| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | February 25 – July 30 |
| Teams | 21 (from 10 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Cruzeiro (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  River Plate |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 76 |
| Goals scored | 208 (2.74 per match) |
←1975 1977 → | |
TheCopa Libertadores 1976 was the 17th edition of theCopa Libertadores,CONMEBOL's annual international club tournament. The tournament began on February 23 and ended on July 30.
Cruzeiro won the competition, being the first Brazilian team, afterPelé'sSantos, to win the continental competition. During the tournament, Cruzeiro suffered a great setback: the loss of the playerRoberto Batata, who died in a car crash.
Independiente, the defending champions who had won four consecutive titles till the 1975 edition of the tournament, were defeated in the semifinals by fellow Argentina clubRiver Plate.
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 asIndependiente was champion of the1975 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 | EST |  POR | DGA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | River Plate | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 10 | Qualified toSemi-Finals | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | |
| 2 | Estudiantes | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 9 | 1–0 | — | 3–0 | 4–0 | ||
| 3 | Portuguesa | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 5 | 0–2 | 2–2 | — | 3–1 | ||
| 4 | Deportivo Galicia | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 15 | −12 | 0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  LDQ | CDC |  BOL | GUA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LDU Quito | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 8 | Qualified to the1st Place Playoff | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | |
| 2 | Deportivo Cuenca | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 8 | 0–0 | — | 3–1 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | Bolívar | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 6 | 3–2 | 4–2 | — | 7–1 | ||
| 4 | Guabirá | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 15 | −13 | 2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | CRU | INT |  OLI | SLU | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cruzeiro | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 9 | +11 | 11 | Qualified toSemi-Finals | — | 5–4 | 4–1 | 4–1 | |
| 2 | Internacional | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 7 | 0–2 | — | 1–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 3 | Olimpia | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 4 | 2–2 | 1–1 | — | 2–3 | ||
| 4 | Sportivo Luqueño | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 14 | −9 | 2 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  ALI |  MIL | AUG | ISF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alianza Lima | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 8 | Qualified toSemi-Finals | — | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | |
| 2 | Millonarios | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 6 | 1–0 | — | 4–0 | 1–1 | ||
| 3 | Alfonso Ugarte | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 6 | 0–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | ||
| 4 | Santa Fe | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 4 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  PEÑ |  UES | PAL | NAC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peñarol | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 8 | Qualified toSemi-Finals | — | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | |
| 2 | Unión Española | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 8 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 3 | Palestino | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 5 | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 2–1 | ||
| 4 | Nacional | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LDU Quito | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 2 | Qualified to theSemi-Finals |
| 2 | Deportivo Cuenca | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0 |
vDeportivo Cuenca| April 22First Stage | LDU Quito | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Deportivo Cuenca | Guayaquil,Ecuador |
Carrera 66'Rivadeneira 115' | Report | Villagra 63' | Stadium:Estadio Modelo Alberto Spencer Herrera Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Óscar Veiro (Argentina) |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | CRU | LDQ | ALI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cruzeiro | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 3 | +15 | 8 | Qualified to theFinal | — | 4–1 | 7–1 | |
| 2 | LDU Quito | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 2 | 1–3 | — | 2–1 | ||
| 3 | Alianza Lima | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 13 | −9 | 2 | 0–4 | 2–0 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | RIV | IND | PEÑ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | River Plate | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 5 | Qualified to theFinal | — | 0–0 | 3–0 | |
| 2 | Independiente | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | Peñarol | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | — |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| River Plate | 1–0 | Independiente |
| Cruzeiro | 4 – 1 | River Plate |
|---|---|---|
| Nelinho 22' Palhinha 29', 40'Valdo 80' | Más 63' |
| River Plate | 2 – 1 | Cruzeiro |
|---|---|---|
| J. J. López 10' P. González 76' | Palhinha 48' |
| Cruzeiro | 3 – 2 | River Plate |
|---|---|---|
| Nelinho 24' Eduardo 55'Joãozinho 88' | Más 59' Urquiza 64' |
| Copa Libertadores 1976 champions |
|---|
 Cruzeiro 1st title |
