| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | June 27 – November 28 |
| Teams | 21 (from 10 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Boca Juniors (2nd title) |
| Runners-up |  Deportivo Cali |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 75 |
| Goals scored | 179 (2.39 per match) |
←1977 1979 → | |
The1978 edition of Copa Libertadores was won byBoca Juniors, of Argentina for the second straight year, after defeatingDeportivo Cali of Colombia in the final. The defending champions won the two-leg final 0–4 on aggregate, with all four goals coming in the second-leg match after the first leg ended in a goalless draw.
The champions and runners-up of each football association were drawn into the same group along with another football association's participating teams. Three clubs from Argentina competed asBoca Juniors was champion of the1977 Copa Libertadores. They entered the tournament in the Semifinals.
| Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | Group 4 | Group 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | RIV | IND |  LDQ | EN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | River Plate | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 8 | Qualified to thesemi-finals | — | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Independiente | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 8 | 0–0 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 3 | LDU Quito | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 5 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | 3–2 | ||
| 4 | El Nacional | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | — |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| River Plate | 4–1 | Independiente |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  ALI | CRI |  STR | OPE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alianza Lima | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 5 | +14 | 11 | Qualified to thesemi-finals | — | 2–2 | 2–0 | 5–1 | |
| 2 | Sporting Cristal | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 1–4 | — | 3–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | The Strongest | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 12 | −5 | 4 | 1–2 | 3–1 | — | 2–0 | ||
| 4 | Oriente Petrolero | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 14 | −9 | 2 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 4–1 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  CAM |  UE | SAO | PAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlético Mineiro | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 10 | Qualified to thesemi-finals | — | 5–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Unión Española | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 6 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | ||
| 3 | São Paulo | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 5 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | ||
| 4 | Palestino | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 12 | −4 | 3 | 4–5 | 2–3 | 0–1 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | CAL |  PEÑ | JUN | DAN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deportivo Cali | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 8 | Qualified to thesemi-finals | — | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Peñarol | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0–2 | — | 1–0 | 4–2 | ||
| 3 | Junior | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | ||
| 4 | Danubio | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 4 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  CCP |  POR | ESM | LIB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cerro Porteño | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 9 | Qualified to thesemi-finals | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | |
| 2 | Portuguesa | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | Estudiantes de Mérida | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 5 | 2–3 | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | ||
| 4 | Libertad | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 4 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BOC | RIV | CAM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boca Juniors | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 7 | Qualified to thefinal | — | 0–0 | 3–1 | |
| 2 | River Plate | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 3 | 0–2 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | Atlético Mineiro | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | CAL | CCP | ALI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deportivo Cali | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 4 | +8 | 7 | Qualified to thefinal | — | 1–1 | 3–2 | |
| 2 | Cerro Porteño | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 3 | 0–4 | — | 3–1 | ||
| 3 | Alianza Lima | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 2 | 1–4 | 3–0 | — |
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deportivo Cali | 0–4 | Boca Juniors | 0–0 | 0–4 |
| Copa Libertadores 1978 winners |
|---|
 Boca Juniors 2nd title |
