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 Santos FC, champions | |||||||
| Event | 1962 Copa de Campeones de América | ||||||
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| 2–2 on points Santos won after a play-off | |||||||
| First leg | |||||||
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| Date | 28 July 1962 | ||||||
| Venue | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo | ||||||
| Referee | Carlos Robles (Chile) | ||||||
| Attendance | 48,105 | ||||||
| Second leg | |||||||
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| Date | 2 August 1962 | ||||||
| Venue | Estadio Vila Belmiro, Santos | ||||||
| Referee | Carlos Robles (Chile) | ||||||
| Attendance | 18,000 | ||||||
| Play-off | |||||||
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| Date | 30 August 1962 | ||||||
| Venue | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires | ||||||
| Referee | Leo Horn (Netherlands) | ||||||
| Attendance | 60,000 | ||||||
The 1962 Copa de Campeones finals was the final series of the 1962 staging of South American football's premier club competition, the Copa de Campeones, better known today as the Copa Libertadores. The showpiece event was contested between defending champions Peñarol and Santos. Two-time winners Peñarol were appearing in their third consecutive final, whereas Santos were seeking to win the competition for the first time. Ten teams entered the competition in its third season and, due to the rules in place at the time, Peñarol received a bye into the semifinals and reached the final having won only one match in the semifinal round.
In the semi-finals, Peñarol drew 2-2 on points with classic rivals Nacional after they each won a match. A playoff was contested in order to break the tie; the match ended in a draw and Peñarol went through due to their better total goal difference. Santos breezed past the first round winning three of their matches and drawing once, while scoring an astonishing twenty goals and conceding six. The team contained incredible figures such as the fabulous Coutinho, the legendary Pelé and the great Pepe, among others. In the semifinals, the ballet blanco dispatched Universidad Católica to earn a slot in the finals. Santos would go on to dethrone Peñarol after winning the playoff 3-0 to win the coveted trophy and become the second champions of this prestigious event.[1]
The finals were played over two legs; home and away. The team that accumulated the most points —two for a win, one for a draw, zero for a loss— after the two legs would be crowned champion. Unlike the previous two editions however, should the two teams be tied on points after the second leg a playoff was at a neutral venue would become the next tie-breaker. Goal difference was going to be used as a last resort.
Santos won the first match 2–1 in Montevideo, and were needing of a draw to win their first-ever continental title. Despite winning 2–1 at half time in the second leg, Peñarol's Alberto Spencer scored an equalizer shortly after the break; in that goal, Santos goalkeeper Gilmar complained that Peñarol forward José Sasía had thrown dirt in his eyes. Two minutes later, Sasía himself scored Peñarol's third goal; several Santos players complained about a foul from Sasía on Calvet in that play, which led to confusion on the field and to supporters throwing bottles on the field; one of them hit Sasía, and other hit referee Carlos Robles, who became unconscious and stopped the match in the 51st minute. He reinstated the match more than an hour later.[2][3]
After the match was reinstated, another bottle hit linesman Domingo Massaro, and he was sent to the stadium's ambulatory. After another period of suspension, Pagão scored Santos' equalizer to make it 3–3, and after the match was over, the club celebrated their Libertadores title,[3] with Brazilian media outlets also declaring Santos as champions in the following day.[2]
After the end of the match, Robles sent a report to CONMEBOL president Raúl Colombo describing the events of the match, stating that after his unconsciousness, he was driven to the locker room, where he was surrounded by several board members of both clubs and, without assurances of his safety to continue the match, he opted for its suspension, but only returned to referee the remaining minutes of his match to "preserve his life".[3][4] Peñarol's manager Béla Guttmann left the stadium after the first suspension, after knowing that the referee had ended it.[3]
The third match was set to be played on 17 August, but was rescheduled to 30 August after Santos alleged fixture congestion due to matches of the 1962 Campeonato Paulista; in that match, CONMEBOL opted to line up Dutch referee Leo Horn.[5] Pelé, who had been injured since the 1962 FIFA World Cup, was able to return for the third match, and scored twice to lead Santos to their first-ever continental title.[6]
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