In 2003, Cienciano won the Copa Sudamericana beating Argentinian club River Plate, and then proceeded to beat Latin American powerhouse Boca Juniors ( Also from Argentina ) in the Recopa Sudamericana played in Miami.

They reached the quarterfinals of the Copa Sudamericana in 2005 and the semifinals of the Copa CONMEBOL and Copa Mercosul in 1994 and 2001.

It is also one of the most successful clubs in Brazilian football in terms of overall titles, having won 21 state titles, six Brasileirão titles, three Copa Libertadores titles, one Supercopa Sudamericana, one Copa CONMEBOL, two Recopa Sudamericanas, two Intercontinental Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup.

The club's most consistent spell of success came in the 1990s, under coach Telê Santana, when it won three state titles, one national championship, two Copa Libertadores, two Recopa Sudamericanas, two Intercontinental Cups, one Supercopa Sudamericana, one Copa CONMEBOL, one Copa Masters CONMEBOL.

Other international titles include the 2007 Recopa Sudamericana, the 2008 Copa Sudamericana and the 2011 Recopa Sudamericana.

After the Recopa triumph, Internacional struggled to refill the ranks left after the triumphant generation of 2006 ; the club finished in 11th place in the Série A, which was barely enough to allow Internacional to participate in the 2008 Copa Sudamericana.

In the same year, Internacional won the Copa Sudamericana, beating Argentine side Estudiantes de La Plata, becoming the first Brazilian winners of the trophy.

Internacional repeated the Copa Sudamericana title ; finished in a much-improved 6th place in the national league ; retained their state title ; reached the finals of the Copa do Brasil ( the best finish the club has had since 1999 ); and won the Suruga Bank tournament.

In that stage, Internacional faced reigning champions Estudiantes, in a rematch of the 2008 Copa Sudamericana Finals.

That, along with Fred's recovery from a serious injury and substantial support from the fans, allowed not only a sensational escape from relegation, but also placed Fluminense in the final of the Copa Sudamericana.

After so many years without be champion of a important competition, Vasco da Gama won the Copa do Brasil against Coritiba after a epic finals, ranked 2nd on 2011 Brazilian Série A with a excellent campaign and was a semifinalist of the Copa Sudamericana, a competition that eliminated Palmeiras, Aurora and Universitario ( the two latter in historic victories ) before being eliminated from the Universidad de Chile in a confrontation that brought together, for many, the two best teams in South America at the time.

After 22 years out of an international competitions, Bahia returned in 2012 as they qualified to the Copa Sudamericana.

In 2006 Clube Atlético Paranaense had a good performance in the Copa Sudamericana, reaching the semifinals after defeating high-profile teams like Argentina's River Plate and Uruguay's Nacional.

* December 17 – Boca Juniors defeats Bolívar 2-1 on aggregate to win the Copa Sudamericana final in Buenos Aires

Atlético Mineiro won one Brazilian championship in 1971, and has also won two CONMEBOL Cups ( nowadays called Copa Sudamericana ) and 40 State Championships.

The 1961 Copa Libertadores champion.

Peñarol has won the Copa America twice and the Copa Libertadores three times, matching with its rival Nacional, that is also three times world champion.

In 1960, Peñarol qualified as a champion of the Uruguayan championship in 1959, to the then newly created Champions Cup of America ( current Copa Libertadores ), competition that brought together the champions from seven countries affiliated to the CONMEBOL ( although the representatives of Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela did not attend the tournament ).

The team, which plays at Jayme Cintra Stadium, was the champion of Copa do Brasil 2005 ( Cup of Brazil ).

France, 1998 FIFA World Cup winner, declined in the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup, and was replaced by Brazil, the 1998 World Cup runner-up ( and also 1997 Copa América champion ).

In the same year, the Sport Recife raises the trophy for the second time the Copa do Nordeste, this time under the command of coach Celso Roth after a tie at 2 – 2 against the Vitória-BA on Ilha do Retiro in the game of the round, that because in the first leg in Salvador, tied by 1 – 1, yet the Sport Recife champion was considered to have done better campaign over championship and comes also the end of Copa dos Campeões, losing the title to Palmeiras 2 – 1.

River Plate was eliminated from the Copa Libertadores at the hands of Flamengo and Peñarol ( which would be the champion ).

San Lorenzo also won the first edition of the Copa Sudamericana in December 2002, claiming their second international title, and getting the opportunity to play the Recopa against the Copa Libertadores champion Olimpia

The Royal Spanish Football Federation ( Real Federación Española de Fútbol ) is the national governing body and it organises La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spain national football team, current champion of the FIFA World Cup.

The club's football stadium is the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa, named after the team's former player and manager Marcelo Bielsa ( twice champion, and runner-up of one Copa Libertadores ).

On 30 July 2008, Arsenal won its second international cup, the Suruga Bank Championship, which earned to play as Copa Sudamericana champion.

Nacional also won the Copa Intercontinental in 1971, 1980 and 1988, becoming the first unbeaten three times world champion.

In addition, Nacional is the only Uruguayan team that won the Copa Interamericana ( 1972 and 1989 ) and the Recopa Sudamericana, competition in which is the first champion ( 1989 ).

For example, Copa Libertadores 2008 was represented by Apertura 2006 champion Estudiantes, Clausura 2007 champion San Lorenzo, and the three best placed teams in the combined table of Apertura 2006 and Clausura 2007.

Though Apertura 2007 was held much closer to Copa Libertadores 2008, the champion of Apertura 2007 cannot get the place because Apertura 2007 was considered to be the same season of Copa Libertadores 2008.

For example, Copa Libertadores 2009 would be represented by the Apertura 2007 champion, Clausura 2008 champion and also Apertura 2008 champion.

They loaned him out to Huachipato in 1998, then brought him back, and he became the starting goalkeeper for the club, playing in the Copa Libertadores, and winning the Apertura 2002 Championship.

Simeone's team was eliminated by São Paulo in a penalty shoot-out in the quarter-finals of the 2006 Copa Libertadores, but went on to an impressive campaign in the local league during the 2006 Apertura.

Newell's Old Boys have won the Argentine Championship five times ( Metropolitano 1974, 1987 – 88, 1990 – 91, Clausura 1992 and Apertura 2004 ) and were the runners-up of the Copa Libertadores de América twice ( 1988 and 1992 ).

Arsenal finished 5th in both the Apertura and Clausura of the 2006 – 07 season, which gave it enough points to claim a place in the Copa Libertadores 2008, the first time in their history that Arsenal qualified for South America's premier club tournament.

They were eliminated from the Copa Sudamericana in the 1st round and had three consecutive defeats in the 2008 Apertura ( Newell's 0-1, 0-2 against Lanus and Huracan 0-1 ) that finalized the blow that was seeing the team fail to secure a top spot or enter an international competition.

After an average campaign on Apertura 2011, Independiente managed to qualify for Copa Sudamericana 2012.

In the last day of the Apertura, several teams played for a spot in Copa Libertadores 2012, these teams were Tigre, Racing Club, Independiente and Godoy Cruz.

In the Clausura Oriente gained a berth to the Copa Libertadores by winning their third National Championship and the Copa Sudamericana after finishing second in the Apertura.

In the La Liga Torneo Apertura Oriente finished third place, so Oriente missed a chance to qualify for Copa Sudamericana, in the Torneo Clausura Oriente finished second and in the aggregate table Oriente and The Strongest drawn the same point so they played two games.

In 2008 Oriente finished 4th in the Apertura 2008 and not gaining the Copa Sudamericana or Copa Libertadores, but they had two more championship to be played.

In football, Lanús has won two major championships in its history: the 1996 Copa CONMEBOL and the 2007 Apertura.

The places of Copa Libertadores are allocated to the champions of Apertura and Clausura of the previous season, as well as the three best teams which have gained the highest number of points considering the combined table of Apertura and Clausura, besides the two champions.

So, champions of the Apertura have to wait for more than a year to play in the Copa Libertadores.

The champions of previous season's Apertura and Clausura, and the Apertura of the same season are also eligible to play in Copa Libertadores.