Copa Sudamericana is a football tournament held annually in South America by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is considered The South American equivalent of The UEFA Cup and is The continent’s second most prestigious tournament after The Copa Libertadores.
As of now, 39 teams take part in the tournament who qualify after meeting certain criteria formed by The CONMEBOL. The tournament starts as a two-legged knockout stage after which the winners of the stage face off with other teams entering the competition.
All the ties are two-legged affairs and do not have extra time and follow the away goals rule or the goal difference. The one exception is the final in which extra time and then a penalty shoot-out is carried out.
Winners of Copa Sudamericana-From 1988-2010
Boca Juniors top the table of most Copa Sudamericana wins with 2 wins. They won the competition in 2004 and 2005. San Lorenzo, Cienciano, Pachuca, Arsenal, Internacional, LDU Quito, and Independiente have all won the tournament once.
Country-wise Argentina is the clear winner as clubs from Argentina have won the trophy a record 5 times and have finished runners up twice. Mexico has won the trophy once while they’ve also finished runners-up twice same goes for Brazil. Ecuador and Peru are the other two countries that host clubs who’ve won the tournament. Chile and Colombia have come runners up once each.
