1997 Copa CONMEBOL finals

The 1997 Copa CONMEBOL Finals were the final two-legged tie that decided the 1997 Copa CONMEBOL, the sixth edition of Copa CONMEBOL. The finals were contested in two-legged home-and-away format between Argentina's Lanús and Atlético Mineiro from Brazil. The matches were held at the Estadio Ciudad de Lanús, in Lanús, and at the Mineirão, in Belo Horizonte.

1997 Copa CONMEBOL Finals

Event	1997 Copa CONMEBOL
Lanús Atlético Mineiro 2 5
First leg
Lanús Atlético Mineiro 1 4
Date	6 November 1997
Venue	Estadio Ciudad de Lanús, Lanús
Referee	Gustavo Gallesio (Uruguay)
Attendance	15,000
Second leg
Atlético Mineiro Lanús 1 1
Date	17 September 1997
Venue	Mineirão, Belo Horizonte
Referee	Epifanio González (Paraguay)
Attendance	35,131
← 1996 1998 →

It was Lanús's second appearance in the finals of the Copa CONMEBOL, being the defending champions, while Atlético Mineiro reached the finals for the third time. Atlético Mineiro won the tie 5–2 claiming its second title in the competition.

Background

The 1997 final was the first meeting between Atlético Mineiro and Lanús. Both sides went into the final chasing their second Copa CONMEBOL title. Lanús were the defending champions, and Atlético Mineiro had won the competition in 1992 and finished as runner-up in 1995.^[1]

Qualified teams

Team	Previous final app.
Club Atlético Lanús	1996
Atlético Mineiro	1992, 1995

• Bold indicates winning years

Route to the final

Further information: 1997 Copa CONMEBOL

Note: In all scores below, the score of the home team is given first.

Lanús			Round	Atlético Mineiro
Opponent	Venue	Score		Opponent	Venue	Score
Real Santa Cruz (won 6–1 on aggregate)	Away	1–1	First round	Portuguesa (won 4–1 on aggregate)	Away	1–4
	Home	5–0			Home	0–0
Vitória (won 3–2 on aggregate)	Away	1–0	Quarter-finals	América de Cali (won 3–2 on aggregate)	Away	1–2
	Home	3–1			Home	1–1
Colón (won 3–1 on aggregate)	Away	0–2	Semi-finals	Universitario (won 6–0 on aggregate)	Away	0–2
	Home	1–1			Home	4–0

Matches

Summary

In the first match, held in Lanús's La Fortaleza on 6 November 1997, the home team opened the scoreline with Ariel Ibagaza, but Atlético Mineiro tied before the end of the second half with Bruno. An own goal by José Serrizuela in the second half gave the Brazilians the lead, followed by two more goals by the visitors, by Hernani and Valdir (who would finish as top goalscorer in the competition). After the end of the match, Lanús's defender Oscar Ruggeri assaulted Atlético Mineiro's Jorginho, and a brawl ensued.^[2] Atlético players and staff were trapped against the fence surrounding the pitch and attacked by Lanús players and supporters. Among other injured players and staff in the confrontation, Atlético's head coach Emerson Leão had to undergo surgery after being hit in the face.^[3]

The second match was played at the Mineirão, in Belo Horizonte, on 17 December 1997. Atlético Mineiro fielded four forwards in an attempt to rout Lanús again, but the lack of midfielders in the Brazilian team allowed the Argentine one to advance.^[4] Lanús had many youngsters in the squad, but had the match was even, with an Atlético Mineiro goal by Jorginho in the first half and the equaliser by Marcelo Trimarchi in the second. There were security concerns after the brawl in the first match, but no violent incidents occurred in Belo Horizonte.^[5]

Details

First leg

Lanús	1–4	Atlético Mineiro
Ibagaza 19'		Bruno 41' Serrizuela 56' (o.g.) Hernani 60' Valdir 80'

1997 Copa CONMEBOL Final

6 November 1997

21:10 (UTC−03:00)

First leg

Estadio Ciudad de Lanús, Lanús

Attendance: 15,000

Referee: Gustavo Gallesio (Uruguay)

Lanús

At. Mineiro

GK 1 Pedro Rómoli DF 2 Juan J. Serrizuela DF 25 Oscar Ruggeri DF Gustavo Siviero DF Mariano Fernández  a' MF 8 Daniel Cravero MF 15 Juan I. Fernández MF 7 Ariel Ibagaza MF Sebastián Clotet  b' FW 11 Ariel López FW Hernan Raíces  c' Substitutes: MF Leonardo Mas  a' MF Walter Coyette  b' FW Marcelo Trimarchi  c' Manager: Mario Gómez

GK 1 Cláudio Taffarel DF 5 Bruno DF 3 Sandro Blum DF 14 Sandro Barbosa DF 6 Dedê MF 16 Edgar  a' MF 8 Doriva MF 10 Jorginho MF 22 Hernani FW 9 Marques  b' FW 7 Valdir  c' Substitutes: MF Roberto  a' MF Almir  b' FW Cairo  c' Manager: Emerson Leão

---

Second leg

Atlético Mineiro	1–1	Lanús
Jorginho 10'		Trimarchi 57'

17 December 1997

12:30 (UTC−03:00)

Second leg

Mineirão, Belo Horizonte

Attendance: 35,131

Referee: Epifanio González (Paraguay)

At. Mineiro

Lanús

GK 1 Taffarel DF 5 Bruno DF Neguete DF 14 Sandro Barbosa DF 6 Dedê MF Roberto MF 10 Jorginho MF 22 Hernani FW 9 Marques FW 8 Almir FW 7 Valdir Substitutes: MF 16 Edgar Manager: Emerson Leão

GK Rodrigo Burela DF Gabriel Ramón DF Andrés Bressán DF Mariano Fernández DF Martin Román MF 8 Daniel Cravero MF Claudio Huertas  a' MF Sebastián Clotet MF Leonardo Mas  b' FW Claudio Enría FW Marcelo Trimarchi  c' Substitutes: MF Juan Di Alessio  a' FW Silvio González  b' FW Hernan Raíces  c' Manager: Mario Gómez

See also

• 1997 Copa CONMEBOL

References

General

• Gonzalez, Miguel; Andrés, Juan Pablo; Ciullini, Pablo; Jönsson, Mikael (7 March 2013). "Copa Conmebol 1997". RSSSF. Retrieved 22 November 2016.^{[dead link‍]}
• "Brazil's Atlético Mineiro remains unbeaten through 1997's Copa Conmebol". CONMEBOL. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2016.

Specific

1. Stokkermans, Karel (15 December 1999). "Copa Conmebol". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 31 October 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
2. "Lanús, trasquilados" [Lanús, ruined]. La Nación (in Spanish). 7 November 1997. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
3. "Conmebol 1997: Relembre confusão entre jogadores do Galo e do Lanús" [Remember brawl between Galo and Lanús players]. Globoesporte.com (in Portuguese). 4 April 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
4. "Anteontem" [The day before yesterday]. Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese). 19 December 1997. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
5. "Lanús, con la frente alta" [Lanús, with their heads high]. La Nación (in Spanish). 18 December 1997. Retrieved 22 November 2016.