2009 Copa Libertadores finals

2009 Copa Libertadores finals

Players of Estudiantes celebrating the victory
Event	2009 Copa Libertadores
Estudiantes LP Cruzeiro 2 1
on points
First leg
Estudiantes LP Cruzeiro 0 0
Date	8 July 2009
Venue	Uruguay )
Second leg
Cruzeiro Estudiantes LP 1 2
Date	15 July 2009
Venue	Chile)
← 2008 2010 →

The 2009 Copa Libertadores finals was the final two-legged tie to determine the 2009 Copa Libertadores champion. It was contested by Argentine club Estudiantes de La Plata and Brazilian club Cruzeiro. The first leg of the tie was played on 8 July at Estudiantes' home field, with the second leg played on 15 July at Cruzeiro's.

Cruzeiro and Estudiantes played in their 4th and 5th Copa Libertadores finals, respectively. Cruzeiro last appearance was in 1997, in which they beat Sporting Cristal for their second title. Estudiantes returned after a 39-year absence. Their last finals appearance was in 1971, in which they lost to Uruguayan club Nacional.

Estudiantes de La Plata won the tie 4 points to 1 to earn their fourth Copa Libertadores title.^[1]

Qualified teams

Team	Previous finals app.
Estudiantes LP	1968, 1969, 1970, 1971
Cruzeiro	1976, 1977, 1997

Bold indicates winning years

Rules

Estadio Ciudad de La Plata (left) and Mineirão, venues for the series

The final will be played over two legs, each at a finalists home venue. The higher seeded team will play 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 will be crowned the champion. Unlike the previous rounds, the away-goals rule will not be used. Should the two teams be tied on points after the second leg, the team with the best goal difference will win. If the two teams have equal goal difference, extra time will be used. The extra time will consist of two 15-minute halves. If the tie is still not broken, a penalty shoot-out, consisting of a maximum of five penalties per team, will ensue according to the Laws of the Game (although it is possible to win the penalty shootout before the fifth penalty kick is taken). If there is no clear winner after the 10 penalty kicks, then a sudden-death penalty shootout will ensue.

Route to the finals

Cruzeiro qualified to the 2009 Copa Libertadores as the 3rd place team in the

Estudiantes in the First Stage

Estudiantes started this year's Copa Libertadores run in the

Group 5 of the Second Stage

Final Group 5 standings

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Cruzeiro	6	4	1	1	9	5	+4	13
Estudiantes	6	3	1	2	9	4	+5	10
Deportivo Quito	6	2	2	2	6	9	−3	8
Universitario de Sucre	6	0	2	4	2	8	−6	2

Cruzeiro was drawn into Group 5, with Estudiantes advancing into it. They were joined by the defending

As of the finals, Estudiantes has an efficacy rating of 69.05% (9 wins, 2 draws, 3 loss). Striker Mauro Boselli is currently tied as the top-scorer of the tournament, with 7 goals.

Knockout stages

summary

Cruzeiro			Estudiantes
Universidad de Chile A 2–1	Marquinhos Paraná 52'	Round of 16 First leg		Libertad H 3–0	Fernández 1' Boselli 64' (pen.), 70'
Universidad de Chile H 1–0	Kléber 74'	Second leg		Libertad A 0–0
São Paulo H 2–1	Zé Carlos 66'	Quarterfinals First leg		Defensor Sporting A 1–0	Desábato 12'
São Paulo A 2–0	Kléber 81' (pen. )	Second leg		Defensor Sporting H 1–0	Benítez 13'
Grêmio H 3–1	Fabinho 67'	Semifinals First leg		Nacional H 1–0	Galván 14'
Grêmio A 2–2	Wellington Paulista 34', 36'	Second leg		Nacional A 2–1	Boselli 52', 90+1'

Match details

First leg

Estudiantes LP	0–0	Cruzeiro
	Report