2022 Copa Libertadores: map of Final Stages (16 teams, with match-ups)
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By Bill Turianski on the 27th of June 2022 ; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-2022 Copa Libertadores/Final Stages (en.wikipedia.org).
-Summary – CONMEBOL Libertadores – Final Stages [2022] (soccerway.com).
The Round of 16
The first legs of the 2022 Copa Libertadores Round of 16 will be played from 28 to 30 June {click on the links at the top of this post for the fixtures}.
The breakdown of qualified clubs-by-country…
•Brazil: 6 clubs (Palmeiras, Flamengo, Atlético Mineiro, Fortaleza, Athletico Paranaense, Corinthians). This includes back-to-back reigning champions Palmeiras.
•Argentina: 6 clubs (River Plate, Estudiantes, Colón, Boca Juniors, Talleres, Vélez Sarsfield),
•Paraguay: 2 clubs (Libertad, Cerro Porteño).
•Colombia: 1 club (Deportes Tolima).
•Ecuador: 1 club (Emelec).
The Big 2 of Argentina and Brazil have placed 12 clubs into the Round of 16, just as the two did last year [2021]. This is the largest total Round-of-16 spots from the combined Brazil and Argentina, amounting to 75% of the teams that advanced.
This is the 5th-straight year that Paraguay have placed two clubs into the Round of 16. This is the 4th-straight year that Ecuador have placed at least one club into the Round of 16.
After 3 years without any of their clubs advancing past the Group stage, Colombia finally has a club back in the Round of 16. And this is now the second-straight year that Uruguay are without a club in the Round of 16. Chile has placed a club into the Round of 16 only once since 2018.
There are two clubs that have advanced from the Libertadores Group Stage for the first time…
•Fortaleza, from Fortaleza, capital of the state of Ceará, up in the northeast of Brazil. Fortaleza is the 11th-largest city in South America, with a metro-area population of around 3.9 million. Fortaleza made it to the Round of 16 thanks to a big away win (4-3) in their final group-stage game, versus Colo-Colo in Santiago, Chile (25 May). Fortaleza Esporte Clube, est. 1918, have played 24 seasons in the Brazilian top-flight, starting in 1959, but had never played in the Copa Libertadores. Five years ago, in 2017, stuck in the third division, Fortaleza won promotion from Série C. Four years ago, in 2018, Fortaleza won their second-straight promotion, finishing in 1st in Série B and drawing a 2nd-tier-best 29,400 per league match. Then three years ago, in 2019, Fortaleza were finally back in Série A, and were one of the highest-drawing Brazilian clubs, drawing 33,800 per league match. They finished in a decent 9th place in 2019. But in their second season back in the top tier, in 2020, Fortaleza almost got relegated, finishing in 16th and only avoiding the drop on goal-difference. However, last year, in 2021, Fortaleza had an amazing turnaround and finished in 4th place in the 2021 Brasileiro. That was good enough for Fortaleza to win their first-ever Copa Libertadores spot: an automatic qualification for the 2022 Libertadores group stage. Fortaleza wear blue-and-red-horizontally-striped jerseys. They play at the 63-K-capacity Castelão, which they share with local rivals Ceará Sporting Club (who are also currently a top-flight club).
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•Talleres, of Córdoba, Argentina’s 2nd-largest city [metro-population: 1.5 million]. Talleres made it through the group stage rather easily, with only one loss (versus Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro), and they beat Chile’s Universidad Católica home and away. 2022 is the third time Talleres have qualified for the Libertadores, and only the second time they have made it to the Group Stage (previously in 2002). Talleres play at a little jewel of a stadium, the 13-K-capacity Estadio Francisco Cabasés, nicknamed ‘La Boutique‘, for its small and elegant design {1:20 video of the venue}. Talleres means ‘workshops’ in Spanish. CA Talleres were founded in 1913 by workers from the Córdoba Central Railway. Talleres have played 26 seasons of Argentine top-flight football, 7 consecutive since promotion back to the Primera División in 2016. Talleres wear dark-blue vertically-striped jerseys. They finished in 3rd place in the 2021 Primera División. Talleres are the only club from Córdoba to ever have qualified for the Copa Libertadores.
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Below: 2021 Libertadores Round of 16 venues – all 16 clubs’ stadiums…
#1 seed, back-to-back reigning champions Palmeiras – Allianz Parque (aka Palestra Itália), in São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Photo credit above – twitter.com/[@AllianzParque].
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#2 seed, River Plate – El Monumental (Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti), in the Belgrano district of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Photo credit above – Toni Lamberttuchi Fettuchini at google.com/maps/[photos].
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#3 seed, Flamengo – Maracanã (Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Photo credit above – Getty Images via eurosport.com.
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#4 seed, Estudiantes de La Plata – Estadio Jorge Luis Hirschi, La Plata, Buenos Aires province, Argentina.
Photo and image credits above – E de L P jersey badge, photo unattributed at footballshirtculture.com. Stadium drone image, unattributed at weekend.perfil.com/noticias/videos.
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#5 seed, Atlético Mineiro – Mineirão (Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto), in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Photo and image credits above – original badge from campeoesdofutebol.com.br/hist_atleticomg; photo by Prefeitura de Belo Horizonte at flickr.com.
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# 6 seed, Libertad – Estadio Tigo La Huerta (aka Tuyukuá), in the Las Mercedes barrio of Asunción, Paraguay.
Photo credit above – Francisco Caceres Sanchez [2019], at google.com/maps/[photos].
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#7 seed, Colón – Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao Lopez (aka ‘El Cementerio de Los Elefantes’), in Santa Fe, Argentina.
Photo credit above – unattributed at tripadvisor.com.
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#8 seed, Boca Juniors – La Bombonera (‘the Chocolate Box’), in La Boca district of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Photo credit above – unattributed at twitter.com/[@brfootball].
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#9 seed, Deportes Tolima – Estadio Manuel Murillo Toro, in Ibagué, capital of the department of Tolima, central Colombia.
Photo credit above – DobleJJO at google.com/maps/[photos].
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#10 seed, Talleres – Francisco Cabasés Stadium, aka La Boutique de Barrio Jardín, in the Jardín Espinoza neighborhood of the city of Córdoba, Argentina.
Photo credit above – unattributed at twitter.com/[@pavlito98t].
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#11 seed, Fortaleza – Castelão (Estádio Governador Plácido Castelo), in Fortaleza, Ceará, northeastern Brazil.
Photo credit above – Fábio Lima at File:Fortaleza Arena.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org).
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#12 seed, Athletico Paranaense – Arena da Baixada (aka Estádio Joaquim Américo), in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.
Image credit above – screenshot from video uploaded by Wassmansdorff at youtube.com.
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#13 seed, Corinthians – Arena Corinthians (aka Neo Química Arena), in the eastern part of São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Image credit above – screenshot from video uploaded by One Man Wolf Pack at youtube.com.
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#14 seed, Emelec – Estadio George Capwell, in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Photo credit above – unattributed at emelexista.com.
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#15 seed, Vélez Sarsfield – Estadio José Amalfitani, in Liniers district of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Photo credit above – velez.com.ar/club/estadio.
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#16 seed, Cerro Porteño – Estadio General Pablo Rojas (aka La Olla; aka La Nueva Olla), in Asunción, Paraguay.
Photo credit above – Miryan O. Rodríguez at google.com/maps/[photos].
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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]).
-2022 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}.