minute, when Marcelo Salas, after a cross from Marcelo Gallardo, headed wide while unmarked. São Paulo were rendered unable to muster any attack, product of a lack of coordination and their opposition's reliance on fouls to prevent their efforts. Thus, they began to count on sporadic runs by full-backs Zé Carlos and Serginho to dictate their plays. The latter would miss the last chance for his team in the opening half, when he shot wide across the goal in the 43rd minute. River Plate had an opportunity to score shortly after, when Roberto Monserrat recovered possession of the ball. The midfielder sorted it out to Salas, whose cross to Francescoli was intercepted by Edmílson.

The second half gave away to a São Paulo strategy that involved a more aggressive attacking approach, mainly reliant on crosses. Just two minutes into the half, River Plate midfielder Sergio Berti received a straight red card following a disqualifying tackle on Fabiano. This action prompted the visitors to renege from attacking, choosing instead to adopt a defensive approach based on retaining possession and avoiding taking risks. Although a man up, São Paulo remained adamant on sending deliveries into the box, which centre-backs Celso Ayala and Eduardo Berizzo repeatedly repelled. Their coach, Darío Pereyra, subbed in attacking midfielder Reinaldo for defender Álvaro. As a result, Sidney was moved back to the defense, and the home side began to play with only one defensive midfielder. The manager for the visitors, Ramón Díaz, would immediately reply to this change. He substituted Francescoli for defender Diego Placente, as they continued to rely on a strong defensive effort in order to remain the score. São Paulo were unable to improve under the new scheme, but they would have two last chances to break the deadlock. At the 75-minute mark, Serginho followed up on an individual play by taking a shot that rattled the crossbar. Seven minutes later, a França shot hit the post. The attacking line for the home side was unable to pose any further threat, and River Plate managed to hold on to the draw.

Details

Second leg

Summary

At the Estadio Monumental, River Plate searched for the lead in the match right from the start. São Paulo also applied pressure, imitating their efforts from the first leg. Ten minutes into the match, Paraguayan referee Ubaldo Aquino awarded a penalty to the home side, as he pointed to a handball by defender Álvaro after a cross. Enzo Francescoli stepped up to take the penalty, being denied by Roger, who was replacing Rogério Ceni. The São Paulo goalkeeper would again be decisive in the 21st minute, when he prevented an own goal by defender Edmílson. Midfielder Marcelinho Paraíba was sent off a half hour into the game for the visitors, as a result of an accumulation of cards. Far from being discouraged after missing the penalty, striker Francescoli had a great first half, in which he created several opportunities for his team to open the scoring. River Plate had further chances following plays by Marcelo Gallardo and Marcelo Salas. The first half was a hard-fought affair as the goalless aggregate persisted.

During half-time, River Plate manager Ramón Díaz told his team to focus more on getting behind São Paulo's full-backs, who kept pushing forward, and ordered his team to engage in triangle passing plays when they encountered themselves near the edge of the box. The visitors started the second half by playing out from the back, and Díaz's squad fullfiled his demands. Just a minute in, pressing high earned them the opening goal as Salas recovered the ball and passed it to Gallardo. The attacking midfielder orchestrated the attack, filtering it over to Francescoli, who looked up and sent a cross that was finished by the Chilean striker to put River Plate ahead. Shortly after, match official Aquino missed a possible penalty for São Paulo, crediting a back pass to goalkeeper Germán Burgos instead, and thus sanctioning a free kick inside the area. The visitors would score from the set piece, but the goal was disallowed after the referee indicated Burgos had stepped forward before the play resumed. São Paulo immediately launched a follow up attack, which resulted in the equaliser as Dodô unleashed a long-range shot. In the 57th minute, the home team responded swiftly as Salas struck again, after elaborating a play that put his team in the lead once more. Leonardo Astrada received a second booking and was sent off at the 75-minute mark. Ramón Díaz subbed midfielder Leonel Gancedo in, looking to stabilize, as his team continued to have scoring opportunities, which were successfully defended by Roger. A shot from Francescoli and two consecutive attempts from Salas and Juan Pablo Sorín proved River Plate's dominance over their opposition, who seemed unlikely to equalise the match for a second time. The referee eventually blew for full-time with the final score of 2–1.

Details

Post-match

River Plate manager Ramón Díaz was euphoric after the win. In the midst of celebration, he stated: "This team is top-notch; it's a huge satisfaction to be a part of it. I owe everything to these players and to the fans." He also reflected on the match: "We showed what we're made of. We won by displaying great prowess in our football [...] Exactly how we meant to do it."

The São Paulo side, for their part, showed disappointment following the loss. Midfielder Paulo Silas, albeit unable to play in the match, criticized referee Ubaldo Aquino: "They didn't respect us. The referee sanctioned the penalty from midfield. Even if we played for 15 hours, São Paulo wouldn't win this final. Aquino didn't deserve to referee this match." Darío Pereyra followed up by accusing the match official of underperforming: "I don't like to talk about the refereeing, but I can't help but say I was not satisfied at all with his performance."

Chilean striker Marcelo Salas scored four goals during the Supercopa Libertadores knockout stages, allowing his team to be crowned champions of the tournament for the first time. In total, he had scored seven goals during the competition, placing just behind Ivo Basay on the top scoring list. Among other merits, one of them being the top scorer for River Plate in the 1997 Torneo Apertura, Salas won the South American Footballer of the Year award.

The finals of the Supercopa Libertadores occured within a packed domestic schedule for River Plate, who were competing alongside Boca Juniors for the Torneo Apertura. Four days after the second leg, Salas would score on a 1–1 draw against Argentinos Juniors to steer one point clear of their second-placed rivals and win the Argentine league for the third consecutive time. In turn, São Paulo had finished 12th in the first phase of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, and thus were unqualified to enter the league play-offs.

Notes

References

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