Copa Interamericana

The Copa Interamericana (English: Interamerican Cup) was an annual club football competition organized by the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL) since 1969. It was discontinued in 1998 after CONCACAF clubs, particularly those from Mexico, began participating in CONMEBOL competitions. The Interamerican Cup was founded as a result of the refusal from CONMEBOL and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) of allowing CONCACAF clubs, as well as those from other confederations, to participate in the European/South American Cup, later known as the Toyota Cup and informally called the Intercontinental Cup.

Copa Interamericana
Interamerican Cup
The trophy given to champions
Organising bodyCONCACAF & CONMEBOL
Founded1968
Abolished1998 (1998)
RegionNorth America
South America
Number of teams2
Related competitionsCopa Libertadores
CONCACAF Champions League
Last champions D.C. United
(1st title)
Most successful club(s) Independiente
(3 titles)

The competition was supposed to be contested between the winners of the North American CONCACAF Champions Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores tournaments although the participants have varied at times. The format of the competition was extremely sporadic. From its formation, the competition was usually contested over a two legged tie, with a playoff if necessary until 1968, and penalty kicks later. However, it was common for several consecutive editions to go undisputed. Of the 18 competitions played, four of them were disputed over several matches in just one venue. Two others were held in a single match. Another two editions had participants that had not qualified outright to dispute the competition. Most of the editions were disputed one, and sometimes two, years after the participants had qualified to dispute it. This was the result of the lack of financial incentives and the low relevance of the competition[1] usually view with little appeal from the South American teams (unlike the Intercontinental Cup, which was considered a club world cup until 2004).[2][3] The 18 Interamerican Cup tournaments were won by 13 club teams. Argentine side Independiente won a record three titles. The last winner of the cup was American side D.C. United, defeating Brazilian side Vasco da Gama 2-1 on aggregate in 1998. Argentina was the most successful national league with seven titles, while Uruguayan outfit Nacional and Independiente share the record for the most appearances with three each.

History

In 1969, an agreement came between the confederations of South America (CONMEBOL) and Central and North America (CONCACAF) to dispute an annual competition, the Interamerican Cup, which pitted the champions of those two confederations in a format similar to the Intercontinental Cup. The first edition was disputed between Estudiantes and Mexican club Toluca in which each team won 2-1 in their away legs. The playoff in Montevideo proved to be the tie-breaker as Estudiantes won a violent match 2-0. This promising start did little to help the competition; due to the difference in interests between the clubs involved, the Interamerican Cup had an even more sporadic lifeline than the more prestigious Intercontinental Cup; sometimes, years would go without it being played. The second edition was played four years later, in 1971, which saw Nacional edge Mexican side Cruz Azul 3-2 on aggregate. Independiente would become the only club to win the competition three times in a row, from 1972 to 1974, after seeing off Honduran club Olimpia, Guatemalan club Municipal and Mexican side Atlético Español, the last two after a penalty shoot-out. Mexico's América broke the South American hegemony after beating Boca Juniors in a play-off match in 1977. As a result of this victory, the Mexican squad argued that it had the right to participate in the Intercontinental Cup of that year; however, they were denied the opportunity. Paraguay's Olimpia returned the trophy back south in 1980 with a victory over El Salvador's FAS but Club Universidad Nacional of Mexico City defeating Uruguay's Nacional to win CONCACAF's second title.

The competition entered a state of hiatus again, this time for five years. In 1986, Argentinos Juniors would defeat Defence Force of Trinidad and Tobago in a single-match final. River Plate would keep the trophy in Argentina, for the second year running, defeating Costa Rican side Alajuelense. Uruguay's Nacional would trounce Honduras' Olimpia 5-1 on aggregate the following year. Colombia's Atlético Nacional made short work of Club Universidad Nacional; however, South America hegemony would once again be broken by América after defeating Paraguay's Olimpia. Compatriots Puebla failed to retain the trophy in Mexico after being routed by Chile's Colo-Colo. The importance of the competition decreased significantly after two Brazilian clubs, Copa Libertadores winners São Paulo (1993) and Grêmio (1995) declined to participate out of disinterest; both times, the Copa Libertadores runners-up, Chilean side Universidad Católica and Atlético Nacional took their place; each of them were pushed to the limit by Costa Rica's Saprissa. Vélez Sársfield beat Costa Rican club Cartaginés in 1994 while the last Interamerican Cup, held in 1998, saw American club D.C. United beat Vasco da Gama.

The Interamerican Cup was abolished in 1998 when Mexican clubs began to participate in the Copa Libertadores and other CONCACAF teams participated in the Copa Sudamericana. Since 2000, when FIFA adopted the Club World Championship format clash between the champions of all continental confederations, the champions of CONCACAF and CONMEBOL again have the opportunity to meet.

Winners

Key
Match decided by a penalty shootout after extra time *
Match playoff

Finals
Year Country Winner Agg/Score Runner-up Country 1st leg 2nd leg Playoff
1969  ARG Estudiantes 3–3 Toluca MEX2–11–23–0
1972  URU Nacional 3–2 Cruz Azul MEX1–12–1—
1973  ARG Independiente 4–1 Olimpia HON2–12–0—
1974  ARG Independiente 1–1* Municipal GUA1–00–1—
1976  ARG Independiente 2–2* Español MEX2–20–0—
1978  MEX América 1–3† Boca Juniors ARG0–31–02–1 (a.e.t.)
1980  PAR Olimpia 8–3 FAS SLV3–35–0—
1981  MEX UNAM 4–4 Nacional URU3–11–32–1
1986  ARG Argentinos Juniors 1–0 Defence Force TRI 1–0 ——
1987  ARG River Plate 3–0 Alajuelense CRC0–03–0—
1989  URU Nacional 5–1 Olimpia HON1–14–0—
1990  COL Atlético Nacional 6–1 UNAM MEX2–04–1—
1991  MEX América 3–2 Olimpia PAR1–12–1—
1992  CHI Colo-Colo 7–2 Puebla MEX4–13–1—
1994  CHI Universidad Católica 6–4 Saprissa CRC1–35–1 (a.e.t.)—
1996  ARG Vélez Sársfield 2–0 Cartaginés CRC0–02–0—
1997  COL Atlético Nacional 3–2 Saprissa CRC 3–2 ——
1998  USA D.C. United 2–1 Vasco da Gama BRA0–12–0—

Statistics

By team
Team Winner Runner-up Years won Years runner-up
Independiente301973, 1974, 1976
Nacional211972, 19891981
América201978, 1991
Atlético Nacional201990, 1997
Olimpia1119801991
UNAM1119811990
Estudiantes101969
Argentinos Juniors101986
River Plate101987
Colo-Colo101992
Universidad Católica101994
Vélez Sársfield101996
D.C. United101998
Olimpia021973, 1989
Saprissa021994, 1997
Toluca011969
Cruz Azul011972
Municipal011974
Atlético Español011976
Boca Juniors011978
FAS011980
Defence Force011986
Alajuelense011987
Puebla011992
Cartaginés011996
Vasco da Gama011998

By nation
Nation Winners Runners-Up Winning Clubs Runners-Up
 Argentina 7 1 Independiente (3), Argentinos Juniors (1), Estudiantes (1), River Plate (1), Vélez Sársfield (1) Boca Juniors (1)
 Mexico 3 5 América (2), UNAM (1) Español (1), Cruz Azul (1), Puebla (1), UNAM (1), Toluca (1)
 Uruguay 2 1 Nacional (2) Nacional (1)
 Chile 2 0 Colo-Colo (1), Universidad Católica (1)
 Colombia 2 0 Atlético Nacional (2)
 Paraguay 1 1 Olimpia (1) Olimpia (1)
 United States 1 0 D.C. United (1)
 Costa Rica 0 4 Alajuelense (1), Cartaginés (1), Saprissa (2)
 Honduras 0 2 Olimpia (2)
 Brazil 0 1 Vasco da Gama (1)
 El Salvador 0 1 FAS (1)
 Guatemala 0 1 Municipal (1)
 Trinidad and Tobago 0 1 Defence Force (1)

By confederation
Confederation Winners Runners-Up Winning Nations Runners-Up
CONMEBOL 14 4 Argentina (7), Chile (2), Colombia (2), Uruguay (2), Paraguay (1) Argentina (1), Brazil (1), Paraguay (1), Uruguay (1)
CONCACAF 4 14 Mexico (3), United States (1) Mexico (5), Costa Rica (4), Honduras (2), El Salvador (1), Guatemala (1), Trinidad and Tobago (1)
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References
  1. "COPA INTERAMERICANA: A 45 AÑOS" (Press release). pasionfulbo.net. November 2011.
  2. "Copa Interamericana de Futebol" (Press release). woesporte.blogspot.com. August 2013.
  3. "Goodbye Toyota Cup, hello FIFA Club World Championship" (Press release). fifa.com. December 2004. Archived from the original on 2011-04-30.
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