21 years on! The unforgettable feat in São Paulo’s Libertadores treble | OneFootball

And there go 21 years since São Paulo’s last great international triumph at Morumbi. On July 14, 2005, I, along with 72,000 other supporters, packed the Tricolor stadium and celebrated the club’s third Copa Libertadores title after a 4–0 thrashing of Atlético-PR.

It is almost indescribable in words. Joy, pleasure, ecstasy, emotion, relief, euphoria, love! Those who were there will understand. And those who weren’t will too. The then “bogeyman” of the early 1990s, when Telê’s squad showed the world that there was no football better than São Paulo’s, was finally ruling South America again.

There had been 12 years of waiting since the 1993 title. I and so many other Tricolor fans had never before felt what it was like to be champions of South America. This journalist writing to you was already a São Paulo supporter, but still too young to have memories of those glories.

The Tricolor endured a tough ten years before returning to compete in our fans’ favorite tournament. The 2005 title was born from that hunger for victory built up over a decade.

The story began again in 2004. After stumbling in the quest for a spot in 1999, 2000, and 2002, São Paulo, with the third-place finish earned in the 2003 Brasileirão, finally regained the right to compete in the Copa Libertadores.

Anyone who followed the Tricolor’s journey that year suffered. The team was doing well and reached the semifinals, but was eliminated in the last minute by Once Caldas of Colombia, the eventual champion.

It left everyone wanting more. The Tricolor was not satisfied. At the end of the 2004 Brasileirão, another third-place finish in the final standings meant qualification for the international competition once again. Now it was time to be champions!

And the team found its rhythm. Three center-backs, with Mineiro and Josué bossing the midfield, alongside the excellent wing-backs Cicinho and Júnior, were joined by two stars in attack, Luizão and Amoroso—the latter arriving only in the final stretch of the competition—to provide the touch of quality that had been missing up front.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.