How did Sao Paulo change in the Libertadores 30 years ago

Zeti recalls a crowded Morumbi memory in a way he’s never seen before.

“If someone told me that there were 200,000 people in the stadium that night, I would believe them. It was crowded,” the goalkeeper recalls.

The audience was smaller than that, but still unimaginable these days. The Sao Paulo They won their first Libertadores championship 30 years ago in front of 105,300 people against Newell’s Old Boys.

An achievement in the club’s history and has repercussions in Brazilian football. It was the moment when the South American Championship became an obsession for teams in the country. Until 1992, this was not the case.

“I remember that we were knocked out in the group stage in 1987. Nobody paid attention. The teams, with the exception of one or two, did not get along well in the Libertadores and did not care much. The former striker Carica, the team’s Sao Paulo champion in 1985 and 1987 and the Brazilian in 1986, says, It’s since that Sao Paulo title in 1992 that things have changed.

Until then, Brazil had won the main South American championship with Santos (1962 and 1963), Cruzeiro (1976), Flamengo (1981) and Gremio (1983). He started playing Libertadores in 1960.

Before São Paulo, the country was seven years without any team being put into the decision. Grêmio lost the final to Independiente in 1984. Internacional’s best campaign was then eliminated in the 1989 semi-finals by Olympia. Of the 14 Brazilian actors between 1985 and 1991, eight fell into the group stage.

At that time, the Brazilian runner-up or winner of the Nacional and Copa do Brasil (from 1990 onwards) competed for the trophy.

“If you notice, after this title that we got, teams from Brazil began to evaluate the Libertadores much more and started a golden stage for the country. It all started in 1992 “, said defender Antonio Carlos Zago, at the time of Sao Paulo.

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In fact, from 1992 to 2000, Brazil did not put a team in the final in 1996. They won with Sao Paulo (1992 and 1993), Gremio (1995), Cruzeiro (1997), Vasco (1998) and Palmeiras (1999).

In the 1960s, Santos twice gave up competition in the Libertadores to tour abroad. São Paulo itself, in 1974, lost the final to Independiente, but to the fans, the team regained itself the following year with a Paulista victory, which was considered the most important tournament.

“I scored a lot because it was one of the Libertadores games in which we had dramatic moments and won the title at home with an Argentine team. I think it might have highlighted the importance of the Libertadores beginning a golden era for Sao Paulo, for the other teams”, assesses defender Ronaldo.

Tricolor finished second in their group, overtaking Nacional (URU) in the round of 16, and battling against Criciúma in the quarter-finals and eliciting Barcelona (EQU) in the semi-finals before facing Newell’s Old Boys led by Marcelo Bielsa who had Mauricio Pochettino at full-back. .

It was an address that was also in memory for not being on Globo. The rights were bought by Rede OM, a broadcaster from Paraná that is now extinct, but he hired Galvão Bueno.

“It’s a very special title for me. There was a penalty kick from Ray (in the original time), and the fans swept the field at the end. It was an unforgettable moment. And the clubs that came after us wanted to repeat it,” says attacking midfielder Balinha. .

“It was a much more difficult time to go to the Libertadores. We went because we won the Brazilian Championship in 1991. If I had lost the final to Bragantino, I would not have gone. Today eight teams qualify,” Zitti continues.

For various reasons, the conquest of São Paulo 30 years ago began a phase of domination of national football on the continent. Until then, Argentina had 15 titles, 10 more than the Brazilians.

Starting with the first Sao Paulo Cup, Brazil has won 15 times and the Argentines 10.