Not for the first or last time, a Daily Mail headline sparked outrage. Yet, the back page of an issue from December 1954 prompted the creation of something positive out of the cries of fake news.
“Hail Wolves, Champions of the World,” the English red top declared after Stan Cullis’ side defeated Hungarian champions Honved. Former French international turned editor of L’Equipe, Gabriel Hanot, was so disgusted by the suggestion that Wolves were the elite example that he set the wheels in motion for the first edition of the European Cup, which would later become the UEFA Champions League.
Chile was the driving force behind the South American equivalent but had to convince the Atlantic leaders – Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay – that money could be made from the pan-continental competition. Eventually, the Copa Libertadores was born in 1960.
Only 15 players have ever claimed winners’ medals from both competitions in the modern era. Here is a look at those select individuals that could accurately be hailed as ‘Champions of the World’.
Champions League win: 1996 (Juventus)
Copa Libertadores win: 1996 (River Plate)
The TED Talk that Juan Pablo Sorin delivered in 2017 was simply titled: “No.” A meander through how he overcame the setbacks in his career includes a fleeting six-month spell at Juventus.
Sorin left the Turin giants midway through the season after playing just 44 minutes in a Champions League campaign that Juve won without him. River Plate fully exploited the left-back’s talents, using Sorin throughout the club’s triumphant Copa Libertadores run that same year.
Champions League win: 2003 (Milan)
Copa Libertadores win: 1999 (Palmeiras)
It must be pretty easy to not have any remorse after winning the pile of trophies Roque Junior stacked up. “I don’t even allow myself to talk about regrets in my career because I was able to fulfil my dream,” the former Palmeiras and AC Milan defender smiled.
“I won championships, I reached one of the big Brazilian clubs, then I went international and won more trophies, and then I won with the national team. I won everything I wanted and more.”
Champions League win: 2007 (Milan)
Copa Libertadores wins: 1992 & 1993 (Sao Paulo)
Cafu can not only boast continental glory at club level but he also won a pair of World Cup and Copas America as the picture of perpetual motion up and down Brazil’s right flank.
A long way away from those triumphs, it all began with a prodigious work ethic. “I would wake up at 4am, eat something and take the bus at 5am to get to training for 9am,” Cafu wistfully recalled.
Champions League win: 2007 (Milan)
Copa Libertadores win: 1997 (Cruzeiro)
The only goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in the final of the Champions League and Copa Libertadores certainly earned his shutout for Cruzeiro against Sporting Cristal in 1997, making a legendary double save from a free kick in the second leg.
“A goalkeeper like Dida gives the team complete peace of mind,” his teammate Gelson Baresi said. “That goalkeeper where the defender is sure that, if the ball passed you, Dida would catch it.”
🙌🏆 He’s won the #CONMEBOLLibertadores, the #CONMEBOLSudamericana, the Champions League, @FIFAcom‘s Club World Cup & the Copa Intercontinental.
🎂 Today Carlos Tevez turns 3⃣5⃣. The first title he ever won was the Libertadores in 2003 with @BocaJrsOficial.
🎉 Happy birthday! pic.twitter.com/4d6FALunhX
— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@TheLibertadores) February 5, 2019
Champions League win: 2008 (Man Utd)
Copa Libertadores win: 2003 (Boca Juniors)
Juan Roman Riquelme may have left but Boca Juniors inherited a serial winner in the form of Carlos Bianchi who harnessed the feverish grit that underpinned Carlos Tevez’s tireless game.
Five years after conquering South America with Boca, Tevez was part of Manchester United‘s fearsome three-pronged attack alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.
Champions League win: 2010 (Inter)
Copa Libertadores win: 2000 (Boca Juniors)
Walter Samuel was the layer of concrete in the foundations of two continental triumphs that ended interminable waits for a couple of the world’s biggest clubs.
Boca Juniors had gone 22 years without winning the Copa Libertadores before Samuel and co. kicked off the new millennium in style. It had been 45 years for Inter until Jose Mourinho’s resolute outfit – embodied by Samuel – ended the drought in 2010.
Champions League win: 2006 (Barcelona)
Copa Libertadores win: 2013 (Atletico Mineiro)
Ronaldinho waltzed to the 2006 Champions League title with Barcelona at his glorious peak, so laid back he was horizontal on the pitch. Yet, after an underwhelming spell at Flamengo in the latter stages of his career, Ronaldinho was finally possessed by revenge.
Upon his arrival at Atletico Mineiro in 2012, he said: “When we get a lot of criticism, we end up wanting to turn things around. I come here with that desire.” At 32, Ronaldinho led the club from 15th to second to Copa Libertadores champions.
Champions League win: 2015 (Barcelona)
Copa Libertadores win: 2011 (Santos)
The knives were out for Neymar after an anonymous first leg for Santos in the 2011 Copa Libertadores final against Penarol, with critics lining up to put him down. A week later, Neymar emphatically responded with a resilient display, scoring the opener in a 2-1 win to claim Santos’ first victory in the competition since Pele.
By beating Gigi Buffon in the 2015 Champions League final which Barcelona won, Neymar became the first – and so far only – player to score in the showpiece of both competitions.
Champions League win: 2016 (Real Madrid)
Copa Libertadores win: 2011 (Santos)
An unheralded member of two different era-defining teams across each continent, Danilo’s versatility and selflessness allowed him to triumph at Santos and Real Madrid without stealing many headlines.
Champions League win: 2013 (Bayern Munich)
Copa Libertadores win: 2019 (Flamengo)
Rafinha didn’t exactly skimp on silverware during his time at Bayern Munich – with the Champions League one of 18 trophies he collected – but his brief time at Flamengo was even more efficient.
Across his first full season with the club in 2019, Rafinha won six trophies and lost just three games.
Champions League win: 2012 (Chelsea)
Copa Libertadores win: 2020 (Palmeiras)
Ramires will always have a special place in Chelsea’s history for the sumptuous chip he delivered at a crucial stage of the 2012 Champions League final against Barcelona.
Like everyone else, his teammate Branislav Ivanovic was astonished by the skill before conceding: “But he’s Brazilian so I think it’s natural for him.”
Champions League win: 2021 (Chelsea)
Copa Libertadores win: 2003 (Boca Juniors)
Including both legs of the South American tournament, Willy Caballero watched three finals from the bench to earn his two winners’ medals. That’s still two more than most.
Champions League win: 2012 (Chelsea)
Copa Libertadores win: 2022 (Flamengo)
David Luiz, by then 35, admitted that his first Copa Libertadores title “came unexpectedly” after a career almost entirely in Europe.
The former Chelsea and Arsenal centre-back was well aware of the statistics surrounding his surprise win though. “I managed to help Flamengo triumph and consecrate myself in the select group of players to have won the Champions [League] and the Libertadores. If I’m not mistaken there’s only 13, 14, so that was really special for me.”
Champions League win: 2018 (River Plate)
Copa Libertadores win: 2023 (Man City)
At just 18 years of age, Julian Alvarez achieved a dream few River fans could even conceive; beating the club’s fiercest rivals, Boca Juniors, in the final of the continent’s biggest competition.
Yet, La Arana – the Spider, as his brothers have dubbed him – still had plenty of peaks left to scale, adding the Champions League to his bulging trophy cabinet in the same season that he won the World Cup with Argentina.
Champions League win: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2022 (Real Madrid)
Copa Libertadores win: 2023 (Fluminense)
Marcelo ranked his Copa Libertadores title with boyhood club Fluminense above the five big-eared trophies he hoisted aloft at Real Madrid. “It’s my most important title, at club level, because it’s the club that raised me,” he explained.
“There’s nothing more rewarding than that. It’s priceless,” Marcelo gushed. “Real Madrid will understand.” Will they?
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