The Copa Libertadores has not been a particularly pleasant tournament for Peruvian clubs in recent seasons. Since 2013, no League 1 team has been able to get past the group stage of the continental tournament despite participating multiple times. This is the case for teams like Alianza Lima, Sporting Cristal and Melgar, who qualified for the 2023 edition and will try to break the streak of bad luck this season to justify themselves from their previous disastrous campaigns.
However, the truth is that although the current panorama seems bleak, it was not uncommon to find bad presentations by Peruvian casts already between the 70’s and 80’s. In fact, up to three of them left the tournament without points during that time.
Regarding this last point, the Victorians, Rimensians and Arequipeños were not spared either, because sometimes they did not have to add a unit. For this reason it is their duty to take personal revenge and leave a good image, although they will not have it easy as they will face true monsters of the continent such as Athletico Paranaense, Atlético Mineiro, River Plate, Olimpia and Atlético Nacional .
Alianza Lima, the first Peruvian without points in a Libertadores
The first time an Inca club had the sad fate of scoring zero points in the group stage of a Copa Libertadores was in 1979. On that occasion, the ‘convict’ was. lima alliance, who earned their place as champions of Peru’s First Division in 1978.
At that time the competition was held by bringing together the two representatives of the same country with the two representatives of another confederation. The familiars had to share an area with each other University, Guarani j Palm trees (those last two from Brazil) against whom they’ve lost all their matches, conceding 20 goals and converting only five.
The blue and white ordeal began in Lima, where they were successively beaten first by their classic rival (3-6) and then by Bugre (0-3). He lost his third game, also on Peruvian soil, against Verdao 4-2, as well as the fourth and last game, which he played against U (0-1) in Peru. In Brazil, Guaraní beat him again 2-0, while Palmeiras was his final executioner, giving him a final 4-0.
The U’s 6-3 victory over Alianza Lima for the Libertadores in 1979 was dubbed “Matutazo” by the press. Photo: University
Peruvian clubs who scored zero points in Libertadores
In total, five Peruvian football teams finished their participation in a Copa Libertadores group stage with zero points. These are the editions it happened in and the rivals they faced.
- Alianza Lima: Libertadores Cup 1979 (vs Guaraní FC, University and Palmeiras)
- Urban Sport: Copa Libertadores 1982 (vs Olimpia, Melgar and Sol de América)
- Sport Boys: Copa Libertadores 1985 (vs El Nacional, Universitario and 9 de Octubre)
- Sporting Cristal: Copa Libertadores 2002 (vs Monarcas Morelia, Nacional de Uruguay and Vélez Sarsfied)
- Alliance Lima: Libertadores Cup 2007 (vs Necaxa, Sao Paulo and Italy’s Audax)
- FBC Melgar: Copa Libertadores 2016 (vs Atlético Mineiro, Colo Colo and Independiente del Valle).