1992 CONMEBOL Libertadores champions

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São Paulo

·17 June 2026

1992 CONMEBOL Libertadores champions

June 17, 1992, is a date no Tricolor supporter can forget. It was on this day, at MorumBIS, that São Paulo defeated Argentina’s Newell’s Old Boys on penalties (3-2) and won the CONMEBOL Libertadores for the first time — an achievement the club would repeat in 1993 and 2005.

With a goal by Raí in the 22nd minute of the second half, Telê Santana’s team won 1-0 and took the final to a penalty shootout. Gamboa’s kick, saved by Zetti, sealed the unprecedented title and sparked celebrations among the huge crowd at MorumBIS, who invaded the pitch to celebrate alongside their idols and mark an unforgettable night.

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São Paulo’s eternal number 10, Raí, lifted the Libertadores trophy and crowned the team’s effort, after they battled on the field to win another title for the club. São Paulo fans took over the city that never stops, but which had to slow its frantic pace to watch the parade of champions and ecstatic supporters. The celebration of the players, coaching staff, directors, and members ended at a restaurant in the capital.

PATHS OF AMERICA

The dream, which had begun the year before with the national three-peat, almost turned into a nightmare with an unusual 3-0 defeat to Criciúma in the opening round. Manager Telê Santana did not think highly of the tournament, which for decades had been plagued by violence and doping, and fielded a mixed lineup.

However, after heavy pressure, Conmebol adopted doping control, at least in São Paulo’s matches (even though Tricolor had to pay for the procedure). After these political and internal challenges, the altitude of the Andes was the next obstacle, overcome thanks to the technical and scientific work of the coaching staff, headed in that department by Moracy Sant’Anna.

One by one, the opponents fell. San José, Bolívar, Criciúma (payback), Nacional of Montevideo, Criciúma again (they shouldn’t have provoked), and then Barcelona of Guayaquil, before the grand final against the Argentine side led by ‘El Loco’ Bielsa, Newell’s Old Boys.

In the first leg of the final, a narrow defeat. Full confidence for the return match in a boiling MorumBIS. Ruthless, the Tricolor side, captained by Raí, showed no mercy to the Argentines, who nevertheless held firm, even clearing one effort off the line.

(artwork for social media in 2017)

Even under all the pressure imposed, the team from Buenos Aires only slipped in the 22nd minute of the second half, when Gamboa fouled Macedo, one of the standout performers in the Tricolor triumph. São Paulo’s young prospect came on in the second half in place of Müller and, in his very first involvement, won the penalty that Raí converted to give São Paulo the victory and take the match to a penalty shootout.

The shootout was uneven. The Argentines had only their players in the contest, while São Paulo had two extra people involved. Goalkeeping coach Valdir de Moraes had studied how the opponents took penalties, and reserve goalkeeper Alexandre passed the information on to Zetti during the shootout.

Berizzo missed. Raí scored again. Zamora beat Zetti, but Ivan also converted. Llop equalized, and the score stayed level because Ronaldão missed. Then Mendoza returned the favor and blasted over. Cafu put São Paulo ahead, 3-2.

The last kick of the regular series would be Gamboa’s. Zetti was magnificent. He dived to the left and, with his trailing hand, pushed the ball away. It was decided. São Paulo were, for the first time, CONMEBOL Libertadores champions!

THE BEST MOMENTS OF THE FINAL

1ST HALF

1 min. Cafu breaks down the right, beats his marker, and crosses. Pocchetino clears in the six-yard box with a header for a corner.
5 min. Cafu is played in near the byline, dribbles past two opponents, and is fouled. The full-back takes it too high, and the defense clears.
6 min. Yellow card for Berti for another heavy challenge on Cafu, near the corner of the penalty area.
7 min. Cafu takes the free kick straight at goal and nearly deceives goalkeeper Scoponi, who tips it away for a corner.
11 min. Nice one-two by São Paulo. The defender gets there first, but the ball rebounds off Cafu and falls to Palhinha, who shoots at goal. The ball rises and just grazes past the post.
14 min. Antônio Carlos wins the ball in midfield, advances and plays it to Müller, who controls, takes a few steps back, and lays it off first time to Raí, who lifts it into the area for Antônio Carlos himself, face-to-face with the goalkeeper. The referee stops play, believing the São Paulo defender had controlled the ball with his hand.
15 min. Raí starts the move in midfield, passes to Cafu on the right, who drives forward and beats two defenders one by one, then cuts the ball back to the top of the area for Palhinha, who is fouled by Gamboa.
16 min. From the set piece, Pintado rolls the ball to Ivan, who strikes low and hard. It takes a deflection and goes out for a corner.
17 min. After the corner is partially cleared, the ball falls to Cafu outside the box, who shoots directly at goal. The shot goes just wide, rolling close to the goalkeeper’s left post.
22 min. A poor clearance by Zetti is intercepted, and the ball falls for striker Zamora, who beats Ivan and hits the left post of the São Paulo goalkeeper.
22 min. Shortly afterward, Newell’s defense also makes a mistake on a back pass, and the ball falls to Müller in the box. The São Paulo striker swings and misses twice and appeals for a penalty.
24 min. Pintado sends Cafu through the middle of the area. The full-back cannot reach it, and Scoponi gathers.

25 min. Pintado wins the ball in midfield and passes to Müller, who tussles for it. The ball falls to Palhinha, who backheels it to Müller. He quickly lays it off to Raí on the penalty spot, alone, but he shoots wide in a huge missed chance.
29 min. Adilson advances through the middle, combines with Palhinha, who shoots from the edge of the area and hits the crossbar! On the rebound, Raí fires over.
34 min. Lunari plays in Mendoza, who slides in to win the ball from Ronaldão. He crosses into the box, where Zetti challenges Zamora. The ball falls calmly to Ivan.
37 min. Ivan, from the left touchline around midfield, crosses into the area. Raí heads it on to Müller, who receives after a defensive mistake. Müller shoots from inside the six-yard box, and Gamboa clears off the line.
37 min. From the corner taken by Palhinha and flicked on by Raí at the near post, Ronaldão attempts an overhead kick and sends it wide, close to the goalkeeper’s right post.
40 min. The broadcast (Rede OM Gazeta) reaches 28 rating points, first place in the TV ratings.
41 min. Yellow card for Antônio Carlos.
46 min. Gamboa plays back to Scoponi outside the area. Palhinha challenges the goalkeeper, but the ball goes out for a throw-in.
47 min. End of the first half.

Official revenue and attendance announced: CR$ 1,072,490,000.00 in gross receipts from a paying crowd of 105,185. Unofficial sources say more than 15,000 people jumped the turnstiles and also watched the match, in addition to a huge crowd outside the stadium and in the surrounding area.

2ND HALF

3 min. Yellow card for Elivélton in São Paulo’s attacking half.
4 min. Shot by Lunari from outside the box. Zetti saves easily in the middle of the goal.
10 min. Adilson loses the ball in midfield with no pressure. Zamora receives it, advances, and shoots low toward Zetti’s left corner, and Zetti saves. The referee wrongly awards a goal kick.
11 min. Domizzi, who had come on in the second half, drives through the middle and passes to Mendoza, who lets the ball run without moving, and Domizzi gets it back himself, alone at the edge of the box. Zetti rushes out to intercept him but is dribbled by the attacker, who shoots weakly at goal. Adilson clears it just centimeters from the line.
12 min. The crowd chants “grit.” In the 17th minute, the crowd chants “Macedo.”
19 min. Rede OM reaches 42 rating points.
19 min. Müller off, Macedo on.
20 min. Cafu crosses, Palhinha cushions it, Macedo receives and is brought down in the box! Penalty!

21 min. Goal by Raí from the penalty spot! He strikes it low to the goalkeeper’s right, while the keeper dives left.
23 min. Yellow card for Pintado and for Zamora.
26 min. Raí receives it at the edge of the box, controls, sets himself, and shoots. The ball skims wide to the goalkeeper’s right. The referee had already ruled the play invalid.
28 min. 50 rating points! In other words, half the televisions in Brazil were tuned to the small and newly created Rede OM to watch Tricolor!
33 min. Yellow card for Gamboa for a foul on Macedo. Marcelo “El Loco” Bielsa, Newell’s coach, is sent off for protesting the booking.
37 min. Elivélton threatens Newell’s goal twice down the left. On the first, he is blocked by the defense; on the second, the ball hits the outside of the net.
39 min. Palhinha passes to Cafu at the edge of the box. He controls facing goal but gets tangled with the defense: the ball hits his hand and the referee blows for a foul.
41 min. 53 rating points!
42 min. The players on the bench stand up and begin urging the crowd to shout and apply pressure. Then they all go to warm up.
45 min. Full time.

PENALTIES

Nilton Cardim – Diário Popular

The referee decides the kicks will be taken at the goal near MorumBIS’s main entrance. Newell’s Old Boys take the first penalty.

NEWELL’S – Berizzo. He runs up and strikes with his left foot. Zetti dives right and the ball goes the other way, but hits the post!
SÃO PAULO – Raí. With class, he strikes right-footed at mid-height. Goalkeeper Scoponi dives the right way, to his right, but cannot reach it. Goal for São Paulo, 1-0.
NEWELL’S – Zamora. Right-footed and at mid-height, Zamora sends Zetti the wrong way as he dives left. Goal for Newell’s, 1-1.
SÃO PAULO – Ivan. The full-back strikes left-footed with class, low down the middle. Scoponi had dived left. Goal for São Paulo, 2-1.
NEWELL’S – Llop. The Argentine strikes high and hard with his right foot, giving Zetti no chance, as he goes down. Goal for Newell’s, 2-2.
SÃO PAULO – Ronaldão. The São Paulo defender strikes left-footed down the middle. Scoponi barely has to move to save it. Still tied, 2-2.
NEWELL’S – Mendoza. The left-footer hits it high and hard, too hard, and the ball flies well over. Newell’s miss another penalty, 2-2.
SÃO PAULO – Cafu. The São Paulo player strikes right-footed to the goalkeeper’s left, and the keeper dives the right way. The ball hits the post and goes in! Goal for São Paulo, 3-2. If Newell’s waste the next kick, Pintado will not even need to take Tricolor’s last penalty, because the title will already be decided and the trophy will stay at MorumBIS!
NEWELL’S – Gamboa. The Argentine captain strikes right-footed, low to Zetti’s left corner, and Zetti palms it away. Zetti saves it! And São Paulo are champions of the 1992 Copa Libertadores de América!

(artwork for social media in 2017)

Right after Zetti saved the penalty taken by Gamboa and sealed the first Copa Libertadores de América title in São Paulo’s history, São Paulo fans erupted in celebration. A large part of the more than 105,000 supporters at MorumBIS on the night of June 17, 1992 (a crowd that set a new national revenue record at the time: CR$ 1,072,490,000.00) invaded the field to celebrate beside their idols, party with fellow supporters, and try to grab some souvenir from this unforgettable day.

The fans took with them the nets from both goals, the corner flags, tufts of grass, chunks of earth, parts of the players’ uniforms — even from substitutes — and even one of the dugout benches!!! The party was everywhere. The players themselves seemed ecstatic with the victory. Telê cried. The excitement soon spread throughout the city, taking over the streets, bars, and restaurants. Wherever there was a São Paulo supporter, there they were celebrating, honking horns, driving in caravans, or simply partying.

Raí lifted the Libertadores Trophy on a stage set up on the side of the pitch. Raí told Folha de São Paulo newspaper that his heart almost stopped when the referee awarded the penalty on Macedo, which secured Tricolor’s victory in normal time. “The first image that came to me was the Libertadores of ’74, when São Paulo had a penalty in regular time, missed it, and lost the title. I thought to myself: history cannot repeat itself,” said the captain. Beside him, Antônio Carlos, draped in the São Paulo flag, and Zetti celebrated.

Zetti, Alexandre, and Valdir Joaquim de Moraes formed a true espionage team. Valdir had studied and noted every penalty-taking style of the Argentine kickers, who had gone through a penalty marathon in the semifinal (they beat América of Colombia 11-10 in the shootout). Alexandre then “called out” to Zetti from midfield how each player positioned himself over the ball.

Still, all of this was only possible thanks to the providential intervention of Macedo, the young player chanted on by the crowd, who came on in the second half in place of Müller. In the striker’s first involvement, he won the penalty that Raí converted to give São Paulo the victory and send the match to a shootout. Macedo, somewhat naïve, did not even know the opponent’s name. To him, it was “Boys something.” In the end, Macedo more or less admitted that although he had won the penalty, he had also helped a little to make sure the referee gave it: “I got clipped and threw myself down. It was kind of a penalty,” he told Estado de São Paulo newspaper.

Palhinha, who finished the tournament as top scorer with 7 goals, had come from América-MG on loan and after this triumph was signed permanently for 400 thousand dollars. All the players, in fact, were rewarded with around US$ 10,000 each. The celebration of the team, coaching staff, directors, and members ended at Gallery. The fans’ party, meanwhile, spread to every corner of the city, across Brazil, and has never been forgotten since — forever in the memory of São Paulo supporters and even their rivals, who began to value the tournament more.

06.17.1992 – São Paulo (Brazil)

Estádio Cícero Pompeu de Toledo – MorumBISSÃO PAULO Futebol Clube 1 x 0 Club Atlético NEWELL’S OLD BOYSOn penalties: São Paulo won 3 x 2

SPFC: Zetti, Cafu, Antônio Carlos, Ronaldão and Ivan; Adílson, Pintado and Raí ©; Muller (Macedo), Palhinha and Elivélton. Coach: Telê Santana. Goal: Raí (penalty), 22’/2

CANOB: Scoponi, Saldaña, Gamboa ©, Pocchettino and Berizzo; Llop, Berti and Martino (Domizzi); Zamora, Lunari and Mendoza. Coach: Marcelo Bielsa

Referee: José Joaquín Torres Cadenas (Colombia). Assistant 1: Jorge Zuluaga (Colombia). Assistant 2: John Redón (Colombia). Revenue: Cr$ 1,072,490,000.00. Attendance: 105,185 paid

Penalties:Berizzo – missed (post) / Raí – goalZamora – goal / Ivan – goalLlop – goal / Ronaldão – missedMendoza – missed (over) / Cafu – goalGamboa – missed (Zetti save) / Pintado (did not need to take it)

CAMPAIGN

First Stage03.06.1992 – 0 X 3 – CRICIÚMA Esporte Clube (SC)03.17.1992 – 3 X 0 – Club SAN JOSE (Bolivia)03.20.1992 – 1 X 1 – BOLÍVAR Independiente Unificada (Bolivia)04.01.1992 – 4 X 0 – CRICIÚMA Esporte Clube (SC)04.07.1992 – 1 X 1 – Club SAN JOSE (Bolivia)04.14.1992 – 2 X 0 – BOLÍVAR Independiente Unificada (Bolivia)Round of 1604.28.1992 – 1 X 0 – Club NACIONAL de Football (Uruguay)05.06.1992 – 2 X 0 – Club NACIONAL de Football (Uruguay)Quarterfinals05.13.1992 – 1 X 0 – CRICIÚMA Esporte Clube (SC)05.20.1992 – 1 X 1 – CRICIÚMA Esporte Clube (SC)Semifinals05.27.1992 – 3 X 0 – BARCELONA Sporting Club (Ecuador)06.03.1992 – 0 X 2 – BARCELONA Sporting Club (Ecuador)Finals06.10.1992 – 0 X 1 – Club Atlético NEWELL’S OLD BOYS (Argentina)06.17.1992 – 1 X 0 – Club Atlético NEWELL’S OLD BOYS (Argentina) 3 X 2 pen.

TOP SCORERSPalhinha – 7 goals *Raí – 3 goalsMüller – 2 goalsElivélton – 2 goalsAntônio Carlos – 2 goalsMacedo – 2 goalsRonaldão – 1 goalRinaldo – 1 goal

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