Copa Libertadores · 1985
Videla's penalty makes Argentinos Juniors champions of South America
Diego Maradona's old club won the Copa Libertadores at the first attempt, in a shootout in Asunción that the referee appeared to end one kick early.
Argentinos Juniors are the club from La Paternal in Buenos Aires where Diego Maradona scored 116 goals between 1976 and 1981. In the middle of the decade, under José Yudica, they won the 1984 Metropolitano on the last day and the 1985 Nacional, and went into the Copa Libertadores for the first time.
They reached the final the hard way. In the semi-final group against the holders, Independiente, Enrique Vidallé saved a Claudio Marangoni penalty in the 89th minute to send them through.
Three finals
Their opponents, América de Cali, were coached by Gabriel Ochoa Uribe and were in the middle of five straight Colombian titles. Emilio Commisso's header won the first leg 1–0 at the Monumental on 17 October. In Cali five days later Willington Ortiz scored in the fourth minute and América won by the same score. That meant a third match, at the Defensores del Chaco in Asunción, on 24 October.
Argentinos arrived short of players, without Castro and Ereros. Yudica moved Jorge Olguín forward from defence into midfield. Commisso scored again to put Argentinos ahead, and Ricardo Gareca headed América level close to half-time. Nobody scored in the rest of the 90 minutes or in extra time.
The shootout
Gareca, Roberto Cabañas, Hernán Herrera and Gonzalo Soto scored for América. Olguín, Sergio Batista, José Pavoni and Claudio Borghi scored for Argentinos. At 4–4, Vidallé saved América's fifth kick, from the substitute Anthony de Ávila.
That was nearly the end of it. The Chilean referee, Hernán Silva, appeared to bring the shootout to a close at 4–4, and the pitch had to be cleared before Argentinos could take their fifth penalty. Mario Videla took it. In Conmebol's account, he placed the ball "with his classic composure" and after a short run put it low to the left of Julio César Falcioni. El Gráfico wrote that with a simple penalty he had written a poem.
Afterwards
"For a club like Argentinos Juniors, winning a Copa Libertadores is very difficult," Vidallé said later. "The club is not like Boca or River."
Later that year they took Juventus to penalties in the Intercontinental Cup after a 2–2 draw, and lost. América went back to the Libertadores final in 1986 and 1987 and lost both of those too.