Playing on Brazilian soil has long been a demanding task for Barcelona, with victories scarce in their entire history on that soil.
The 2023 Copa Sudamericana carried the lingering hope of San Lorenzo, who dreamed of reviving the ambition they shown 21 years earlier under Rubén Darío Insúa, the same coach who continues to guide the club. Yet after a challenging group phase and severe playoff battles, they could not secure a foothold in the hard, elusive terrain of Brazil.
The Ciclón found themselves matched against a top Brazilian side, the 2012 competition winner Sao Paulo, and after securing a narrow win in the first leg, they were eliminated by a 2-0 defeat in the return, a familiar sting when touring that region.
GOAL revisits San Lorenzo’s history against Brazilian rivals and examines their experiences as visitors.
HISTORY AGAINST BRAZILIAN TEAMS
From the club’s debut in the inaugural Copa Libertadores in 1960 to today, San Lorenzo has faced Brazilian teams 58 times across all tournaments. The record reads 19 wins, 13 draws, and 26 losses, reflecting a challenging balance sheet on that continent.
The opponent most frequently matched with is Cruzeiro, eight meetings producing a memorable moment: the 2014 Copa Libertadores quarterfinals, a turning point that culminated in San Lorenzo lifting their first continental title. Sao Paulo also appears eight times, with four wins apiece for both clubs in their head-to-head clashes.
Across this Brazilian roster, the teams encountered include Cruzeiro, Sao Paulo, Corinthians, Flamengo, Palmeiras, Santos, Atlético Mineiro, Vasco da Gama, Fortaleza, Guaraní, Botafogo, Athletico Paranaense, Bahia and Chapecoense.
THE RECORDED HISTORY IN BRAZIL
Visiting Brazilian stadiums has repeatedly tested San Lorenzo. The team has traveled to Brazil 29 times, securing just three wins: a 1–0 victory over Guaraní in the 1988 Copa Libertadores, a 2–1 result against Corinthians in the 1999 Mercosur Cup, and a 3–0 win over Athletico Paranaense in the 2017 Copa Libertadores. A notable draw was the 0–0 result with Flamengo in the first leg of the 2001 Mercosur Cup final, a tie that they would convert into triumph at the home venue, the Estadio Pedro Bidegain, in Buenos Aires. In total, there have been seven draws and 19 defeats in these Brazilian visits.
The long-running pattern underscores the difficulty of breaking through on Brazilian soil, where the home advantage often shapes tight, decisive matches that swing on a single moment, a lesson repeatedly learned by San Lorenzo across decades of continental competition.
[Cited by Goal]