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2020 Copa Libertadores: location-map for the 47-team tournament, with Club Histories (Libertadores appearances & titles listed)
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By Bill Turianski on 12 January 2020; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links/Sources…
-2020 Copa Libertadores (en.wikipedia.org).
-Copa Libertadores 1960-2019 Club Histories (rsssf.com).

-Schedule is listed at the foot of this post, or click on the following…2020 Copa Libertadores schedule. As I did last year, I will post an updated map for the Group Stage, around the 1st of March; then I will post a map/chart for the the Final Stages when the Round of 16 starts, around the 15th of August.

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2020 Copa Libertadores…the 61st edition of South America’s most prestigious fútbol competition.

Shown on the map are the 47 teams that have qualified for the 2020 Libertadores (including the 28 teams which have qualified for the Group Stage of 32). This map includes the preliminary-stage teams: there are 19 preliminary-stage teams…and only four of those 19 teams will advance to the Group Stage.

Qualified teams by country:
Brazil has 8 teams (7+ Copa Libertadores holder).
Argentina has 6 teams.
Ecuador has 5 teams (4+ Copa Sudamericana holder).
The seven other countries all have 4 teams each, in the tournament (Uruguay, Colombia, Paraguay, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela).

(Note: Copa Libertadores winner in 2019 was Flamengo, of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Copa Sudamericana winner in 2019 was Independiente del Valle, of Sangolquí, Greater Quito, Ecuador.)

On the map page, teams are shown in the two flanking sections on either side of the map of South America, organized by country. Shown there, in the country-groupings, are each team’s all-time total Libertadores appearances (in the tan-colored column), and Libertadores titles (in the pale-blue-colored column). The year of each team’s last appearance and last title are shown alongside, in parentheses.

For the 2020 Libertadores, there are 9 cities with more than one team qualified, and those 9 cities are labelled, and the teams from those cities are shown in small boxes. Within these 9 city-boxes, the qualified teams are positioned to reflect their location within the city (ie, western-most qualified team in the city is on the left; northern-most team is higher up, etc.).

At the far left of the map-page is a chart that shows the Libertadores titles list by club (25 clubs have won the Libertadores title). At the far right is a chart that shows the Libertadores titles list by country (of the 60 Libertadores titles, 25 have been won by Argentine teams, and 19 have been won by Brazilian teams).

Finally, at the top is a banner which includes the reigning champions, Flamengo, of Brazil. On the 23rd of November 2019, in Estadio Monumental in Lima, Peru, Flamengo won their 2nd Libertadores title by beating River Plate (of Argentina) 2-1. Two very late goals by Flamengo’s Gabriel Barbosa won the title for Flamengo. (Flamengo’s first Libertadores title was won in 1981.)

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Schedule: {2020 Copa Libertadores schedule.}

The Preliminaries (3 stages) start on 21 January…
Within each country, the top-ranked spots get a bye to the Group Stage. But the 19 lower-ranked spots must play in the 3 Preliminary Stages. The Preliminary spots are portioned out two-per-country, except for 1 preliminary-spot in the country of the Cup Holder (Brazil, this year).

On the Country Lists, the 19 teams that comprise the Preliminary rounds are shown in italics. From these 19 lowest-ranked qualifiers, only 4 will qualify for the Group Stage of 32. The three Preliminary rounds last a little over a month (ending on the 27th of February).

The Group Stage (of 32) begins on 3-5 March (1st game-week)…
The Group Stage lasts 2 months, and has 6 game-weeks, with the final game-week played on 5-7 May.
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Thanks to all at the links below…
-Globe-map of South America by Luan at File:South America (orthographic projection).svg (en.wikipedia.org/[South America]).
-Blank map of South America by Anbans 585 at File:CONMEBOL laea location map without rivers.svg (en.wikipedia.org/[2018 Copa Libertadores]).
-2020 Copa Libertadores (en.wikipedia.org).
-Copa Libertadores 1960-2019 Club Histories (rsssf.com).
-Libertadores titles list {en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_Libertadores#Performances_by_club}.

2019 Copa Libertadores: map of Final Stages (16 teams)
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By Bill Turianski on 19 July 2019; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.

Links…
-2019 Copa Libertadores/Final Stages (en.wikipedia.org).
-Summary – CONMEBOL Libertadores – Final Stages [2019] (soccerway.com).

Following the Group Stage of March-through-May, the Copa Libertadores Final Stages begin on the 23rd of July, with the field whittled down from 32 to 16. Not surprisingly, the lion’s share of those teams still alive are from the two South American fútbol powers of Brazil (6 teams) and Argentina (4 teams). The Brazilian sides to advance are (in order of seeding): Palmeiras (#1 seed), Cruzeiro (#2 seed), Internacional (#3 seed), Flamengo (#7 seed), Grêmio (#12 seed), and Athletico Paranaense (#14 seed). The Argentinian sides to advance are: Boca Juniors (#6 seed), the Cup-Holder, River Plate (#10 seed), San Lorenzo (#13 seed), and Godoy Cruz (#15 seed).

What is surprising is that three of the remaining 16 teams still alive in the tournament are from Paraguay…all of whom won their groups to advance: Cerro Porteño (#4 seed), Libertad (#5 seed), and three-time Libertadores champions Olimpia (#8 seed). Also somewhat surprising is the advancement of two teams from Ecuador: LDU Quito (#11 seed), and Emelec (#16 seed). But, actually it should not be that much of a shock to see two Ecuadorian clubs survive the Libertadors group stage, seeing as how only 3 seasons ago [2016], a small and unheralded club from Ecuador, Independiente del Valle of Greater Quito, managed to make it all the way to the Finals (losing to Atlético Nacional of Colombia 2-1 aggregate).

To round out the final 16, there is one more side…Club Nacional [of Uruguay] (#9 seed). So, there are no Colombian teams or Chilean teams in the final 16 of the Libertadotes this year, which is surprising.

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Thanks to all at the links below…
-Globe-map of South America by Luan at File:South America (orthographic projection).svg (en.wikipedia.org/[South America]).
-Blank map of South America by Anbans 585 at File:CONMEBOL laea location map without rivers.svg (en.wikipedia.org/[2018 Copa Libertadores]).
-2019 Copa Libertadores (en.wikipedia.org).
-Copa Libertadores 1960-2017 Club Histories (rsssf.com).
-Libertadores titles list {en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_Libertadores#Performances_by_club}.

Thanks to James Nalton at World Football Index.com for tweets & re-tweets {WFi}.

2019 Copa Libertadores: location-map for the Group Stage, with Club Histories (Libertadores appearances & titles listed); plus 2 charts: Libertadores titles by club & by country
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By Bill Turianski on 3 March 2019; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.

Links…
-2019 Copa Libertadores/Group Stage (en.wikipedia.org).
-Summary – CONMEBOL Libertadores [2019] (soccerway.com).

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The Group Stage (of 32) begins on 5-7 March (1st game-week). The Group Stage lasts 2 months, and has 6 game-weeks, with the final game-week played on 7-9 May.
{2019 Copa Libertadores schedule.}

Qualified teams for the Group Stage, by country: Brazil has 7 teams (6+ Copa Sudamericana holder). Argentina has 6 teams (5+ Copa Libertadores holder). Chile, Paraguay, and Peru have 3 teams. The 5 other countries all have 2 teams each (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Venezuela).

The map…
Teams are shown in the two flanking sections on either side of the map, organized by country. Shown there in the country-groupings are each team’s all-time total Libertadores appearances (in the tan-colored column), and Libertadores titles (in the pale-blue-colored column).

Teams which had to play in the 3 Preliminary Stages [19 teams] are shown in italics (lowest-ranked qualifiers). From these 19 teams, only 4 qualified for the Group Stage of 32:
Atlético Mineiro (BRA), Libertad (PAR), Melgar (PER), Palestino (CHI).

At the far left of the map-page is the Libertadores titles list by club (25 clubs have won the Libertadores title). At the far right is the Libertadores titles list by country (of the 59 Libertadores titles, 25 have been won by Argentine teams, and 18 have been won by Brazilian teams).
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Thanks to all at the links below…
-Globe-map of South America by Luan at File:South America (orthographic projection).svg (en.wikipedia.org/[South America]).
-Blank map of South America by Anbans 585 at File:CONMEBOL laea location map without rivers.svg (en.wikipedia.org/[2018 Copa Libertadores]).
-2019 Copa Libertadores (en.wikipedia.org).
-Copa Libertadores 1960-2017 Club Histories (rsssf.com).
-Libertadores titles list {en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_Libertadores#Performances_by_club}.

Thanks to James Nalton at World Football Index.com for tweets & re-tweets {WFi}.

2019 Copa Libertadores: location-map for the 47-team tournament, with Club Histories (Libertadores appearances & titles listed)
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By Bill Turianski on 10 January 2019; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links/Sources…
-2019 Copa Libertadores (en.wikipedia.org).
-Copa Libertadores 1960-2017 Club Histories (rsssf.com).

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2019 Copa Libertadores…the 60th edition of South America’s most prestigious fútbol competition.

Shown on the map are all 47 teams that have qualified for the 2019 Libertadores (including the 28 teams which have qualified for the Group Stage of 32).

Qualified teams by country: Brazil has 8 teams (7+ Copa Sudamericana holder). Argentina has 7 teams (6+ Copa Libertadores holder). The eight other countries all have 4 teams each, in the tournament (Uruguay, Colombia, Paraguay, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela).

Teams are shown in the two flanking sections on either side of the map, organized by country. Shown there in the country-groupings are each team’s all-time total Libertadores appearances (in the tan-colored column), and Libertadores titles (in the pale-blue-colored column).

For the 2019 Libertadores, there are 12 cities with more than one team qualified, and those 12 cities are labelled, and the teams from those cities are shown in small boxes.

At the far left of the map-page is the Libertadores titles list by club (25 clubs have won the Libertadores title). At the far right is the Libertadores titles list by country (of the 59 Libertadores titles, 25 have been won by Argentine teams, and 18 have been won by Brazilian teams).

Finally, at the top is a banner which includes the reigning champions, River Plate, of Argentina. By beating Boca Juniors 3-1 aggregate, River won their 4th Libertadores title (1986, 1996, 2015, 2018).

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The Preliminaries (3 stages) start on 22 January…
Within each country, the top-ranked spots get a bye to the Group Stage. The 19 lower-ranked spots must play in the 3 Preliminary Stages. The Preliminary spots are portioned out two-per-country, except for 1 preliminary-spot in the country of the Cup Holder (Argentina, this year). On the map-page, the 19 teams that comprise the Preliminary rounds are shown in italics. From these 19 lowest-ranked qualifiers, only 4 will qualify for the Group Stage of 32. The three Preliminary rounds last a little over a month (ending on the 28th of February).

The Group Stage (of 32) begins on 5-7 March (1st game-week)…
The Group Stage lasts 2 months, and has 6 game-weeks, with the final game-week played on 7-9 May. {2019 Copa Libertadores schedule.}

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Below, Argentina’s 7 Libertadores teams for 2019…

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Below, Brazil’s 8 Libertadores teams for 2019…

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Below, Uruguay’s 4 Libertadores teams for 2019…

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Thanks to all at the links below…
-Globe-map of South America by Luan at File:South America (orthographic projection).svg (en.wikipedia.org/[South America]).
-Blank map of South America by Anbans 585 at File:CONMEBOL laea location map without rivers.svg (en.wikipedia.org/[2018 Copa Libertadores]).
-2019 Copa Libertadores (en.wikipedia.org).
-Copa Libertadores 1960-2017 Club Histories (rsssf.com).
-Libertadores titles list {en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_Libertadores#Performances_by_club}.

2017 Copa Libertadores map of the 44 teams in the 2nd Stage (16 teams) & Group Stage (28 teams)

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Links…
2017 Copa Libertadores (en.wikipedia.org).
-2017 Copa Libertadores, fixtures, results, tables…2017 COPA LIBERTADORES [Summary].
-Copa Libertadores news (in English)…espnfc.us/copa-libertadores/index

By Bill Turianski on 30 January 2017; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.com.

2017 Copa Libertadores (the 58th version of the tournament)…

As, usual profile-boxes for the qualified teams are shown, grouped by country, flanking each side of the map. But with the drastic format changes this year, I have decided to have the map depict the set-up after the new First Stage. So…
A). the results from late January 2017 of the new First Stage are seen at the top-left of the map-page. The new First Stage is basically just a small pre-qualifying round. So of the 6 teams in the First Stage, only the 3 winners are shown in profile-boxes (also at the top-left, plus also grouped with their countries within the main part of the map page).
B). teams that qualified for the Second Stage and the Group Stage can seen within the whole rest of the map page (44 teams).
C). The Cup-Holders (Atlético Nacional of Colombia) can seen at the top-right of the map page, as well as seen in the illustration below.
D). Format changes to the tournament – all of them (!), see article further below.
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2016 Copa Libertadores champions: Atlético Nacional, of Medellín, Colombia (their 2nd CL title)…

-From WorldSoccer.com from 1 August 2016, Tim Vickery’s Notes from South America: Reflections on Atletico Nacional’s Libertadores triumph (worldsoccer.com).

Photo and Image credits above –
Screenshot (1) from Atlético Nacional vs Independiente del Valle 1-0 RESUMEN Y GOL FINAL Copa Libertadores 2016 (uploaded by Futbol TOTAL at youtube.com). Shot of crowd’s tifo in Medellin during 2nd leg of Finals, photo by AP via dailymail.co.uk/football/Atletico-Nacional-1-0-2-1-agg-Independiente-del-Valle-Miguel-Borja-strike-seals-Copa-Libertadores-win. Screenshot (2) from Atlético Nacional vs Independiente del Valle 1-0 RESUMEN Y GOL FINAL Copa Libertadores 2016 (uploaded by Futbol TOTAL at youtube.com). Miguel Borja scoring winning goal, photo by Reuters via sport.net/atletico-nacional-1-0-independiente-del-valle-2-1-agg-miguel-borja-strike-seals-copa-libertadores-win. Teammates celebrate right after Borja goal, photo by AFP via losandes.com.ar/article/atletico-nacional-e-independiente-del-valle-definen-la-libertadores-y-van-por-la-gloria. Shot of coach Rueda with trophy, photo by León Darío Peláez/SEMANA at semana.com/deportes/articulo/reinaldo-rueda-el-cerebro-detras-de-la-gesta-de-nacional s. Miguel Borja kissing the trophy, photo by AFP via fifa.com. Atletico Nacional fans celebrate their Copa Libertadores victory with pyrotechnics, photo unattributed at a.espncdn.com/combiner.

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2017 Copa Libertadores: the new expanded format forces Mexico to leave the tournament/ Then the Chapecoense tragedy in Colombia sees CONMEBOL automatically award Chapecoense the 2016 Copa Sudamericana title & automatic qualification for the 2017 Copa Liberetadores

There were two very big changes to the Copa Libertadores format for 2017, which are both discussed below; plus the Chapecoense jet disaster (see further below).

First, in October 2016 CONMEBOL radically expanded the format (going from 38 teams to 44 teams, and with the tournament being played over an eleven-month time period).
{See this, CONMEBOL expands Copa Libertadores to 42 weeks and 44 teams (espnfc.com).} This forced the Mexican 1st division, Liga MX, to re-examine their continued participation in the tournament. (Mexican teams had participated in the Copa Libertadores since the 1998 tournament.) It looks like Liga MX and the FMF (the Mexican football authorities) were not consulted on these changes. It actually appears that CONMEBOL went ahead and made all these drastic changes to the Copa Libertadores format without consulting with most of parties involved – at all – including Liga MX {see 7th paragraph from this article by Tim Vickery at espnfc.com, Copa Libertadores gets new lease of life for 2017, but questions remain (by Tim Vickery at espnfc.com from 19 Dec. 2016).}

So in November 2016, the 1st division of Mexico (Liga MX) decided to no longer send its teams to play in the Copa Libertadores…
The expanded schedule, with basically an 80%-of-the-whole-year tournament, combined with the enormous travel distances that Mexican teams already face, made Liga MX decide to opt out of the tournament. Mexican teams might re-join the tournament in 2018, though, but Liga MX would need to alter its own format to do that. {See this, Mexico officially pulls out of Copa Libertadores (goal.com).}

So, for 2017 at least, that meant that there were now three vacated spots in the tournament…
Mexico’s 3 vacated tournament-spots made it necessary to even further expand the tournament (to be more equitable, as with regards to which of the 10 remaining Copa Libertadores countries got one of Mexico’s spots). So another round was added. CONMEBOL simply divided the 3 spots up amongst the 6 CL countries which had not gotten any added spots in the upcoming format-expansion (Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela). So the 3 Mexico spots were paired up with 3 more added-spots (swelling the tournament to 47 teams), into a sort of pre-qualifying round – the First Stage. (The results of the new/pre-qualifying First Stage are seen in the Mexico section at the top-left-hand side of the map page.)

Below are all the changes in the Copa Libertadores for 2017…
•Expanded format (44 teams):
6 more spots, re-apportioned as such:
∙Brazil: +2 spots (Brazil now has 7 teams in each Copa Libertadores tournament).
∙Argentina: +1 spot (Argentina now has 6 teams in each CL tournament).
∙Colombia: +1 spot (Colombia now has 4 teams in each CL tournament).
∙Chile: +1 spot (Chile now has 4 teams in each CL tournament).
∙Copa Sudamericana winner: the CS winner gets automatic entry into Group Stage as before, but that spot does not bump out the lowest-placed CL-qualifying spot from that country (ie, CS-winner adds 1 more spot for that country for that CL season [as so: Brazil 7 spots+1 more spot this season via CS-winner, Chapacoense {see further below}]).
∙Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, and Bolivia: unchanged (all still with 3 teams in each tournament – that is, until Mexico pulled out/see below).

•About 1 month later…Further expanded format, with 3 more spots added (47 teams).
Mexican teams’ 3 vacated spots + 3 more spots added (in the new First Stage), to make the tournament 47 teams:
∙The 3 spots were determined by adding 1 team each from the 6 countries which did not get an extra spot in the initial tournament-expansion (those 6 countries are: Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela). Those six teams are then matched up into two-legged play-offs (the new First Stage), with the three winners advancing.

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Chapecoense jet disaster…
On 28 November 2016, the airplane carrying Brazilian team Chapecoense, to their 2016 Copa Sudamericana Finals match versus Atlético Nacional, crashed into a hillside near Medellín, Colombia, with 71 of the 77 aboard killed, including 19 Chapecoense players (almost the entire Chapcoense 1st team squad died). As it says at the 2016 Copa Sudamericana page at Wikipedia, “The finals have been suspended due to the crash of LaMia Airlines Flight 2933. CONMEBOL immediately suspended all activities, including the scheduled finals matches. In light of these events, Atlético Nacional requested that CONMEBOL award the title to Chapecoense.” Three days later Globo Sports in Brazil reported this, Conmebol will declare Chapecoense champion of the Copa Sudamericana (from globoesporte.globo.com/sc/futebol). So that meant, as Copa Sudamericana title-winners, Chapecoense would qualify for the Group Stage of the 2017 Copa Libertadores.
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Thanks to all at the following links…
-2016 Copa Libertadores/Teams (en.wikipedia.org).
-Copa Libertadores (1960-2016) Club Histories…Copa Libertadores 1960-2016 Club Histories (rsssf.com).
-Argentine titles (professional Argentine titles): http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primera_Divisi%C3%B3n_de_Argentina#Resumen_estad.C3.ADstico_2.
-New logo for tournament, conmebol.com/es/la-conmebol-presento-el-nuevo-logo-de-la-copa-libertadores-de-america.

2016 Copa Libertadores, map of the 38 clubs in the competition
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Links…
-Video-with-goals of the 2nd leg, 2015 Copa Libertadores Finals…River Plate 3×0 Tigres – Copa Libertadores 2015 – Final (1:36 video uploaded by FootballMania at youtube.com).
-Fixtures…COPA LIBERTADORES [2016/1st Stage].
-Fixtures…COPA LIBERTADORES [2016/2nd Stage/aka Group Stage] (soccerway.com).
-Competition…Copa Libertadores
-Teams…2016 Copa Libertadores/Teams (en.wikipedia.org).

Format of the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores (it is very similar to the format of the UEFA Champions League)…
2016 will be the 57th edition of the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores de América, known in the English-speaking football world as the Copa Libertadores. The competition begins in early February, when the preliminaries [official name: the "First Stage"] whittle down the 12 lowest-seeded teams into 6. {Here are the First Stage match-ups (en.wikipedia.org).}

Those 6 teams which win their Preliminaries/First Stage ties advance to the Group Stage [official name: the "Second Stage"]. Just like the UEFA Champions League Group Stage, the Copa Libertadores “Second Stage” has 32 teams seeded into 8 groups of 4. {Here are the Second Stage groups (en.wikipedia.org).}

The Group Stage/Second Stage begins in mid-February and is a 6-game round-robin format, which runs through to late April. The top 2 in each group (16 teams total) advance to the Knockout Rounds [official name: the "Final Stages"]. The Knockout Rounds/Final Stages begin in early May, and are also seeded, and all are two-legged ties with away-goals rule. The Finals, unlike the UEFA Champions League Final, is also a two-legged match-up, but with no away-goals rule.

River Plate are Cup Holders…
Reigning Copa Libertadores champions are the Argentinian giants River Plate, of Buenos Aires, who, on 5 August 2015, won their third Copa Libertadores title (and their first Copa Libertadores title in 18 years), by beating Tigres de la UANL (of Monterrey, Mexico), by the score of 3-0 aggregate. Note: There is an illustration further below on the 2016 Copa Libertadores 2nd-Leg of the Finals (River Plate 3-0 UANL de Tigres, at Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, before a full-capacity crowd of 71,000 on 5 Aug.2015).

Qualification…
As to who qualifies for the Copa Libertadores each season (from the 10 South American countries within CONMEBOL), the simple explanations are…
A). The Copa Libertadores winner, aka the Cup Holder [again, currently, River Plate of Buenos Aires], automatically qualifies for the Copa Libertadores the following season.
B). Brazil and Argentina get 5 Copa Libertadores spots each season, while the other 8 South American countries in CONMEBOL get 3 Copa Libertadores spots each.
C). The higher-seeded Copa Libertadores spots are generally awarded thus…a spot or 2 spots goes to the title-winner or title-winners from the previous season…from each of the 10 countries.
D). Plus, usually, a Copa Libertadores spot goes to the country’s second-place-finisher the previous season (and spots go to the 3rd-and-4th-place finishers from the previous season in Brazil).
E). Finally, the third-or-final Copa Libertadores spot in each country usually goes to the national Cup winner there in each country.
F). Argentina has the most complicated qualifying format, featuring one Copa Libetadores spot going to the winner of a post-season-mini-league tournament for 3rd-through-6th-place-league-finishers (that mini-tournament is called the Liguilla Pre-Libertadores). And Argentina, alone of the 10 South American countries in CONMEBOL, rewards their best-finisher-in-the-Copa-Sudamericana with a Copa Libertadores spot the following season (this is brilliant, and it helps keep the Copa Sudamericana relevant in Argentina). [The Copa Sudamericana is South America's less-prestigious/also-rans-competition, it being analogous to UEFA's Europa League.]
G). The Copa Sudamericana winner automatically qualifies for the Copa Libertadores the next season. (Copa Sudamericana.) When that club has not qualified via other means, one of the spots for that club’s country gets bumped over to the Copa Sudamerica winner (usually that spot is the the 3rd-spot/best-non-champions-not-yet-qualified).
Since 2011, none of Mexico’s 3 Copa Libertadores spots go to the league champions, and are awarded in a bat-shit-crazy way…
H). Since 2011, Mexico bizarrely places their champions (from the previous Clausura & Apertura seasons) into the way-less prestigious CONCACAF Champions League, and Mexico places the next-best finishers in the way-more prestigious Copa Libertadores. {See this, Liga MX/CONCACAF Champions League qualification/Copa Libertadores qualification.} I am pretty sure they (the Mexican football authorities) do this so that they have a better chance of having a Mexican team win that tin-pot tournament (which USA-&-Canada-based teams from MLS never win/14 years running), and thus have a Mexican team qualify for another tin-pot tournament, the FIFA Club World Cup. You see, if a Mexican team ever wins a Copa Libertadores title, that club – because it is not part of CONMEBOL – would not be allowed to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup (a tournament which is vastly ignored by European football fans). Mexican football authorities would rather their best clubs qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup – which a Mexican team has never actually won. It is beyond me why anyone, given the option, would want their best teams to play in the lame CONCACAF Champions League, as opposed to the mighty Copa Libertadores. I mean come on – try to find a top-shelf-caliber player who would rather play in the CONCACAF Champions League as opposed to the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores. You will not find one, because the CONCACAF Champions League is bush-league. It would be like trying to find someone who would rather play in the Canadian Football League instead of the NFL. Actually what the Mexican football authorities have done by sending non-champions to fill their Copa Libertadores spots is this…they have tweaked it so that their best teams go play in a tin-pot-tournament (CONCACAF Champions League) in order to then have their best teams then get a better chance of qualifying foranother tin-pot-tournament (the FIFA Club World Cup). Hey Mexico, why are you so driven to win a FIFA Club World Cup title? Because it ain’t much of a title. Elite European football clubs give a rat’s ass about that stupid tournament, and so do most fans of European club football. You (Mexico) should be trying to get your best clubs on track to finally win your first-ever Copa Libertadores title. Because Mexican clubs are getting closer to winning a first Copa Libertadores title, but meanwhile, by not sending their top three clubs, the Mexican football authorities are undermining their competitiveness in the competition. Mexican clubs have made it to the Copa Libertadores Finals three times…in 2001, with Cruz Azul losing to Boca Juniors 1-1 aggregate on penalties; in 2010, with Guadalajara losing to Internacional 5-3 aggregate; and last year in 2015, with Tigres de UANL losing to River Plate 3-0 aggregate. It stands to reason that the top Mexican teams would have fared better than the also-rans. Sheesh. Talk about misplaced priorities. Mexican pro futbol is cheapening their brand by sending their also-rans to the Copa Libertadores. Because the Copa Libertadores is, hands down, not only the pinnacle of professional football competitions in South America, it is the greatest football competition in all of the Western Hemisphere.
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2015 Copa Libertadores champions: CA River Plate.

Photo credits above – Lucas Alario celebrates his goal, photo by Amilcar Orfali/STR at gettyimages.com. Carlos Sanchez penalty kick goal, photo by Gabriel Rossi/STF at gettyimages.com. Funes Mori celebrating goal, photo by AFP/Getty Images via dailymail.co.uk/sport/football. River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo celebrates with players, photo by Gabriel Rossi/STF at gettyimages.de. Screenshot of video, River Plate Champions of the Copa Libertadores 2015 River plate vs Tigres 3-0 (05/08/2015) (uploaded by ChrisRon 7 at youtube.com). Photo of River players celebrating with trophy, photo by Reuters via telesurtv.net.
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Thanks to all at the following links…
2016 Copa Libertadores/Teams (en.wikipedia.org).
-Copa Libertadores (1960-2015) Club Histories…Copa Libertadores 1960-2015 Club Histories (rsssf.com).

The 2015 Copa Libertadores is in the group-stage round (8 groups of 4) .
-Here are a couple of links…
2015 Copa Libertadores Group Stage (misleadingly called the ‘Second Stage’): match-ups here (en.wikipedia.org); and also here (soccerway.com).

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The following link directs you to my map of the 2015 Copa Libertadores (which I posted in January), http://billsportsmaps.com/?p=29484.

Below is the all-time Copa Libertadores appearances chart for 2015 qualified teams (with titles listed). To read the chart easier, you can click on the image below to place it in a separate page…

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Thanks to RSSSF – I used this list for all-time Copa Libertadores appearances for each club, ‘Copa Libertadores 1960-2014 Club Histories’ at rsssf.com .

2015 Copa Libertadores, map of the 38 clubs in the competition
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The preliminary round of the 2015 Copa Libertadores starts on 3rd through 5th February 2015, with second legs on 10th through 12 Feb. The group-stage round (8 groups of 4/see second link below), starts on 17th and 18th February 2015.
-Here are a couple of links to see all the match-ups in the first two rounds…
2015 Copa Libertadores Preliminaries (misleadingly called the ‘First Stage’): match-ups here (en.wikipedia.org).
2015 Copa Libertadores Group Stage (misleadingly called the ‘Second Stage’): match-ups here (en.wikipedia.org); and also here (soccerway.com).
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2014 Copa Libertadores Champions & Holders – San Lorenzo, of Buenos Aires (their first Copa Libertadores title)…

San Lorenzo -a club in exile…
CA San Lorenzo (Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro). Established 1908 in the Almagro district of Buenos Aires, Argentina (which was just west of the then-city-limits of Buenos Aires, and is a few kilometers north of present-day Boedo barrio [Boedo being the former and still-spiritual-home of the club]). First match: 26 April 1914. First match in Primera División [amateur era]: 4 May 1915. First match at Estadio Gasómetro in Boedo barrio (which in the preset-day is situated in Buenos Aires Federal District): 7 May 1917. The club played at the Estadio Gasómetro from 1917 to 1979. They lost ownership of the stadium in 1979, when the military junta in charge forced the club to sell the stadium, for about one-eighth of the value of the parcel (in other words, the club was robbed by the fascist regime back then). CA San Lorenzo became homeless for 14 seasons (playing at the stadiums of Huracán, Vélez Sarsfield, and CA Atlanta). The original Gasómetro was demolished and a supermarket was built there. In 1993, San Lorenzo moved into a new stadium, the Nuevo Gasómetro, but in the barrio of Flores (about 7 km or 4 mi south-west of Boedo). San Lorenzo hope to someday move back to Boedo.

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Pope Francis and his club, San Lorenzo…
Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio), is a card-carrying member of Buenos Aires-based San Lorenzo, having paid his dues annually since 2008, even renewing them in 2011 after his election as pope. [See his card below.] As it says in an article by Joel Richards at the Soccer Gods blog, {excerpt}…”As a youngster, Cardinal Bergoglio of Buenos Aires attended every single [match] during the club’s 1946 championship winning season. His father played for San Lorenzo, albeit at basketball, and as Cardinal he blessed the club chapel that was paid for by another famous supporter, actor Viggo Mortensen.”…{excerpt from Remembering 2014: When San Lorenzo became more than “the Pope’s club” at soccergods.com}.

Photo credits above -
Satellite view of El Gasometro, unattributed at portal-argento.com.ar/estadios-primera-division.
Curva at El Gasometro in 2009, photo by Lee Barrett stuartnoel.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/san-lorenzo-4.jpg at A South American fiesta of football (theballisround.co.uk).
Unattributed at circuitox.com/el-coco-basile-y-su-episodio-con-el-papa-francisco.
Photo of commemorative 2013 San Lorenzo jersey featuring photo of Pope Francis, photo by San Lorenzo de Almagro via worldcrunch.com.
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CA San Lorenzo are finally Copa Libertadores champions in 2014, and are the 8th Argentine side to win a Copa Libertadores title…
From ESPN FC.com, from 13 Aug. 2014, by Tim Vickery, San Lorenzo capture first Copa title.

San Lorenzo had been the only one of the Big 5 in Argentina without a Copa Libertadores title. They finally won South America’s biggest prize by defeating Paraguay’s Nacional 2-1 aggregate (on 6 & 13 Aug. 2014). The trophy was won under the leadership of Rosario-born Edgardo Bauza (who had made history, 6 years previously in 2008, by leading LDU Quito to Ecuador’s first Copa Libertadores title/ see captions below).

Photo credits above -
Edgardo Bauza, screenshot of video image from ESPN Deportes at espndeportes.com/videohub/video/clipDeportes?id=2132326. Edgardo Bauza, photo by Fernando Romero/ABC Color at abc.com.py/deportes/futbol/san-lorenzo-con-equipo-confirmado.
Nestor Ortigoza, photo by Natacha Pisarenko/Associated Press at utsandiego.com/news/2014/aug/13/san-lorenzo-wins-copa-libertadores-for-1st-time.
San Lorenzo squad celebrating at the ceremonial platform, photo by Kamen/PikoPress/REX at theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/aug/14/san-lorenzo-copa-libertadores.

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Thanks to FootieMap.com, for finding stadium-locations of various clubs who have qualified for the 2015 Copa Libertadores, such as http://www.footiemap.com/?co=ecuador .
Thanks to RSSSF – I used this list for all-time Copa Libertadores appearances for each club, ‘Copa Libertadores 1960-2014 Club Histories’ at rsssf.com .

Blank map used for the post – Thanks to selfmade, for uploading a cropped section of this map (adapted from Brianski’s File:BlankMap-World3.svg by Canuckguy and originally based on CIA’s political world map) , to make the following: File:Latin America – First level political divisions.svg (commons.wikimedia.org).

Thanks to this article about alleged bribe-takers, at BBC World service, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11841783.
Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘2015 Copa Libertadores‘.

Thanks to the following…Photo credit on map page (San Lorenzo 2014 Copa Libertadoes champions), photo by AP at deportes.starmedia.com/futbol/libertadores/resultado-partido-san-lorenzo-vs-nacional-por-final-copa-libertadores-2014.html.

2014 Copa Libertadores, map of the 38 clubs in the competition

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‘COPA LIBERTADORES [fixtures, results, tables]‘ (soccerway.com).
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The competition, run by CONMEBOL, features qualifying clubs from the 10 South American nations under CONMEBOL’s jurisdiction, plus, since 1998, clubs from Mexico (despite the fact that Mexican football is under the jurisdiction of CONCACAF). 9 of the 11 countries involved are allotted 3 qualifying spots, while Argentina and Brazil get 5 spots. The Holder – Atlético Mineiro (of Belo Horizonte, Brazil) – gets an automatic spot, so Brazil has 6 spots in the 2014 Copa Libertadores. The football associations of each country involved have different criteria for awarding their Copa Libertadores spots, and you can see those details here {‘Copa Libertadores/Format/Qualification‘ (en.wikipedia.org)}. In general terms, with three exceptions, each country’s most recent champion or champions will qualify, plus the best-placed non-champions. The three exceptions are Brazil and Argentina (see next paragraph) and also Mexico, which, since 2011, treats the Copa Libertadores as its second-tier international competition (with the CONCACAF Champions League treated as Mexico’s first-tier international competition. This is either illogical on the FMF’s part, or unfortunate (if the FMF is being forced to do this by CONCACAF), because there is no fútbol fan on Earth who considers the CONCACAF Champions League title to be a more prestigious title than the much-coveted Copa Libertadores title {note: see comments #3 and #4 in the Comments section at the end of this post, for further discussion on this sub-topic}.

In Brazil’s case, their 5 qualifiers are first place through 4th place in the previous year’s Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (Cruzeiro were champions in 2013, Grêmio qualified as 2nd place finishers, Atlético Paranaense qualified as 3rd place finishers, and Botofogo qualified as 4th place finishers), plus the current Copa do Brasil holders (Flamengo were the Brazilian Cup winners in 2013). In Argentina’s case, their 5 qualifying spots are pretty complicated. First off, a new spot has been created, with it going to the winner of the newly-instituted Super Final, which was won in June 2013 by Vélez Sarsfield (who were 2012 Inicial champions), over Newell’s Old Boys (who were the 2013 Final champions), by a score of 1-0 in Mendoza in the northwest of the country on 29 June 2013. Two of Argentina’s spots still go to the previous two half-season winners…the 2013 Final champions (Newell’s Old Boys won it in May, 2013), and the 2013 Inicial champions (San Lorenzo won it in December, 2013). The 4th Argentine spot goes to the relatively-recently-introduced Copa Argentina (founded in 1969, scrapped after 1970, and re-introduced in 2011-12), which was won for 2012-13 by Arsenal di Sarandi. Finally, since 2010, the 5th Argentine spot goes to the Argentine team with the best Copa Sudamericana finish. Lanús qualified this way. Lanús won the 2013 Copa Sudamericana, by beating Brazilian side Ponte Preta by the score of 3-1 aggregate in December 2013. (The Copa Sudamericana is analogous to the UEFA Europa League tournament in Europe, and features clubs who won national cups or who placed in the 2nd-to-14th-place range in their respective leagues.).

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Below: 2014 Copa Libertadores clubs – All-time tournament appearances by club, with Copa Libertadores titles listed

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Below, 2013 Copa Libertadores Finals (17 & 24 July 2013).

-1st Leg in Asunción, Paraguay: Olimpia 2-0 Atlético Mineiro.
-2nd Leg in Belo Horizonte, Brazil: Atletico Mineiro 2-0 Olimpia.
-Aggregate score: Atlético Mineiro (Brazil) 2-2 Olimpia (Paraguay) AET / Atlético Miniero wins 4-3 on penalties.

Photo credits above -
Ronaldinho during 2nd leg of final v Olimpia, photo by AFP/Evaristo SA via talkvietnam.com/2013/07/copa-glory-for-atletico-and-ronaldinho
The two teams lined up to await the results of the penalty kicks, photo by Ricardo Matsulawa via esportes.terra.com.br.
The Galo squad congratulating their goalkeeper Victor, photo from espnfc.com.
Photo of Galo trophy celebration from peru.com/futbol/internacional/copa-libertadores-2013-atletico-mineiro-vs-olimpia-disputan-final-noticia.

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Thanks to CAM official site, photo of Galo players with trophy (on map page) from http://www.atletico.com.br/site/.
Thanks to FootieMap.com, for finding stadium-locations of various clubs, such as footiemap.com/chile.
Thanks to RSSSF – I used this list for all-time Copa Libertadores appearances chart, ‘Copa Libertadores 1960-2013 Club Histories’ at rsssf.com .
Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘2014 Copa Libertadores‘.

2013 Copa Libertadores, map of the 38 clubs in the competition

‘COPA LIBERTADORES [fixtures, results, tables]‘ (soccerway.com).

From SabotageTimes.com, from 8 Feb.2013, by Mauricio Savarese, ‘Copa Libertadores: A Guide To The World’s Roughest Football Tournament‘.

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The 2013 Copa Libertadores (for sponsoship reasons called the 2013 Copa Bridgestone Libertadores de América ) will be the 54th tournament of the Copa Libertadores.
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The competition, run by CONMEBOL, features qualifying clubs from the 10 South American nations under CONMEBOL’s jurisdiction, plus, since 1998, clubs from Mexico (despite the fact that Mexican football is under the jurisdiction of CONCACAF). 9 of the 11 countries involved are allotted 3 qualifying spots, while Argentina and Brazil get 5 spots. The Holder – SC Corinthians gets an automatic spot, so Brazil has 6 spots in this tournament. The football associations of each country involved have different criteria for awarding their Copa Libertadores spots, and you can see those details here {‘Copa Libertadores/Format/Qualification’ (en.wikipedia.org)}. In general terms, each country’s most recent champion or champions will qualify, plus the best-placed non-champions – with the exception of Mexico, which, since 2011, treats the Copa Libertadores as its second-tier international competition (with the CONCACAF Champions League treated as Mexico’s first-tier international competition [which is illogical on the FMF's part, because there is no fútbol fan on Earth who considers the CONCACAF Champions League title to be a more prestigious title than the much-coveted Copa Libertadores title]).

In Brazil’s case, the 5 qualifiers are first place through 4th place in the previous year’s Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (Fluminense were champions in 2012), plus the current Copa do Brasil winner (Palmeiras were the Brazilian cup winners in 2012). In Argentina’s case, the qualifiers are the previous year’s Clausura [now called Final] champion (Arsenal de Sarandi won it in May, 2012), the previous year’s Apertura [now called Inicial] champion (Vélez Sarsfield won it in December, 2012), and the next best-placed non-qualifiers via aggregate of the previous Clausura [Final] season and Apertura [Incial] season (Newell’s Old Boys and Boca Juniors qualified this way); plus the Copa Sudamericana spot. Tigre qualified this way, as best performance [as a finalist, losing to São Paulo] in the 2012 Copa Sudamericana by an Argentine club not already qualified. [Since 2010, the Argentine Football Association has had the winner, or best-placed non-qualified Argentine team, from the Copa Sudamericana also get into the next year's Copa Libertadores, as the 5th-seeded Argentine team. The Copa Sudamericana is analogous to the UEFA Europa League tournament in Europe, and features clubs who won national cups or who placed in the 2nd-to-14th-place range in their respective leagues.]

The current Copa Libertadores format, which has been in place since 2005, has 38 teams in it. But 12 of those teams must play in a preliminary round (involving a two-legged tie), called the First Stage, in order to get to the 32-team group stage, which is called the Second Stage. The Second Stage is comprised of 8 groups of 4, and the top 2 in each group advance to the Round of 16.

Elements of the map page -
On the map page, a list of the match-ups for the First Stage (aka preliminary round) is just below the top banner, at the upper right-hand corner. Or you can see the matchups at this link…’2013 Copa Libertadores/First Stage‘.

The map page features a location-map of the 38 clubs, and profile boxes for the clubs arranged by country. Each club’s profile box features…the club’s crest and home kit; their stadium(s) and location; how the club qualified for the tournament; the club’s total national professional titles (and the year of their most recent title); the club’s total Copa Libertadores appearances (and how the club fared in their most recent Copa Libertadores appearanace); and the club’s Copa Libertadores titles (and the year of most recent title).

I added one new feature to the map this year – for every metro-area which has more than one team in the competition, I have inserted a small tan box denoting that. Greater Buenos Aires is the metro-area with the most clubs in the 2013 Copa Libertadores- 4 clubs (Tigre, Vélez Sarsfield, Boca Juniors, and Arsenal).

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Consecutive tournament appearances by club
Fifteen clubs from the 2012 tournament return to the 2013 Copa Libertadores, including reigning champions SC Corinthians of São Paulo, Brazil. The 15 back for a second-straight Copa Libertadores appearance are…
41st appearance, Peñarol (Uruguay).
40th appearance, Club Nacional (Uruguay).
37th appearance, Olimpa (Paraguay).
28th appearance, Bolívar (Bolivia).
22nd appearance, Emelec (Ecuador).
19th appearance, The Strongest (Bolivia).
18th appearance, Universidad de Chile (Chile).
15th appearance, Caracas (Venezuela).
14th appearance, Liberad (Paraguay).
13th appearance, Defensor Sporting (Uruguay).
13th appearance, Vélez Sarsfield (Argentina).
12th appearance, Corinthians (Brazil) – Cup Holder.
12th appearance, Libertad (Paraguay).
6th appearance, Fluminense (Brazil).
3rd appearance, Arsenal [de Sarandí] (Argentina).
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There are 9 clubs which will be making their 3rd consecutive appearance in the Copa Libertadores (2011, 2012, and 2013) –
Peñarol (URU).
Nacional (URU).
Bolívar (BOL).
Emelec (ECU).
Caracas (VEN).
Libertad (PAR).
Vélez Sarsfield (ARG).
Corinthians (BRA).
Fluminense (BRA).
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There are 7 clubs which will be making their 4th consecutive appearance in the Copa Libertadores (2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013) –
Nacional (URU).
Bolívar (BOL).
Emelec (ECU).
Caracas (VEN).
Libertad (PAR).
Vélez Sarsfield (ARG).
Corinthians (BRA).
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There are 3 clubs which will be making their 5th consecutive appearance in the Copa Libertadores (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013) –
Nacional (URU).
Caracas (VEN).
Libertad (PAR).
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There are two clubs which will be continuing their Copa Libertadores consecutive-appearances streak past 5 straight appearances. Actually, these 2 clubs have made it to the Copa Libertadores a lot more than 5 straight times – Caracas of Venezuela have made it now 10 straight times (from 2004 to 2013, with their best finish in 2009, when Caracas made it to the Quartefinals and lost to Grêmio on the away-goals-rule 2-2).

Club Nacional de Football, Montevideo, Uruguay -
17 consecutive Copa Libertadores appearances (Nacional has qualified for every tournament from the 1997 Copa Libertadores to the 2013 Copa Libertadores)

Photo credit above – Badano24 at flickr.com.

And then there is Club Nacional de Football of Montevideo, Uruguay. Nacional will be making their 17th consecutive Copa Libertadores appearance in 2013. Nacional of course are one of the Big 2 in Uruguay (along with Peñarol). Nacional have won the Copa Libertadores title 3 times, but have not done so for 25 years now (Nacional’s 3 Copa Libertadores titles were won in 1971, 1980, and 1988). The best finish Nacional has had in their current Copa Libertadores-appearances-streak is in 2009, when they made it to the Semifinals (losing 6-0 to eventual 2009 Copa Libertadores champions Estudiantes [of La Plata, Argentina]).
{‘1997 Copa Libertadores‘ (en.wikipedia.org).
“2009 Copa Libertadores‘ (en.wikipedia.org). }

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2013 Copa Libertadores appearances chart with titles listed for the 38 clubs in the 2013 tournament

Below is a chart I put together that shows all 38 clubs in the 2013 Copa Libertadores, placed in order of all-time appearances; along with titles and date of last title listed.

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Thanks to FootieMap.com, for finding stadium-locations of various clubs, http://www.footiemap.com/.
Thanks to RSSSF – I used this list for all-time Copa Libertadores appearances chart, ‘Copa Libertadores 1960-2010 Club Histories’ at rsssf.com .
Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘2013 Copa Libertadores‘.