2007 Copa Libertadores finals

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2007 Copa Libertadores finals
Event2007 Copa Toyota Libertadores
Boca Juniors Grêmio
Argentina Brazil
5 0
on aggregate
First leg
Boca Juniors Grêmio
3 0
Date13 June 2007
VenueLa Bombonera, Buenos Aires
Man of the MatchJuan Román Riquelme
RefereeJorge Larrionda
Attendance50,993
Second leg
Grêmio Boca Juniors
0 2
Date20 June 2007
VenueEstádio Olímpico, Porto Alegre
Man of the MatchJuan Román Riquelme
RefereeÓscar Ruiz
Attendance53,952

The 2007 Copa Libertadores finals was a two-legged football match-up to determine the 2007 Copa Libertadores champion. The series was contested between Argentine club Boca Juniors and Brazilian club Grêmio. The first leg of the tie was played on June 13 at Boca Juniors' home field, La Bombonera, with the second leg played on June 20 at Gremio's Estádio Olímpico. Boca Juniors won the series 5–0 on aggregate,[1] achieving their sixth Copa Libertadores title.[2]

Qualified teams

Team Previous finals app.
Argentina Boca Juniors1963, 1977, 1978, 1979, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004
Brazil Grêmio1983, 1984, 1995

Bold indicates winning years

Venues

Route to the finals

GrêmioBoca Juniors
Brazil São Paulo
A
0–1		Round of 16
First leg		Argentina Vélez Sársfield
H
3–0		Riquelme 9'
Palermo 61'
Rodríguez 89'
Brazil São Paulo
H
2–0		Tcheco 17'
Diego Souza 74'		Second legArgentina Vélez Sársfield
A
1–3		Bustos (o.g.) 32'
Uruguay Defensor Sporting
A
0–2		Quarterfinals
First leg		Paraguay Libertad
H
1–1		Palermo 90'
Uruguay Defensor Sporting
H
2–0
(p. 4–2)		Tcheco 22'
Teco 45'		Second legParaguay Libertad
A
2–0		Riquelme 61'
Palacio
Brazil Santos
H
2–0		Tcheco 34'
Carlos Eduardo 36'		Semifinals
First leg		Colombia Cúcuta Deportivo
A
1–3		Ledesma 27'
Brazil Santos
A
1–3		Diego Souza 34'Second legColombia Cúcuta Deportivo
H
3–0		Riquelme 44'
Palermo 61'
Battaglia 90'

Matches

First leg

First leg
Boca Juniors Argentina3–0Brazil Grêmio
Palacio 18'
Riquelme 73'
Patrício red-colored football 89' (o.g.)		 Report
Attendance: 50,993
Boca Juniors
Grêmio
GK12Argentina Mauricio Caranta
CB4Argentina Hugo IbarraYellow card 13'
CB6Argentina Cata Díaz
CB3Paraguay Claudio Morel
RM14Argentina Rodrigo Palacio
CM8Argentina Pablo Ledesma
CM24Argentina Éver BanegaYellow card 34'downward-facing red arrow 81'
LM21Argentina Clemente Rodríguez
AM19Argentina Neri CardozoYellow card 64'downward-facing red arrow 67'
AM10Argentina Juan Román RiquelmeYellow card 53'
CF9Argentina Martín Palermo (c)
Substitutes:
GK25Argentina Pablo Migliore
DF2Argentina Matías Silvestre
MF5Argentina Sebastián Battagliaupward-facing green arrow 81'
MF11Argentina Bruno Marioni
MF15Argentina Guillermo Marino
FW17Argentina Mauro Boselli
MF23Argentina Jesús Datoloupward-facing green arrow 67'
Manager:
Argentina Miguel Ángel Russo
GK1Argentina Sebastián Saja
RB2Brazil PatrícioYellow card 15'
CB4Brazil William
CB14Brazil Teco
LB16Brazil Lúcio
DM15Brazil Sandro GoianoYellow card 53' Yellow-red card 58'
CM10Brazil Tcheco (c)downward-facing red arrow 80'
CM22Paraguay Diego Gavilán
AM11Brazil Carlos Eduardo
CF9Brazil Tutadownward-facing red arrow 72'
CF7Brazil Diego Souza
Substitutes:
GK12Brazil Galatto
DF3Argentina Rolando Schiavi
MF5Brazil Edmílson
DF6Brazil Bruno Teles
MF8Brazil Lucas Leivaupward-facing green arrow 72'
MF18Brazil Ramón
FW20Brazil Douglasupward-facing green arrow 80'
Manager:
Brazil Mano Menezes

Man of the Match:
Argentina Juan Román Riquelme (Boca Juniors)

Assistant referees:
Uruguay Wálter Rial
Uruguay Edgardo Acosta
Fourth official:
Uruguay Líber Prudente

Second leg

Second leg
Grêmio Brazil0–2Argentina Boca Juniors
Report Riquelme 69', 81'
Attendance: 51,851
Grêmio
Boca Juniors
GK1Argentina Sebastián Saja
RB2Brazil Patrício
CB4Brazil William
CB14Brazil Tecodownward-facing red arrow 35'
LB16Brazil LúcioYellow card 88'
DM8Brazil Lucas LeivaYellow card 70'
CM10Brazil Tcheco (c)downward-facing red arrow 46'
CM22Paraguay Diego Gavilán
AM11Brazil Carlos Eduardo
CF9Brazil Tutadownward-facing red arrow 70'
CF7Brazil Diego SouzaYellow card 50'
Substitutes:
GK12Brazil Galatto
DF3Argentina Rolando SchiaviYellow card 84'upward-facing green arrow 35'
DF6Brazil Bruno Teles
MF18Brazil Ramón
FW19Brazil Evertonupward-facing green arrow 70'
FW20Brazil Douglas
FW21Brazil Amorosoupward-facing green arrow 46'
Manager:
Brazil Mano Menezes
GK12Argentina Mauricio Caranta
CB4Argentina Hugo Ibarra
CB6Argentina Cata Díaz
CB3Paraguay Claudio Morel
RM14Argentina Rodrigo Palaciodownward-facing red arrow 87'
CM8Argentina Pablo LedesmaYellow card 74'
CM24Argentina Éver Banegadownward-facing red arrow 82'
LM21Argentina Clemente Rodríguez
AM19Argentina Neri Cardozodownward-facing red arrow 59'
AM10Argentina Juan Román Riquelme
CF9Argentina Martín Palermo (c)
Substitutes:
GK25Argentina Pablo Migliore
DF2Argentina Matías Silvestre
MF5Argentina Sebastián Battagliaupward-facing green arrow 59'
FW11Argentina Bruno Marioni
MF16Uruguay Sergio Órtemanupward-facing green arrow 82'
FW17Argentina Mauro Boselliupward-facing green arrow 87'
MF23Argentina Jesús Dátolo
Manager:
Argentina Miguel Ángel Russo

Man of the Match:
Argentina Juan Román Riquelme (Boca Juniors)

Assistant referees:
Colombia Juan Carlos Bedoya
Colombia Jovani Zapata
Fourth official:
Colombia Albert Duarte

Aftermath

Juan Román Riquelme was the most notable player of the competition, with 8 goals and 7 assists

With this appearance in the last stage Boca Juniors reached a record-equalling ninth final, winning on five of the eight previous occasions. At that point only Peñarol of Uruguay had played as many. The media praised Juan Román Riquelme's performance in the finals, crediting him as Boca's most notable player. Riquelme had returned to Argentina after a frustrating experience at Spanish club Villarreal where manager Manuel Pellegrini excluded him from the senior squad due to personal disputes.[3] Under the guidance of manager Miguel Ángel Russo, Riquelme was the top scorer of the team (and second of the 2007 edition behind Salvador Cabañas) with 8 goals in 11 matches, three of them in the finals.[4]

Riquelme made it easy to win the Copa Libertadores

— Sergio Orteman, Riquelme's teammate in 2007 [4]

The (Libertadores) Cup is like the girl you want but she ignores you

— Miguel Ángel Russo, Boca Juniors manager [5]

The 5–0 aggregate score remains the largest victory in the history of Copa Libertadores finals.[5]

On the other hand, Grêmio – who had previously played three finals, winning two of them – moved up to second place among Brazilian clubs with most Copa Libertadores finals contested, behind São Paulo with six.

References

  1. Copa Libertadores 2007 by Juan Pablo Andrés on the RSSSF
  2. Copa Libertadores 2007 overview on Historia de Boca
  3. El mejor Riquelme on TN, 26 Jan 2015
  4. Orteman: "Riquelme hizo fácil la Libertadores" Archived 2019-03-23 at the Wayback Machine by Damián Espinoza on Deportea Online, 22 June 2017
  5. La sexta Copa de Boca Archived 2015-02-04 at the Wayback Machine by Damián Ferrero on Diario Publicable, 28 Oct 2013