| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | February 24 – July 27 |
| Teams | 21 (from 10 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Olimpia (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Boca Juniors |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 75 |
| Goals scored | 212 (2.83 per match) |
←1978 1980 → | |
The1979 Copa Libertadores represented the 20th edition of the tournament, which sawOlimpia ofParaguay win the title for the first time. They defeated the defending champions,Boca Juniors of Argentina. Olimpia's title was the first instance of a team from a country other thanUruguay,Argentina orBrazil winning Copa Libertadores. This allowed the Paraguayan side to play theIntercontinental Cup againstMalmö FF ofSweden, in which the South American side won.
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 the1978 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 | IND |  CAL | MIL | QUI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Independiente | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 9 | Qualified to theSemifinals | — | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Deportivo Cali | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 7 | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | 3–2 | ||
| 3 | Millonarios | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 6 | 3–3 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 4 | Quilmes | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | OLI |  BOL | SOL | WIL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olimpia | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 10 | Qualified to theSemifinals | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–2 | |
| 2 | Bolívar | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 7 | +11 | 9 | 2–1 | — | 4–1 | 4–0 | ||
| 3 | Sol de América | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 12 | −3 | 5 | 0–1 | 2–2 | — | 2–1 | ||
| 4 | Jorge Wilstermann | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 21 | −16 | 0 | 0–2 | 0–6 | 2–3 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  GUA |  UNI | PAL | ALI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guarani | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 5 | +11 | 10 | Qualified to theSemifinals | — | 6–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Universitario | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 8 | 3–0 | — | 2–5 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | Palmeiras | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 11 | +4 | 6 | 1–4 | 1–2 | — | 4–0 | ||
| 4 | Alianza Lima | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 20 | −15 | 0 | 0–3 | 3–6 | 2–4 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  PAL | OHI |  POR | GAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Palestino | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 2 | +14 | 10 | Qualified to theSemifinals | — | 1–0 | 6–0 | 5–0 | |
| 2 | O'Higgins | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 7 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 6–0 | ||
| 3 | Portuguesa | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 12 | −8 | 4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | ||
| 4 | Deportivo Galicia | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 15 | −12 | 3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  PEÑ | NAC |  ENA | TEC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peñarol | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 10 | Qualified to theSemifinals | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | |
| 2 | Nacional | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 7 | 1–1 | — | 3–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 3 | El Nacional | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 5 | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | ||
| 4 | Técnico Universitario | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 12 | −8 | 2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BOC | IND | PEÑ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boca Juniors | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 5 | Qualified to theFinal | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | |
| 2 | Independiente | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | Peñarol | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | — |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Boca Juniors | 1–0 | Independiente |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | OLI | GUA | PAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olimpia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 7 | Qualified to theFinal | — | 2–1 | 3–0 | |
| 2 | Guarani | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | ||
| 3 | Palestino | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | — |
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olimpia | 2–0 | Boca Juniors | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Copa Libertadores 1979 Champions |
|---|
 |
| Olimpia First Title |
6 goles
Juan José Oré (Universitario)
Miltão (Guaraní)
