- The Peruvian side eliminated the reigning champions in the Playoffs, thrashed Botafogo 6-1 in the Round of 16 and were knocked out in the next round by Montevideo City Torque.
- The 2003 CONMEBOL Sudamericana champions returned to the competition's last eight 23 years later.
Cienciano once again made Cusco the setting for some of their greatest continental nights. First, they overturned a tie against reigning CONMEBOL Sudamericana champions Lanús after losing the first leg 2-0: they won 4-0 at the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega Stadium to reach the Round of 16. There, they raised the bar 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 performer 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 footballer to score three goals in a single match in the history of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana.
The advantage allowed Cienciano to manage the second leg in Rio de Janeiro. Botafogo won 1-0 through an early Danilo Pereira goal, but Cienciano held on to the advantage they had built at home and sealed the tie 6-2 on aggregate to reach the last eight of the Great Conquest.
Their next challenge was Montevideo City Torque, one of the surprise packages of the edition, managed by Marcelo Méndez. The ‘Papá’ won the first leg in Peru 2-0, with goals from Cristian Souza and Maximiliano Amondarain, but a 3-0 defeat in the Uruguayan capital brought their continental dream to an end.
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.
Quarter-finals
First leg: Cienciano 2-0 Montevideo City Torque (Cristian Souza 28' and Maximiliano Amondarain 42').
Second leg: Montevideo City Torque 3-0 Cienciano (Salomón Rodríguez 38' and 57', Nahuel Da Silva 90+2').
Cienciano Head Coach in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: Horacio Melgarejo
The Argentine manager, 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 side a recognisable identity: character, intensity and the ability to respond in difficult situations. The 4-0 comeback against Lanús and the historic 6-1 thrashing of Botafogo in Cusco are the clearest expressions of that identity.
Cienciano are still without an away win in this CONMEBOL Sudamericana, but they have learned to manage, away from home, the advantages built at the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega Stadium. The 1-0 defeat to Botafogo in Rio did not put their 6-2 aggregate lead at risk and sent the side through to the quarter-finals, where they faced Montevideo City Torque. Melgarejo had thus guided the club through two consecutive knockout ties and back into the competition's last eight for the first time since their 2003 title-winning campaign.
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. Matías Succar - 21. Carlos Garces.
Cienciano’s Key Player in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: Cristian Souza
The 30-year-old Uruguayan forward remains Cienciano's creative hub. He plays and makes the team play, accelerates when he finds space and also knows how to control the tempo when his side need to keep possession. After the four assists he had accumulated by the Playoffs, he added another in the historic 6-1 win over Botafogo to reach five in this CONMEBOL Sudamericana.
'Cachito' is a key part of Horacio Melgarejo's attacking set-up, and his influence was once again evident in the tie that took the ‘Papá’ into the quarter-finals. Cienciano would now face Montevideo City Torque, with Souza entering the tie as one of the main players responsible for linking midfield with an attack that had found new goalscoring options 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 was the team's top scorer in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana, with four goals. He scored against Juventud and Puerto Cabello in the Group Stage and played a decisive role in the comeback against Lanús, scoring twice in the 4-0 victory that sent Cienciano into the Round of 16.
Garcés was unable to play 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 win in Cusco. The Ecuadorian remains the ‘Papá’s’ leading goalscorer, while the emergence of new attacking options has broadened the resources available to a side that reached the quarter-finals 23 years later.
Cienciano’s X-Factor in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: Alejandro Hohberg
A surname destined to make history. Alejandro, grandson of Juan Eduardo Hohberg, had already played a decisive role 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 win over Botafogo in the first leg of the Round of 16.
Those contributions took him to seven direct goal involvements in his CONMEBOL Sudamericana career and marked his first assists in the competition. Cienciano went through to the quarter-finals with a 6-2 aggregate scoreline.
Cienciano’s History in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana
Cienciano lifted the CONMEBOL Sudamericana in 2003 and the CONMEBOL Recopa in 2004, two triumphs that took them to the top of the continental game among Peruvian clubs. After that historic achievement, they reached the Round of 16 again in 2004, 2009 and 2025, but had never managed to progress beyond that stage again.
That run came to an end in 2026. Cienciano thrashed Botafogo 6-1 in Cusco and, despite losing 1-0 in Rio de Janeiro, finished the tie with a 6-2 aggregate scoreline to return to the quarter-finals for the first time since their 2003 title-winning campaign. Montevideo City Torque proved to be the toughest obstacle in their path: they won 2-0 in Cusco but lost 3-0 in Montevideo, bringing their continental campaign to an end.
