1992 CONMEBOL Libertadores champions

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·17 de junio de 2026

1992 CONMEBOL Libertadores champions

June 17, 1992, will never fade from the memory of Tricolor supporters. It was on that date, at MorumBIS, that São Paulo beat Argentina’s Newell’s Old Boys on penalties (3–2) and won the CONMEBOL Libertadores for the first time—a feat it 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 decision to a penalty shootout. Gamboa’s kick, saved by Zetti, sealed the unprecedented title and sparked celebrations among the huge crowd at MorumBIS, which invaded the pitch to celebrate alongside their idols and mark an unforgettable night.

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São Paulo’s eternal No. 10, Raí, lifted the Libertadores trophy and crowned the team’s dedication, after they had battled on the field to win another title for the club. The São Paulo fans’ celebration took over the city that never stops, but which had to slow its frantic pace to watch the parade of champions and enthusiastic supporters. The celebration involving 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. Coach Telê Santana did not think highly of the tournament, long 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 if Tricolor had to pay the costs of the procedure). After those political and internal challenges, the altitude of the Andes was the next obstacle, overcome thanks to the technical and scientific development of the coaching staff, led 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 them), and then, after Barcelona of Guayaquil, the grand final against the Argentine side coached by ‘El Loco’ Bielsa, Newell’s Old Boys.

In the first leg of the final, a defeat by the narrowest of margins. Full confidence for the return leg in a boiling MorumBIS. Ruthless, the Tricolor side, captained by Raí, gave the Argentines no mercy, though they still resisted, even clearing one effort off the line.

(art for social media in 2017)

Even under all that pressure, the Buenos Aires side only cracked in the 22nd minute of the second half, when Gamboa fouled Macedo for a penalty, one of the standout players in the Tricolor triumph. The young São Paulo prospect came on in the second half in place of Müller and, with his very first involvement, won the penalty that Raí converted to give São Paulo the victory and send the match to a shootout.

The shootout was uneven. The Argentines relied only on their players, while São Paulo had two more people involved. Goalkeeping coach Valdir de Moraes had studied the opponents’ penalty-taking habits, and reserve goalkeeper Alexandre passed the information to Zetti during the shootout.

Berizzo missed. Raí scored again. Zamora beat Zetti, but Ivan converted too. Llop equalized, and it stayed that way 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 belonged to Gamboa. Zetti was magnificent. He dove to the left and, with his opposite 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 pushes forward down the right, getting past his marker, and crosses. Pocchetino clears in the six-yard box with a header for a corner.
5 min. Cafu is played through to 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 after another hard challenge on Cafu, at the edge of the penalty area.
7 min. Cafu takes the free kick straight at goal and nearly fools goalkeeper Scoponi, who tips it out for a corner.
11 min. Nice combination 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 whistles just past the post.
14 min. Antônio Carlos wins the ball in midfield, drives forward and passes to Müller, who controls it, takes a few steps back and lays it off first-time to Raí, who lifts it into the box for the same Antônio Carlos, who started the move, now one-on-one with the keeper. 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 advances and beats two defenders one by one, then cuts the ball back to the center, near the edge of the box, for Palhinha, who is fouled by Gamboa.
16 min. From the set piece, Pintado rolls the ball to Ivan, who strikes it hard and low. 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, and he hits it first-time at goal. The ball goes just wide, low and close to the goalkeeper’s left post.
22 min. A poor restart by Zetti is intercepted and falls to striker Zamora, who gets past Ivan and hits the left post of the São Paulo goalkeeper.
22 min. Right after that, Newell’s defense makes a mistake on a back pass and the ball falls to Müller inside the box. The São Paulo striker swings and misses twice and appeals for a penalty.
24 min. Pintado plays Cafu through the middle of the box. The full-back cannot reach it, and Scoponi collects.

25 min. Pintado wins the ball in midfield and passes to Müller, who is bumped. The ball falls to Palhinha, who backheels it back to Müller. He quickly lays it off to Raí at the penalty spot, unmarked, but he shoots wide in a huge missed chance.
29 min. Adilson drives through the middle and combines with Palhinha, who shoots from the edge of the D and hits the crossbar! On the rebound, Raí shoots over.
34 min. Lunari sends Mendoza through, and with a sliding challenge he wins the ball from Ronaldão. He crosses into the box, where Zetti comes together with Zamora. The ball then falls calmly to Ivan.
37 min. Ivan, from the left touchline near midfield, crosses into the area. Raí heads it on to Müller, who receives it after a defensive mistake. Müller shoots from inside the six-yard box, and Gamboa clears it off the line.
37 min. From the corner taken by Palhinha and flicked on by Raí at the near post, Ronaldão attempts an overhead-style effort and shoots wide, close to the goalkeeper’s right post.
40 min. The broadcast (Rede OM Gazeta) reaches a rating of 28 points, first place in TV audience.
41 min. Yellow card for Antônio Carlos.
46 min. Gamboa passes back to Scoponi outside the box, 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 claim that more than 15,000 people also jumped the turnstiles and 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. Long-range shot by Lunari. Zetti saves comfortably 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, but Zetti saves. The referee wrongly awards a goal kick.
11 min. Domizzi, who had come on at halftime, moves through the middle and passes to Mendoza, who lets the ball run without touching it, and Domizzi collects his own pass, alone at the edge of the box. Zetti rushes out to intercept but is dribbled by the striker, who shoots weakly at goal. Adilson clears it just inches from the line.
12 min. The crowd chants “grit.” In the 17th minute, the crowd chants “Macedo.”
19 min. Rede OM reaches 42 audience points.
19 min. Müller goes off, Macedo comes 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 hits 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 the ball at the edge of the box, controls, sets himself, and shoots. The ball skims wide to the goalkeeper’s right. The referee had already stopped the play.
28 min. 50 audience points! In other words, half the televisions in Brazil were tuned to the small, 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 from the left. The first is blocked by the defense; the second hits the side netting.
39 min. Palhinha passes to Cafu at the edge of the box. He controls facing goal, but gets tangled up with the defense: the ball hits his hand and the referee blows for a foul.
41 min. 53 audience points!
42 min. The substitutes rise from the bench and start urging the crowd to chant and put on pressure. Then they all go to warm up.
45 min. End of the match.

PENALTIES

Nilton Cardim – Diário Popular

The referee decides that the penalties will be taken at the goal nearest the main entrance of MorumBIS. Newell’s Old Boys take the first kick.

NEWELL’S – Berizzo. He runs up and hits it with his left foot. Zetti dives right and the ball goes the other way, but it hits the post!
SÃO PAULO – Raí. With class, he strikes with his right foot 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. With his right foot 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 with his left and with class, low down the middle; Scoponi had dived left. Goal for São Paulo, 2–1.
NEWELL’S – Llop. The Argentine hits it high and hard with his right foot, leaving no chance for Zetti, who collapses. Goal for Newell’s, 2–2.
SÃO PAULO – Ronaldão. The São Paulo defender takes it left-footed down the middle. Scoponi barely needs to move to save it. Still level, 2–2.
NEWELL’S – Mendoza. The left-footer strikes high and hard, very hard, and the ball flies way over. Newell’s miss another penalty, 2–2.
SÃO PAULO – Cafu. The São Paulo player hits it with his right foot 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 miss the next kick, Pintado will not even need to take São Paulo’s final penalty, because the title will already be decided and the trophy will stay at MorumBIS!
NEWELL’S – Gamboa. The Argentine captain strikes low with his right foot to Zetti’s left corner, but Zetti palms it away. Zetti saves! And São Paulo are champions of the 1992 Copa Libertadores de América!

(art for social media in 2017)

Right after Zetti saved Gamboa’s penalty and sealed São Paulo’s first-ever Copa Libertadores de América title, 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 gate-receipts record at the time: CR$ 1,072,490,000.00) invaded the field to celebrate alongside their idols, share the joy with fellow fans, and try to take home some memento from that unforgettable day.

The supporters took with them the nets from both goals, the corner flags, clumps of grass, chunks of dirt, parts of the players’ kits, even those of the substitutes, and even one of the benches!!! The celebration was everywhere. The players themselves seemed ecstatic with the victory. Telê cried. The excitement quickly spread throughout the city, taking over the streets, bars, and restaurants. Wherever there was a São Paulo fan, they would be there celebrating, honking horns and driving in parades, or simply rejoicing.

Raí lifted the Libertadores trophy on a platform set up beside the field. Raí told the newspaper Folha de São Paulo that his heart almost stopped when the referee awarded the penalty on Macedo that secured Tricolor’s win in regular time. “The first image that came to mind was the 1974 Libertadores, 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 eliminated América of Colombia 11–10 in that format). Alexandre, meanwhile, “called out” to Zetti from midfield how each player approached the ball.

However, all of that was only possible thanks to the timely intervention of Macedo, the young player cheered on by the crowd, who came on in the second half in place of Müller. In the striker’s very first involvement, he won the penalty that Raí converted to give São Paulo the victory and send the match to a shootout. Macedo, a bit naive, did not even know the opponent’s name. To him, they were “Boys something.” In the end, Macedo more or less admitted that although he won the penalty, he also helped the referee call it: “I was blocked and threw myself down. It was kind of a penalty,” he told the newspaper Estado de São Paulo.

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 $400,000. All the players, in fact, were rewarded with around US$10,000 each. The team’s celebration, along with the coaching staff, directors, and members, ended at Gallery. The fans’ party, meanwhile, spread to all four corners of the city, across Brazil, and has never been forgotten since—forever in the memory of São Paulo supporters and even of their rivals, who began to value the tournament more highly.

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: 3 x 2 for São Paulo

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) / 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 pens.

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

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