The 2017 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores (officially the Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores Bridgestone 2017 for sponsorship reasons) was the 58th edition of the CONMEBOL Libertadores (also referred to as the Copa Libertadores), South America's premier club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL.
Grêmio defeated Lanús in the finals by an aggregate score of 3–1 to win their third tournament title. As champions, they qualified as the CONMEBOL representative at the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, and also earned the right to play against the winners of the 2017 Copa Sudamericana in the 2018 Recopa Sudamericana. They also automatically qualified for the 2018 Copa Libertadores group stage.
Atlético Nacional were the defending champions, but they were eliminated in the group stage.
Format changes Starting from this season, the following format changes were implemented: The tournament was expanded from 38 to 47 teams. A total of ten teams eliminated from the Copa Libertadores (two best teams eliminated in the third stage of qualifying and eight third-placed teams in the group stage) were transferred to the Copa Sudamericana. The schedule of the tournament was extended to year-round so it would start in late January or early February and conclude in late November or early December.
Although CONMEBOL proposed to change the format of the final to be played as a single match at a venue to be chosen in advance, they later decided to keep the two-legged home-and-away format.
On 18 November 2016, the Liga MX president Enrique Bonilla announced that teams from Mexico would not participate in the 2017 Copa Libertadores due to the format change which put it in conflict with the Mexican league schedule. However, he left open the possibility of a return as soon as 2018 if a solution was found.
Initially CONMEBOL announced that the tournament would be expanded from 38 to 44 teams, and the additional six berths would be distributed to the Copa Sudamericana champions (which no longer occupy one of the places allocated to their association and are now allocated an additional berth), two to Brazil, and one each to Argentina, Chile and Colombia, based on commercial and sporting criteria. Following the withdrawal of teams from Mexico, CONMEBOL announced that the other six associations (Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela) would also be each allocated an additional berth, further expanding the tournament to 47 teams.
From this season, the Copa Libertadores champions (which no longer occupy one of the group stage places allocated to their association) and the Copa Sudamericana champions gained direct entries into the group stage, meaning a total of 28 teams (increased from 26) would directly enter the group stage, while the other four berths (decreased from six) would be decided by the qualifying stages. The group stage berths left vacant following the withdrawal of teams from Mexico would be redistributed to Argentina and Brazil. For the qualifying stages, a total of 19 teams (increased from 12) competed in three rounds where the four winners advanced to the group stage (initially 16 teams would compete in two rounds before further expansion following the withdrawal of teams from Mexico).
Teams The following 47 teams from the 10 CONMEBOL member associations qualified for the tournament: Copa Libertadores champions Copa Sudamericana champions Brazil: 7 berths Argentina: 6 berths All other associations: 4 berths each
The entry stage was determined as follows: Group stage: 28 teams Copa Libertadores champions Copa Sudamericana champions Teams which qualified for berths 1–5 from Argentina and Brazil Teams which qualified for berths 1–2 from all other associations Second stage: 13 teams Teams which qualified for berths 6–7 from Brazil Team which qualified for berth 6 from Argentina Teams which qualified for berths 3–4 from Chile and Colombia Teams which qualified for berths 3 from all other associations First stage: 6 teams Teams which qualified for berths 4 from Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela
AssociationTeam Entry stageQualification method ArgentinaLanús Group stage2016 Primera División championsSan Lorenzo 2016 Primera División runners-upEstudiantes 2016 Primera División 3rd placeGodoy Cruz 2016 Primera División 4th placeRiver Plate 2015–16 Copa Argentina championsAtlético Tucumán Second stage2016 Primera División 5th place BoliviaSport Boys Group stage2015 Apertura championsJorge Wilstermann 2016 Clausura championsThe Strongest Second stage2015–16 Primera División aggregate table best team not yet qualifiedUniversitario de Sucre First stage2015–16 Primera División aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified BrazilChapecoense Group stage2016 Copa Sudamericana championsPalmeiras 2016 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A championsGrêmio 2016 Copa do Brasil championsSantos 2016 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A runners-upFlamengo 2016 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 3rd placeAtlético Mineiro 2016 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 4th placeBotafogo Second stage2016 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 5th placeAtlético Paranaense 2016 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 6th place ChileUniversidad Católica Group stage2016 Clausura championsDeportes Iquique 2016 Apertura runners-upColo-Colo Second stage2016 Copa Chile championsUnión Española 2016 Primera División runners-up playoff winners ColombiaAtlético Nacional Group stage2016 Copa Libertadores championsIndependiente Medellín 2016 Apertura championsSanta Fe 2016 Finalización championsMillonarios Second stage2016 Primera A aggregate table best team not yet qualifiedJunior 2016 Primera A aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified EcuadorBarcelona Group stage2016 Serie A championsEmelec 2016 Serie A runners-upEl Nacional Second stage2016 Serie A aggregate table best team not yet qualifiedIndependiente del Valle First stage2016 Serie A aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified ParaguayLibertad Group stage2016 Primera División tournament champions with better record in aggregate tableGuaraní 2016 Primera División tournament champions with worse record in aggregate tableOlimpia Second stage2016 Primera División aggregate table best team not yet qualifiedDeportivo Capiatá First stage2016 Primera División aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified PeruSporting Cristal Group stage2016 Descentralizado championsMelgar 2016 Descentralizado runners-upUniversitario Second stage2016 Descentralizado 3rd placeDeportivo Municipal First stage2016 Descentralizado 4th place UruguayPeñarol Group stage2015–16 Primera División championsNacional 2015–16 Primera División runners-upCerro Second stage2015–16 Primera División aggregate table best team not yet qualifiedMontevideo Wanderers First stage2016 Primera División best team not yet qualified VenezuelaZamora Group stage2016 Primera División championsZulia 2016 Primera División runners-upCarabobo Second stage2016 Primera División aggregate table best team not yet qualifiedDeportivo Táchira First stage2016 Primera División aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified
Schedule The schedule of the competition was as follows. The first stage matches were played on Monday and Friday, instead of the usual midweek of Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
StageDraw dateFirst legSecond legFirst stage21 December 2016(Luque, Paraguay)23 January 201727 January 2017Second stage31 January – 2 February 20177–9 February 2017Third stage14–16 February 201721–23 February 2017Group stageRound of 1614 June 2017(Luque, Paraguay)4–6 July 20178–10 August 2017Quarterfinals12–14 September 201719–21 September 2017Semifinals24–26 October 201731 October – 2 November 2017Finals22 November 201729 November 2017
Draws
Qualifying stages
First stage
Second stage
Third stage
Copa Sudamericana qualification
Group stage
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
Group 6
Group 7
Group 8
Final stages
Seeding
Bracket
Round of 16
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals
Statistics Top scorers RankPlayerTeam Total1 José Sand Lanús 0111100101020192 Alejandro Chumacero The Strongest1111200110008 Luan Grêmio 12×00200×02001 Ignacio Scocco River Plate 1005115 Jonathan Álvez Barcelona 1×01001011×16 Lucas Barrios Grêmio 00031100010×00 Fred Atlético Mineiro 1400×1008 Matías Alonso The Strongest1200000200005 Nicolás Blandi San Lorenzo 0011100020 Juan Cazares Atlético Mineiro 00012200 Rodrigo Pimpão Botafogo011010001×0100 Fernando Zampedri Atlético Tucumán110110001×
Top assists RankPlayerTeamAssists1 Lucas Lima Santos62 Matías Alonso The Strongest5 Pablo Daniel Escobar The Strongest4 Marcos Mondaini Emelec4 Alejandro Silva Lanús6 Marcelo Bergese Jorge Wilstermann3 Diego Buonanotte Universidad Católica Rudy Cardozo Jorge Wilstermann Fernando Evangelista Atlético Tucumán José Pedro Fuenzalida Universidad Católica Julio Irrazábal Deportivo Capiatá Matheus Rossetto Atlético Paranaense Pedro Rocha Grêmio Luis Miguel Rodríguez Atlético Tucumán
Team of the tournament Pasión Fútbol selected the following 11 players as the team of the tournament. PositionPlayerTeamGoalkeeper Marcelo Grohe GrêmioDefenders Edílson Grêmio Pedro Geromel Grêmio Diego Braghieri Lanús Bruno Cortez GrêmioMidfielders Iván Marcone Lanús Leonardo Ponzio River Plate Arthur GrêmioForwards Luan Grêmio José Sand Lanús Lautaro Acosta Lanús
See also 2017 FIFA Club World Cup 2017 Copa Sudamericana 2018 Recopa Sudamericana
References
External links
CONMEBOL Libertadores Bridgestone 2017, CONMEBOL.com