2008 Copa Libertadores
The 2008 Copa Libertadores de América was the 49th edition of the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL's premier annual international club tournament. This marked the first year the competition was sponsored by Spanish bank Santander. As such, the competition is officially the 2008 Copa Santander Libertadores de América for sponsorship reasons. The draw took place on December 19, 2007 in Asunción.
Ecuadorian club LDU Quito won the competition for the first time in a final decided on penalties. It is the first time a team from Ecuador has won the competition. LDU Quito earned a berth in the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup and 2009 Recopa Sudamericana.
Qualified teams
Thirty-eight teams qualified for the competition, with twenty-six teams directly qualifying to the Second Stage and twelve entering in the First Stage. Seven countries sent their Apertura champions and Clausura champions for their first two berths. The remaining berth, or berths in Argentina's case, went to the best-placed non-champions shown by an aggregate table. Brazil's league uses a European-style format and thus does not have an Apertura and Clausura tournament. Therefore, they sent their cup champion and the best four of the Brazilian Serie A. Ecuador sent the top three finishers of their national tournament as determined by the Liguilla Final. Uruguay had a Mini-League to determine who qualified, and Mexico usespecially the InterLiga to determine two of its qualifiers. The last qualified team in each country played in the First Stage; the defending champion's country had two teams in the first stage because the defending champion automatically qualified.| Association | Team | Qualification method |
 Argentina5+1 berths | Boca Juniors | 2007 Copa Libertadores champion |
| Argentina 5+1 berths | Estudiantes | 2006 Apertura champion |
| Argentina 5+1 berths | San Lorenzo | 2007 Clausura champion |
| Argentina 5+1 berths | River Plate | 2006–07 Primera División best-placed non-champion |
| Argentina 5+1 berths | Arsenal | 2006–07 Primera División 2nd best-placed non-champion |
| Argentina 5+1 berths | Lanús | 2006–07 Primera División 3rd best-placed non-champion |
 Bolivia3 berths | Real Potosí | 2007 Apertura champion |
| Bolivia 3 berths | San José | 2007 Clausura champion |
| Bolivia 3 berths | La Paz | 2007 Apertura and Clausura Runners-up Playoff winner |
 Brazil5 berths | São Paulo | 2007 Série A champion |
| Brazil 5 berths | Santos | 2007 Série A runner-up |
| Brazil 5 berths | Flamengo | 2007 Série A 3rd place |
| Brazil 5 berths | Fluminense | 2007 Copa do Brasil champion |
| Brazil 5 berths | Cruzeiro | 2007 Série A 5th place |
 Chile3 berths | Colo-Colo | 2007 Apertura & 2007 Clausura champion |
| Chile 3 berths | Universidad Católica | 2007 Apertura runner-up |
| Chile 3 berths | Audax Italiano | Best-placed team in the 2007 Clausura First Stage |
 Colombia3 berths | Atlético Nacional | 2007 Apertura & 2007 Finalización champion |
| Colombia 3 berths | Cúcuta Deportivo | 2007 season best-placed non-champion |
| Colombia 3 berths | Boyacá Chicó | 2007 season 2nd best-placed non-champion |
 Ecuador3 berths | LDU Quito | 2007 Serie A champion |
| Ecuador 3 berths | Deportivo Cuenca | 2007 Serie A runner-up |
| Ecuador 3 berths | Olmedo | 2007 Serie A 3rd place |
 Paraguay3 berths | Sportivo Luqueño | 2007 Apertura champion |
| Paraguay 3 berths | Libertad | 2007 Clausura champion |
| Paraguay 3 berths | Cerro Porteño | 2007 Primera División best-placed non-champion |
 Peru3 berths | Universidad San Martín | 2007 Decentralizado champion |
| Peru 3 berths | Coronel Bolognesi | 2007 Decentralizado champion |
| Peru 3 berths | Cienciano | 2007 Decentralizado best-placed non-champion |
 Uruguay3 berths | Danubio | 2006–07 Primera División champion |
| Uruguay 3 berths | Nacional | 2007 Liguilla Pre-Libertadores champion |
| Uruguay 3 berths | Montevideo Wanderers | 2007 Liguilla Pre-Libertadores runner-up |
 Venezuela3 berths | Caracas | 2006 Apertura champion |
| Venezuela 3 berths | Maracaibo | 2007 Clausura champion |
| Venezuela 3 berths | Mineros | 2006–07 Primera División best-placed non-finalist |
 Mexico3 invitees | Guadalajara | 2006 Apertura champion |
| Mexico 3 invitees | América | 2008 InterLiga winner |
| Mexico 3 invitees | Atlas | 2008 InterLiga runner-up |
Teams' starting round
Round and draw dates
The calendar shows the dates of the rounds and draw.| Date | Event |
| December 19, 2007 | The draw took place |
| January 29-February 12, 2008 | First stage |
| February 12-April 23, 2008 | Second stage |
| April 30-May 7, 2008 | Round of 16 |
| May 14-May 21, 2008 | Quarterfinals |
| May 28-June 4, 2008 | Semifinals |
| June 25-July 2, 2008 | Finals |
Tie breakers
Teams at every stage of the tournament will be awarded points depending on the result of a game: 3 for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss. The following criteria will be used for breaking ties on points:For the First Stage, Round of 16, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals, the fourth criteria is replaced by a penalty shoot-out if necessary. The Finals have their own set of criteria; see the finals section for more details.
First stage
The First Stage was played between January 29 and February 12. Team #1 played the second leg at home.Second stage
A total of 26 teams qualified directly to this phase and were joined by six teams from the First Stage, bringing the total to 32 teams. The top two teams from each group advanced to the Round of 16. This stage was played between February 12 and April 23.In results tables, the home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
Group 6
Group 7
Group 8
Knockout stages
The last four stages of the tournament form a single-elimination tournament, commonly known as a knockout stages. Sixteen teams advanced into the first of these stages: the Round of 16.Seeding
The 16 qualified teams were seeded according to their results in the Second Stage. The top teams from each group were seeded 1-8, with the team with the most points as seed 1 and the team with the least as seed 8. The second-best teams from each group were seeded 9-16, with the team with the most points as seed 9 and the team with the least as seed 16.BracketRound of 16The Round of 16 was played between April 29 and 30, and May 1, 6, and 8. Team #1 played the second leg at home.QuarterfinalsThe Quarterfinals were played on May 14, 15, and May 21 and 22. Team #1 played the second leg at home.SemifinalsThe Semifinals were played between May 27, 28, and June 3, 4. Team #1 played the second leg at home.Finals----
Top goalscorers |
