26 May 1993 - A Hill Too High To Climb

On 26 May 1993, São Paulo repeated as Copa Libertadores champions despite losing the second leg of the final to Universidad Católica, 2-0.

The Brazilians won the tournament for the first time in 1992, beating Newell's Old Boys on a penalties. For the 1993 final, they did their best to prevent going to another shootout, winning the first leg against Católica by the score of 5-1 (including an own goal by Católica defender Daniel López). The Chileans' only goal that day was a penalty kick by forward Juan Carlos Almada (pictured) in the 85th minute.

In the second leg, played at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Católica did their best to overcome the deficit, going up 1-0 with a 25-yard blast from midfielder Ricardo Lunari in the 9th minute that beat the keeper to the top corner. Then, just six minutes later, the referee awarded a penalty kick to Católica and Almada again converted. The keeper, diving to his right, did well to get a hand to it, but the shot was too strong.

Despite the rapid 2-0 lead, that would prove to be day's last goal, as São Paulo clamped down on defense and prevented Católica from narrowing the aggregate margin any further. It remains Católica's only appearance in the final, while São Paulo went on to win it for a third time in 2005.