- The Peruvian side eliminated the reigning champions in the Playoffs and then thrashed Botafogo 6-1 in Cusco to advance to the Quarter-finals with a 6-2 aggregate victory.
- Winners of the 2003 CONMEBOL Sudamericana, Cienciano will face Montevideo City Torque for a place among the final four.
Cienciano once again turned Cusco into the stage for one of their great continental nights. First, they came from behind against Lanús, the reigning CONMEBOL Sudamericana champions, after losing the first leg 2-0: they won 4-0 at the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega to advance to the Round of 16. There, they raised the level even further with a historic performance against Botafogo.
Horacio Melgarejo’s side thrashed the Brazilian team 6-1 in the first leg. Matías Succar was the standout figure with a hat-trick, Neri Bandiera scored twice and Marcos Martinich completed a victory that became the biggest ever by a Peruvian club against a Brazilian side in CONMEBOL competitions. Succar also became the first Peruvian player to score three goals in a single match in CONMEBOL Sudamericana history.
That advantage allowed Cienciano to manage the return leg in Rio de Janeiro. Botafogo won 1-0 thanks to an early Danilo Pereira goal, but Cienciano protected the lead they had built at home and completed a 6-2 aggregate victory to reach the final eight of La Gran Conquista.
Their next challenge will be Montevideo City Torque, one of the revelations of this edition. Twenty-three years after the title that made Cienciano the first and only Peruvian club to win the CONMEBOL Sudamericana, ‘Papá’ once again have a path open deep into the competition that holds the most important place in their international history.
Cienciano in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: Results and Schedule
First Stage
Cienciano 1 (5)-(4) 1 Melgar
6' ST Kevin Becerra / 27' ST Alejandro Ramos.
Group Stage — Group A
Matchday 1: Juventud 1-1 Cienciano
36' PT Leonel Roldán / 43' ST Carlos Garcés.
Matchday 2: Cienciano 2-0 Puerto Cabello
11' PT Carlos Garcés and 34' ST Alejandro Hohberg.
Matchday 3: Cienciano 1-0 Atlético Mineiro
30' PT Neri Bandiera.
Matchday 4: Puerto Cabello 3-0 Cienciano
33' PT Gustavo González, 4' ST Robinson Flores and 15' ST Jean Castillo.
Matchday 5: Atlético Mineiro 2-0 Cienciano
27' PT Renan Lodi and 39' PT Bernard.
Matchday 6: Cienciano 1-1 Juventud
20' PT Kevin Becerra / 17' ST Emanuel Cecchini.
Playoffs
First Leg: Lanús 2-0 Cienciano
35' PT Franco Watson and 45+5' ST Ramiro Carrera.
Second Leg: Cienciano 4-0 Lanús
7' PT and 45+1' PT Carlos Garcés; 40' PT and 45+5' ST Alejandro Hohberg.
Round of 16
First Leg: Cienciano 6-1 Botafogo
Matías Succar, hat-trick; Neri Bandiera, twice; and Marcos Martinich / Matheus Martins.
Second Leg: Botafogo 1-0 Cienciano
8' PT Danilo Pereira, assist by Álvaro Montoro. Cienciano advanced to the Quarter-finals with a 6-2 aggregate victory.
Cienciano Head Coach in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: Horacio Melgarejo
The Argentine coach, who has extensive experience in Peruvian football, took charge of Cienciano at the end of 2025. Since then, with the aim of restoring the club’s international prominence, Melgarejo has given the team a clear identity built around character, intensity and the ability to respond in high-pressure situations. The 4-0 comeback against Lanús and the historic 6-1 victory over Botafogo in Cusco stand as the clearest expressions of that approach.
Cienciano have yet to win away from home in this CONMEBOL Sudamericana, but they have learned how to manage the advantages built at the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega when playing on the road. The 1-0 defeat to Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro never put their 6-2 aggregate lead at risk and secured a place in the Quarter-finals, where they will face Montevideo City Torque. Melgarejo has therefore already guided the club through two consecutive knockout ties and back among the final eight of the competition they won in 2003.
Full Cienciano Squad for the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana
Goalkeepers: 1. Gonzalo Falcon - 31. Italo Espinoza.
Defenders: 3. Kevin Becerra - 4. Maximiliano Amondarain - 13. Claudio Nuñez - 14. Sebastian Cavero - 16. Marcos Martinich - 22. Carlos Cabello - 25. Renzo Salazar - 26. Rotceh Aguilar - 27. Freddy Yovera.
Midfielders: 5. Santiago Arias - 8. Junior Aguirre - 29. Ademar Guillermo Robles - 39. Henry Caparo - 88. Gerson Barreto.
Forwards: 7. Cristian Souza - 9. Juan Romagnoli - 10. Alejandro Hohberg - 11. Neri Bandiera - 17. Ray Sandoval - 18. Didier La Torre - 19. Juan Succar - 21. Carlos Garces.
Cienciano’s Key Player in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: Cristian Souza
The 30-year-old Uruguayan attacker remains the creative brain of Cienciano. He not only influences the game himself but also brings others into play, accelerates when space opens up and knows how to control the tempo when the team needs to keep possession. After recording four assists through the Playoffs, he added another in the historic 6-1 victory over Botafogo to take his tally to five in this CONMEBOL Sudamericana.
‘Cachito’ is a central figure in the attacking structure of Horacio Melgarejo’s side, and his influence was once again evident in the tie that took ‘Papá’ into the Quarter-finals. Cienciano will now face Montevideo City Torque, with Souza set to enter the matchup as one of the main links between midfield and an attack that found new goalscoring figures during the Round of 16.
Cienciano’s Top Scorer in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: Carlos Garcés
The Ecuadorian striker has already become a key figure for ‘La Furia Roja’ and remains the team’s leading scorer in this CONMEBOL Sudamericana, with four goals. He found the net against Juventud and Puerto Cabello during the Group Stage and was decisive in the comeback against Lanús, scoring twice in the 4-0 victory that sent Cienciano through to the Round of 16.
Garcés was unable to play in the first leg against Botafogo due to an accumulation of yellow cards, but his absence opened the door for Matías Succar, who scored a hat-trick in the historic 6-1 victory in Cusco. The Ecuadorian still leads ‘Papá’s’ scoring charts, while the emergence of new attacking options has added further depth to a team that is already in the Quarter-finals and will face Montevideo City Torque.
Cienciano’s X-Factor in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: Alejandro Hohberg
A surname destined to make history. Alejandro, the grandson of Juan Eduardo Hohberg, had already been decisive in the comeback against Lanús with two goals and once again left his mark on another unforgettable night in Cusco, providing two assists in the 6-1 victory over Botafogo in the first leg of the Round of 16.
Those contributions took him to seven direct goal involvements over the course of his CONMEBOL Sudamericana career and marked his first assists in the competition. Cienciano ultimately advanced to the Quarter-finals with a 6-2 aggregate victory and will face Montevideo City Torque. Hohberg enters that tie as a player capable of providing experience, goals and creativity in the matches that could define ‘Papá’s’ continental dream.
Cienciano’s History in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana
Cienciano won the 2003 CONMEBOL Sudamericana and the 2004 CONMEBOL Recopa, two triumphs that took the club to the summit of continental football among Peruvian teams. After that historic run, they returned to the Round of 16 in 2004, 2009 and 2025, but had never managed to progress beyond that stage again.
That streak ended in 2026. Cienciano thrashed Botafogo 6-1 in Cusco and, despite losing 1-0 in Rio de Janeiro, completed a 6-2 aggregate victory to return to the Quarter-finals for the first time since their title-winning campaign in 2003. Montevideo City Torque will be the next obstacle for a team that, 23 years later, is once again making a deep run in the competition that defined its international history.
