{{Infobox football tournament | name = Copa Mercosur | image = 250px<br/>250px | imagesize = 150px | alt = | caption = Logos in both Spanish (above) and Portuguese (below) | organiser = CONMEBOL | founded = 1998 | abolished = {{Start date and age|2001}} | region = South America | number of teams = 20 | qualifier for = | related comps = Copa Merconorte | domestic cup = | confed cup = | current champions = | most successful club = {{flagicon|BRA}} Palmeiras<br>{{flagicon|BRA}} Flamengo<br>{{flagicon|BRA}} Vasco<br>{{flagicon|ARG}} San Lorenzo <br> (1 title each) | broadcasters = PSN | motto = | website = | current = | American = yes }} The '''Copa Mercosur''' ({{IPA|es|ˈkopa meɾkoˈsuɾ}}, {{langx|pt|Copa Mercosul}} {{IPA|pt|ˈkɔpɐ meʁkoˈsuw|}}, "Mercosur Cup") was a football competition played from 1998 to 2001 by the traditional top clubs from Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile.
The competition was created by CONMEBOL to generate TV money to the participating teams, but it went beyond and ended up, together with the Copa Merconorte, as natural replacements to the Supercopa Libertadores.
Three of the four editions were won by Brazilian clubs, and one by an Argentine club. No team won two editions of this tournament, and therefore Palmeiras, Flamengo, Vasco da Gama (all three from Brazil), and San Lorenzo (from Argentina) ended up as the biggest winners of the competition with one title each.
Both the Copa Merconorte and the Copa Mercosur were discontinued after the 2001 edition. A football competition to be called the Copa Pan-Americana would have replaced these two competitions for the 2002 season featuring clubs from both CONMEBOL and CONCACAF. That competition was first postponed, with plans to be played in 2003, then eventually cancelled. The Copa Pan-Americana would ultimately not come to fruition and that left the Copa Sudamericana as the successor of the Copa Merconorte and the Copa Mercosur.<ref name="panamericana">{{cite web |last=Gonzalez |first=Miguel |title=Copa Pan-Americana 2003 |url=https://www.rsssf.org/sacups/panamcup02.html |access-date=20 June 2013 |website=The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation}}</ref> Instead, a CONMEBOL competition called the Copa Sudamericana was created and had its first edition in 2002, and that competition is still played to this day.
==Format== Twenty teams played in the tournament. Their participation was based on invitation and nt sporting merit. The teams were divided in five groups of four teams each and the matches were played in two legs. The group winners and the best three runners-up qualified for the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals, the semifinals were played in two legs. In 1998 and 2000 the finals were played in three legs. In 1999 and 2001 the finals were played in two legs.
==Records and statistics== ===List of finals === {{small div| ;Keys * aet: after extra time * p: defined on penalty shoot-out * {{colorbox|#d0e7ff|border=silver}} Match decided by a penalty shootout after extra time * {{colorbox|#ccffcc|border=silver}} Match playoff after the series ended tied on aggregate * {{colorbox|#BAF5FA|border=silver}} Defined on penalty shoot-out in the second leg }} {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! rowspan=2 style= "width:;" | {{abbr|Ed.|Edition}} ! Year ! Winners ! width= |1st.<br>leg ! width= |2nd.<br>leg ! width= |{{tooltip|Playoff/<br>Agg.|playoff match (if necessary)}} ! Runners-up ! width=| Venue <br>(1st leg) ! width=| City <br>(1st leg) ! width=| Venue <br>(2nd leg) ! width=| City <br>(2nd leg) ! width=| Venue <br>(Playoff) ! width=| City <br>(Playoff) |- | {{center|1}} || 1998 || {{flagicon|BRA}} '''Palmeiras''' || {{center|1–2}} || {{center|3–1}} || style="background-color:#d0f0c0"| {{center|1–0}}|| {{flagicon|BRA}} Cruzeiro|| Mineirão || Belo Horizonte|| Palestra Itália|| São Paulo|| Palestra Itália || São Paulo |- | {{center|2}} || 1999 || {{flagicon|BRA}} '''Flamengo''' || {{center|4–3}}|| {{center|3–3}}|| {{center|–}} || {{flagicon|BRA}} Palmeiras || Maracanã || Rio de Janeiro ||Palestra Itália ||São Paulo || {{center|–}} || {{center|–}} |- | {{center|3}} || 2000 || {{flagicon|BRA}} '''Vasco da Gama''' || {{center|2–0}} || {{center|0–1}} || style="background-color:#d0f0c0"|{{center|4–3}}|| {{flagicon|BRA}} Palmeiras || São Januário || Rio de Janeiro|| Palestra Itália || São Paulo || Palestra Itália || São Paulo |- | {{center|4}} || 2001 || {{flagicon|ARG}} '''San Lorenzo''' || {{center|0–0}} || {{center|1–1}} || bgcolor=#BAF5FA| {{center|4–3 {{pso}} }} || {{flagicon|BRA}} Flamengo || Maracanã || Rio de Janeiro || Pedro Bidegain || Buenos Aires|| {{center|–}} || {{center|–}} |}
===Performances by club=== right|thumb|The trophy which was awarded to the champions of the competition. {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- !scope=col|Club !scope=col|Titles !scope=col|Runners-up !scope=col|Seasons won !scope=col|Seasons runner-up |- !scope=row|{{flagicon|BRA}} Palmeiras |align=center|1||align=center|2||1998||1999, 2000 |- !scope=row|{{flagicon|BRA}} Flamengo |align=center|1||align=center|1||1999||2001 |- !scope=row|{{flagicon|ARG}} San Lorenzo |align=center|1||align=center|0||2001||{{center|—}} |- !scope=row|{{flagicon|BRA}} Vasco da Gama |align=center|1||align=center|0||2000|| {{center|—}} |- !scope=row|{{flagicon|BRA}} Cruzeiro |align=center|0||align=center|1||{{center|—}}||1998 |- |}
===Performances by nation=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" |- !width=6%|Nation !width=1%|Winner !width=1%|Runners-Up !class="unsortable" width=20%|Winning Clubs !class="unsortable" width=20%|Runners-Up |- !scope=row|{{flag|Brazil}} |3||4||Flamengo (1); Palmeiras (1); Vasco da Gama (1) || Palmeiras (2); Flamengo (1); Cruzeiro (1) |- !scope=row|{{flag|Argentina}} |1||0||San Lorenzo (1)||{{center|—}} |- |}
=== Participants (1998–2001) === {{div col|colwidth=22em}} *{{flagicon|ARG}} Boca Juniors *{{flagicon|ARG}} San Lorenzo *{{flagicon|ARG}} Independiente *{{flagicon|ARG}} Racing *{{flagicon|ARG}} River Plate *{{flagicon|ARG}} Vélez Sarsfield *{{flagicon|ARG}} Rosario Central *{{flagicon|ARG}} Talleres de Córdoba *{{flagicon|BRA}} Cruzeiro *{{flagicon|BRA}} Flamengo *{{flagicon|BRA}} Grêmio *{{flagicon|BRA}} Corinthians *{{flagicon|BRA}} São Paulo *{{flagicon|BRA}} Vasco da Gama *{{flagicon|BRA}} Atlético Mineiro *{{flagicon|BRA}} Palmeiras *{{flagicon|CHI}} Colo-Colo *{{flagicon|CHI}} Universidad Católica *{{flagicon|CHI}} Universidad de Chile *{{flagicon|PAR|1990}} Olimpia *{{flagicon|PAR|1990}} Cerro Porteño *{{flagicon|URU}} Nacional *{{flagicon|URU}} Peñarol {{div col end}}
=== Berths per season (1998–2001) === *{{flagicon|BRA}} Brazil: 7 *{{flagicon|ARG}} Argentina: 6 *{{flagicon|CHI}} Chile: 3 *{{flagicon|PAR|1990}} Paraguay: 2 *{{flagicon|URU}} Uruguay: 2
==Top scorers==
{| class="wikitable" !Year !Player (team) !Goals |- |1998 |{{flagicon|BRA}} Alex {{small|(Palmeiras)}} <br> {{flagicon|BRA}} Fábio Júnior {{small|(Cruzeiro)}} |align="center"|6 |- |1999 |{{flagicon|BRA}} Romário {{small|(Flamengo)}} |align="center"|8 |- |2000 |{{flagicon|BRA}} Romário {{small|(Vasco da Gama)}} |align="center"|11 |- |2001 |{{flagicon|ARG}} Bernardo Romeo {{small|(San Lorenzo)}} |align="center"|10 |}
== See also == * Torneio Mercosul * Copa Merconorte *Supercopa Libertadores * Copa CONMEBOL
== References == {{Reflist}} * [https://www.rsssf.org/sacups/mercosur.html Copa Mercosur at RSSSF]
{{CONMEBOL tertiary tournaments}}{{International Club Football}}{{South American Football}}
Category:Copa Mercosur
Category:Defunct CONMEBOL club competitions Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1998 Category:Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2001 Category:1998 establishments in South America Category:2001 disestablishments in South America