1998 Copa Mercosur
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 29 July – 29 December 1998 | 
| Teams | 20 (from 5 associations) | 
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Palmeiras (1st title) | 
| Runners-up |  Cruzeiro | 
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 75 | 
| Goals scored | 218 (2.91 per match) | 
| Top scorer(s) |  Alex  Fábio Júnior (6 goals each) | 
| 1999 →  | |
The Copa Mercosur 1998 was the first season of the Copa Mercosur, CONMEBOL's club tournament.
The competition started on 29 July 1998 and concluded on 29 December 1998 with Palmeiras beating Cruzeiro in the final.
Participants
| Country | Team | 
|---|---|
|  Argentina (6 berths) | Boca Juniors | 
| Independiente | |
| Racing | |
| River Plate | |
| San Lorenzo | |
| Vélez Sársfield | |
|  Brazil (7 berths) | Corinthians | 
| Cruzeiro | |
| Grêmio | |
| Flamengo | |
| Palmeiras | |
| São Paulo | |
| Vasco da Gama | |
|  Chile (3 berths) | Colo-Colo | 
| Universidad Católica | |
| Universidad de Chile | |
| .svg.png) Paraguay (2 berths) | Cerro Porteño | 
| Olimpia | |
|  Uruguay (2 berths) | Nacional | 
| Peñarol | 
Details
- The 20 teams were divided into 5 groups of 4 teams. Each team plays the other teams in the group twice. The top team from each group qualified for the quarter-finals along with the best 3 runners up.
- From the quarter-finals to the final, two legs were played in each round. In the result of a draw, the match was decided by a penalty shoot out.
Group stage
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  CRU |  SAN |  SAO |  COL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Cruzeiro | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 7 | +8 | 10 | Advance to Quarter-finals | — | 2–1 | 5–1 | 5–0 | |
| 2 |  San Lorenzo | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 10 | 2–1 | — | 3–2 | 3–0 | ||
| 3 |  São Paulo | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 12 | −4 | 7 | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 4 |  Colo-Colo | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 7 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | 
Source: 
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  PAL |  NAC |  IND |  UC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Palmeiras | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3 | +13 | 18 | Advance to Quarter-finals | — | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | |
| 2 |  Nacional | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 14 | −4 | 9 | 0–5 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 |  Independiente | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 15 | −3 | 6 | 0–3 | 4–3 | — | 6–2 | ||
| 4 |  Universidad de Chile | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 13 | −6 | 3 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 3–0 | — | 
Source: 
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  RAC |  OLI |  COR |  PEÑ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Racing | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 14 | Advance to Quarter-finals | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | |
| 2 |  Olimpia | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 12 | +1 | 10 | 2–4 | — | 2–2 | 4–2 | ||
| 3 |  Corinthians | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 5 | 1–2 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | ||
| 4 |  Peñarol | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 3 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | — | 
Source: 
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  VEL |  BOC |  FLA |  CER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Vélez Sársfield | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 11 | Advance to Quarter-finals | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| 2 |  Boca Juniors | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 9 | 0–1 | — | 3–0 | 3–1 | ||
| 3 |  Flamengo | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 9 | 2–0 | 0–2 | — | 2–0 | ||
| 4 |  Cerro Porteño | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 13 | −4 | 5 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2–3 | — | 
Source: 
Group E
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  RIV |  VAS |  GRE |  CAT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  River Plate | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 9 | Advance to Quarter-finals | — | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | |
| 2 |  Vasco da Gama | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 9 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 |  Grêmio | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 9 | +1 | 7 | 2–3 | 1–0 | — | 5–1 | ||
| 4 |  Universidad Católica | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 6 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 
Source: 
Ranking of second placed teams
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A |  San Lorenzo | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 10 | Advance to Quarter-finals | 
| 2 | C | .svg.png) Olimpia | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 12 | +1 | 10 | |
| 3 | D |  Boca Juniors | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 9 | |
| 4 | E |  Vasco da Gama | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 9 | |
| 5 | B |  Nacional | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 14 | −4 | 9 | 
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) points in all group matches; 2) total goal differential; 3) total goals scored; 4) lots drawn by CONMEBOL.
Rules for classification: 1) points in all group matches; 2) total goal differential; 3) total goals scored; 4) lots drawn by CONMEBOL.
Quarter-finals
First leg
| River Plate  | 1–2 |  Cruzeiro | 
|---|---|---|
| Gallardo  78' (pen.) | Marcelo  32' Fábio Júnior  71' | 
| Vélez Sársfield  | 3–4 |  Olimpia | 
|---|---|---|
| Husaín  19' Pandolfi  70' Bassedas  74' | Caballero  27' González  55' Santa Cruz  65' Paredes  89' | 
| San Lorenzo  | 0–0 |  Racing | 
|---|---|---|
Second leg
| Boca Juniors  | 1–1 |  Palmeiras | 
|---|---|---|
| Palermo  58' | Alex  80' | 
Palmeiras won 4–2 on aggregate.
| Cruzeiro  | 2–0 |  River Plate | 
|---|---|---|
| Fábio Júnior  36' Gilberto  83' | 
Cruzeiro won 4–1 on aggregate.
| Olimpia  | 2–1 |  Vélez Sársfield | 
|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz  24'  40' | Camps  65' | 
Olimpia won 6–4 on aggregate.
| Racing  | 1–1 |  San Lorenzo | 
|---|---|---|
| Delgado  71' (pen.) | Acosta  75' | 
1–1 on aggregate. San Lorenzo won 2–0 on penalties.
Semi-finals
First leg
| Cruzeiro  | 1–0 |  San Lorenzo | 
|---|---|---|
| Alex Alves  19' | 
Second leg
Match abandoned after 69 minutes due to crowd trouble. Result allowed to stand. Palmeiras won 3–0 on aggregate.
| San Lorenzo  | 1–1 |  Cruzeiro | 
|---|---|---|
| Basavilbazo  38' | Djair  63' | 
Cruzeiro won 2–1 on aggregate.
Final
First leg
| Cruzeiro  | 2–1 |  Palmeiras | 
|---|---|---|
| Marcelo  21' Fábio Júnior  90' (pen.) | Roque Júnior  44' | 
Second leg
| Palmeiras  | 3–1 |  Cruzeiro | 
|---|---|---|
| Cléber  7' Oséas  54' Paulo Nunes  89' | Fábio Júnior  2' (pen.) | 
Play Off
| Palmeiras  | 1–0 |  Cruzeiro | 
|---|---|---|
| Arce  62' | 
Referee: Luciano Almeida
| Copa Mercosur 1998 Winner | 
|---|
|   | 
| Palmeiras First Title |