| Event | 2012 Copa Libertadores de América | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| on points | |||||||
| First leg | |||||||
| |||||||
| Date | June 27, 2012 | ||||||
| Venue | Estadio Alberto J. Armando (La Bombonera),Buenos Aires | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Matías Caruzzo | ||||||
| Referee | Enrique Osses (Chile) | ||||||
| Attendance | 51,901 | ||||||
| Second leg | |||||||
| |||||||
| Date | July 4, 2012 | ||||||
| Venue | Estádio Municipal Paulo Machado de Carvalho (Pacaembu),São Paulo | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Emerson Sheik | ||||||
| Referee | Wilmar Roldán (Colombia) | ||||||
| Attendance | 40,186 | ||||||
←2011 2013 → | |||||||
The2012 Copa Libertadores de América finals were the final two-legged tie that decided the winner of the2012 Copa Libertadores de América, the 53rd edition of theCopa Libertadores de América,South America's premier international clubfootball tournament organized byCONMEBOL.
It was the fourth Libertadores decisive-match final to be held at the Pacaembu as well as the tenth final held in São Paulo and the seventeenth final held in Brazil. While Corinthians progressed to the knockout stages by finishing top of their group, Boca progressed by finishing runners-up of their group. Boca then beatUnión Española,Fluminense andUniversidad de Chile to reach the finals, while Corinthians knocked outEmelec,Vasco da Gama and defending championsSantos.
In the first leg of the final on 27 June at theEstadio Alberto J. Armando (La Bombonera), Boca Juniors took the lead with a goal fromFacundo Roncaglia after 73 minutes when he drove the ball high into the net.[1][2] Corinthians equalised in the 85th minute whenRomarinho lobbed the ball over fallen Boca Juniors goalkeeperAgustín Orión with the game finishing at 1–1.[3][4][5]
In the second leg of the final on 4 July at theEstádio Municipal Paulo Machado de Carvalho (Pacaembu),Emerson Sheik scored two second half goals to give Corinthians a 2–0 win.[6][7][8][9]As a result, Corinthians won their first Copa Libertadores, and finished the tournament undefeated. As winners, Corinthians representedCONMEBOL at the2012 FIFA Club World Cup, in which they entered at the semifinal stage[10][11] and made it to thefinal, where they defeatedChelsea 1–0. They are also playing against2012 Copa Sudamericana winnersSão Paulo in the2013 Recopa Sudamericana.
| Team | Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners) |
|---|---|
 Boca Juniors | 1963,1977,1978,1979,2000,2001,2003,2004,2007 |
 Corinthians | None |
To reach the finals, in theknockout phase Boca defeatedUnión Española,Fluminense, andUniversidad de Chile (2–0 on aggregate score), while Corinthians overcameEmelec,Vasco da Gama, and the defending championsSantos (2–1 on aggregate).
Boca and Corinthians reached the final having already lost out in their domestic and state leagues respectively (theTorneo Clausura de la Primera División andPaulistão respectively). But Boca having also reached the final of their domestic cup competition (theCopa Argentina), that will play againstRacing on August 8 (in other words, after these finals). Meanwhile, Corinthians (that, like the others Brazilians teams in this Libertadores, didn't play their domestic cup –Copa do Brasil – because of schedule conflicts) reached the final occupying 17th place of their domestic league (theBrasileirão).
In their most recent Libertadores finals, Boca won in2007 toGrêmio 5–0 (3–0 in Buenos Aires, 2–0 inPorto Alegre). While Corinthians had never played a Libertadores/Copa de Campeones finals before, Boca have played in nine Libertadores/Copa de Campeones finals, winning six (1977,1978,2000,2001,2003 and2007) and losing three (1963,1979 and2004). The two clubs have met each other twice in Americas before, with Boca winning 4–2 on aggregate in the round of 16 of the1991 Copa Libertadores, and in the group stage of the2000 Copa Mercosur, with Boca victory 3–0 in Buenos Aires, and a 2–2 draw in São Paulo (as Boca progressed in the competition – would be later eliminated byAtlético Mineiro in quarter-finals -, Corinthians was eliminated in this stage).
| Boca Juniors | Round | Corinthians | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Venue | Score | Opponent | Venue | Score | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bye | First stage | Bye | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Zamora | Away | 0–0 | Second stage | Deportivo Táchira | Away | 1–1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fluminense | Home | 1–2 |  Nacional | Home | 2–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arsenal | Away | 1–2 |  Cruz Azul | Away | 0–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arsenal | Home | 2–0 | Cruz Azul | Home | 1–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fluminense | Away | 0–2 | Nacional | Away | 1–3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Zamora | Home | 2–0 | Deportivo Táchira | Home | 6–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Group 4 runner-up
| Group 6 winner
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Unión Española | Home | 2–1 | Round of 16 |  Emelec | Away | 0–0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Away | 2–3 | Home | 3–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fluminense | Home | 1–0 | Quarterfinals | Vasco da Gama | Away | 0–0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Away | 1–1 | Home | 1–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Universidad de Chile | Home | 2–0 | Semifinals | Santos | Away | 0–1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Away | 0–0 | Home | 1–1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The final is played overtwo legs; home and away. The higher seeded team plays the second leg at home. The team that accumulates the most points —three for a win, one for a draw, zero for a loss— after the two legs is crowned the champion. Should the two teams be tied on points after the second leg, the team with the bestgoal difference wins. If the two teams have equal goal difference, theaway goals rule is not applied, unlike the rest of the tournament.Extra time is played, which consists of two 15-minute halves. If the tie is still not broken, apenalty shootout ensues according to theLaws of the Game.[12]
| Boca Juniors | 1–1 | Corinthians |
|---|---|---|
Roncaglia 72' | Report | Romarinho 84' |
          Boca Juniors |   Corinthians |
|  |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[13] |
| Corinthians | 2–0 | Boca Juniors |
|---|---|---|
| Emerson 53',72' | Report |
Corinthians | Boca Juniors |
|  |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[13] |
| Copa Libertadores de América 2012 Champion |
|---|
 Corinthians First Title |
