Boca Juniors 2, Grêmio 0
PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (AP) - Juan Roman Riquelme scored a pair of second-half goals and Boca Juniors defeated Gremio 2-0 to win its sixth Copa Libertadores title on Wednesday.
Riquelme, playing his farewell match with the Argentine club, scored with a well-placed shot from outside the area in the 69th minute and added another in the 80th minute on a rebound from a shot by Palacio.
"We played well in both matches and took advantage of the result in the first leg," said Riquelme, who was selected the finals most valuable player. "I'm very happy with the title. The fans deserved it."
Boca won the first leg 3-0 last week in Buenos Aires and could have clinched its fourth title in seven years even if it had lost by two goals.
Needing to score at least three time, Gremio pressed from the start, but could not finish its chances. Boca defended well to hold off the Brazilian attack.
"Our team made too many mistakes, just like in the first match," Gremio defender Lucio said. "All we can do is congratulate Boca players and move on."
The title moved Boca within one trophy of Argentine rival Independiente, which has a record seven. Boca's other titles came in 1977-78, 2000-01 and 2003.
"We knew we had a good advantage," Boca striker Martin Palermo said. "But we still had to play good enough to contain Gremio and their fans. After we scored the goals at the end everything was easier."
Boca also earns the right to play in FIFA's Club World Cup, which also will have European Champions League winner AC Milan. Boca beat Milan in 2003 when the club world title was only contested between the European and South American champions.
Although not extraordinary, the Argentine club's performance was just enough to outplay the competition en route to its sixth title - and fourth in seven years.
"We are legitimate champions," team captain Martin Palermo said. "This is a huge title for us, and for the history of Boca."
Boca Juniors beat Gremio 2-0 on Wednesday night in Porto Alegre to clinch the trophy of Latin America's most important club competition 5-0 on aggregate. It had routed the Brazilian club 3-0 last week in Buenos Aires.
"We had an important advantage after the result at home, and when you win a final 5-0, missing a penalty, you can say you did a good job," playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme said. "We won the title outright."
Riquelme, who likely played his farewell match with Boca before moving back to European soccer, was named the final's most valuable player. He had already won the prize in 2001 when Boca beat Mexico's Cruz Azul.
"(Being MVP) is not that important," Riquelme said. "What matters is that we won the title."
It was the most lopsided Copa Libertadores final ever, but this year the Buenos Aires powerhouse struggled in the beginning of the competition, barely advancing from a group that had Mexico's Toluca, Peru's Cienciano and Bolivia's Bolivar.
"We had to work hard at times, but it paid off at the end," Boca Juniors coach Miguel Angel Russo said.
The Argentine club improved from the second round on, but still had to overcome a two-goal deficit against surprising Deportivo Cucuta of Colombia in the semifinals.
Boca Juniors eliminated local rival Velez Sarsfield in the round of 16 and Paraguay's Libertad in the quarterfinals.
"We have a tight group of players," Riquelme said. "We were able to do whatever was necessary to achieve our goal."
Boca, which now has a record 17 international titles, won eight of its 14 matches, drawing two and losing four.
It was the team's fifth final since 2000, and ninth overall.
Boca Juniors has become a nemesis for Brazilian clubs, who came on the losing side in four of Boca's six titles. Argentine clubs have won eight of the last 11 finals against Brazilians, including the last four.
Even Gremio bowed to the Latin American champions.
"We just didn't have a team good enough to compete with them," coach Mano Menezes said. "We tried hard and gave our best, but we lost to a better team, that's the bottom line."
Gremio pressed from the start on Wednesday trying to recover from the first-leg deficit, but Riquelme's booming right-footer from just outside the area put an end to Gremio's hopes, and his goal off a rebound from a shot by Rodrigo Palacio sealed Boca's win.
Boca Juniors earned the right to play in FIFA's Club World Cup, which also will have Champions League winner AC Milan, the second on the list of international titles with 16. Boca beat Milan in 2003 when the club world title was only contested between the European and South American champions.
Wednesday's triumph moved Boca within one title of Argentine rival Independiente, which has a record seven. Boca's other titles came in 1977-78, 2000-01 and 2003.
No other Argentine club has won the Copa Libertadores since River Plater did it in 1996.
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