BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil — Ronaldinho added a Copa Libertadores title to his collection of honours as Brazil’s Atletico Mineiro defeated Paraguay’s Olimpia in a penalty shootout to win the continental club championship on Wednesday.
Trailing 2-0 after the first leg, Atletico needed an 87th-minute goal by defender Leonardo Silva to tie it, after striker Jo had scored at the start of the second half.
After extra time, goalkeeper Victor used his feet to stop the first penalty in the shootout by Herminio Miranda, and Matias Gimenez hit a post with the final spot kick to give Atletico its first Libertadores title.
Alecsandro, Guilherme, Jo and Leonardo Silva scored for the Brazilian club in the shootout. Juan Ferreyra, Salustiano Candia and Lorenzo Aranda converted their penalties for Olimpia, which was trying to win its fourth Copa Libertadores title and first since 2002.
Olimpia, which also won the competition in 1979 and 1990, played a man down from the 85th after defender Julio Cesar Manzur was sent off with a second yellow card.
Jo, the tournament’s leading scorer with seven goals, had opened the scoring in the 46th with a right-footed shot after a cross by Rosinei, who had just entered the match as a halftime substitute.
Ferreyra had a chance to score a late away goal for Olimpia and virtually end the contest as he dribbled past Victor on a breakaway and had the open net in front of him, but slipped and fell, allowing the goalkeeper to recover.
Atletico made the most of that reprieve as until Leonardo Silva rose above the defenders to head a cross into the far corner and make it 2-2 on aggregate, sending the game to extra time.