Corinthians finally won their first Copa Libertadores with a 3-1 aggregate victory over Boca Juniors on Wednesday.
The Copa Libertadores title had eluded the Brazilian club, which has already won a FIFA Club World Cup title, five first-division titles domestically as well as 26 state championships.
The Corinthians' victory helped them end the Argentine Boca Juniors' bid to tie the all-time championship record of seven titles.
In the first leg of the championship in Argentina, the Brazilians tied the match in the 85th minute at 1-1, a score that would hold despite several Boca chances. On Wednesday, in front of a Brazilian crowd, the Corinthians added a 2-0 victory to win their first South American continental crown.
Boca looked conservative in the early going and limited the aggressive Brazilians' chances. In the 55th minute, Alex drove a free kick into the box. During the ensuing battle for possession Danilo threw a backheel pass to Emerson who scored and gave Corinthians a 1-0 lead.
That very same Emerson would double the lead in the 72nd minute when Boca Juniors defender Rolando Schiavi passed the ball right to Emerson and enabled him a free attempt that he finished easily.
After the goal, Emerson taunted Boca defenders and even bit Matias Caruzzo's finger while down on the ground. No ejections came of it as the referee missed the biting incident and Corinthians' coach Tite subbed out his star player in order to avoid putting his team's lead in jeopardy.
Corinthians won their group with 14 out of 18 points and qualified into the Knockout stage as the Number 2 seed of the tournament. They defeated Emelec in the first knockout stage with a 3-0 combined score in the two legs. In the second round they defeated Brazilian club Vasco da Gama with a 1-0 win in the second leg following a 0-0 draw.
In the semi-finals Corinthians won the first leg over Brazilian club and defending champion Santos 1-0 before tying them 1-1 in the second match. They are looking for their first ever Copa Libertadores championship and are the only top club in Sao Paulo to never win the tournament. In 13 matches, they have only allowed four goals and have not lost at home.
When Argentina and Brazil clubs have faced off in the final of the tournament, Argentine clubs have won nine of twelve finals.
Boca Juniors won four of its six matches in the group stage of the tournament and obtained 13 out of a possible 18 points. They got out of the group stage as the runner up behind Brazil's Fluminense.
In the Round of 16, they took down Chile's Union Espanola by winning both legs by a combined score of 5-3. Then they took down Fluminense in the Quarterfinals with a combined 2-1 victory in both matches. In the semi-finals, Boca Juniors took down another Chilean team, Universidad de Chile with a 2-0 win in the first leg and a 0-0 tie in the final match. They have not played in the last two Copa Libertadores, but have been impressive in this tournament. They have yet to lose any away match and their record away from home is three wins and three draws. With a win on Wednesday, Boca Juniors would tie Argentine club Independiente for the most championships at the Copa Libertadores.
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