11 September 1963 - A Second For Santos

On 11 September 1963, Santos overpowered Boca Juniors to win their second consecutive Copa Libertadores. And just like the previous one, Pelé provided the clinching goal.

The final was played over legs; in the first, played at the Maracaña in Rio de Janeiro, Santos won 3-2 with a trio of first-half goals from Coutinho (2', 21') and Antônio Lima dos Santos (28'). Under the rules in place at the time, the winner was determined by points, with two points for a win and one point for a draw, with goal differential not taken into account. So, in the second leg, the best Boca could hope for was a win to force a deciding replay.

Playing before a crowd of about 50,000 at the Estadio Camilo Cichero in Buenos Aires, they looked on track to meet that goal after taking a 1-0 lead in the 46th minute thanks to a goal from striker José Sanfilippo. But only four minutes later, Coutinho scored an equalizer. Then, while Boca pressed forward for a life-preserving goal, Pelé struck, finding the net in the 82nd minute and snuffing Boca's hopes for a replay.

The goal was Pelé's fifth of the tournament, making him its second-highest scorer behind Sanfilippo, who had 7.

While the win denied Boco their first Copa Libertadores title, they went on to become one of the most successful teams in the competition, winning it a total of 6 times between 1977 and 2007. Santos, meanwhile, won it for a third time in 2011.