- In 1998, the year of its centenary, Vasco won its only CONMEBOL Libertadores, and two years later it overturned a 3-0 deficit against Palmeiras in the CONMEBOL Mercosur final.
- It has not returned to a continental final since. Its best run was the 2011 CONMEBOL Sudamericana semifinals; fifteen years later, it is two matches away from Barranquilla.
There are two nights that are told at São Januário as if they were one, even though two years and some 3,700 kilometers separate them. The first is August 26, 1998, at the Monumental in Guayaquil, when Mauro Galvão lifted the CONMEBOL Libertadores. The second is December 20, 2000, at the Parque Antarctica in São Paulo, the day Romário scored the fourth goal of a comeback that in Brazil is still called 'A Virada do Século' — the comeback of the century — to claim the CONMEBOL Mercosur. They are Vasco da Gama's last two international titles of the modern era, and also the last two moments when the club was what it now wants to be again: a continental protagonist. The 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana semifinal against Boca Juniors is its first serious chance in fifteen years.
The 1998 CONMEBOL Libertadores came in the year of the club's centenary and exactly half a century after its 1948 South American Championship of Champions. It did not start well. Vasco lost 1-0 to Grêmio and 1-0 to Chivas Guadalajara, drew 1-1 with América of Mexico and finished second in its group with eight points, behind Grêmio, with two goals by Luizão and one by Donizete in the 3-0 win over the side from Rio Grande do Sul as the only sign of what was to come. That team, moreover, had lost Edmundo, sold to Fiorentina after the 1997 Brasileirão, and Evair. The coach was Antônio Lopes.
The knockout rounds gave it an identity. In the Round of 16 it eliminated the defending champion, Cruzeiro, with a 2-1 win at São Januário, with goals by Luizão and Donizete, and a 0-0 draw at the Mineirão. In the quarterfinals it got past Grêmio with a 1-1 draw in Porto Alegre and a 1-0 win in Rio, both goals by Pedrinho. And in the semifinals it drew River Plate, the 1996 champion. The first leg, on July 16, ended 1-0 at São Januário with a goal by Donizete. The return leg, on July 22 at the Monumental de Núñez, is the night Vasco fans choose above all others: River went ahead through Juan Pablo Sorín, and Juninho Pernambucano, who had come off the bench, buried a memorable free kick for the 1-1 that was worth a place in the final. The 'Gol Monumental' remains one of the club's iconic moments to this day.
The final against Barcelona of Guayaquil, coached by Rubén Darío Insúa, was calmer than the story leading up to it suggests. On August 12, at São Januário, Vasco won 2-0 with goals by Donizete and Luizão. Two weeks later, in Guayaquil, in front of more than 70,000 people and with Argentina's Javier Castrilli as referee, it won 2-1: Luizão and Donizete scored in the first half. Antony De Ávila's consolation came too late for the Ecuadorians. A 4-1 aggregate, fourteen matches with eight wins, four draws and two losses, and seven goals by Luizão, the team's top scorer in the Copa, with five by Donizete. Carlos Germano in goal, Mauro Galvão, Odvan and Felipe in defense, Ramón, Pedrinho and Juninho in midfield: that was the core of the only Vasco side to win the CONMEBOL Libertadores.
Two years later, the club had already lost a FIFA Club World Cup final on penalties to Corinthians, in January 2000, and arrived at the CONMEBOL Mercosur with Romário back and at his best. Second in Group E behind Atlético Mineiro, Vasco got past Rosario Central on penalties in the quarterfinals, after a 1-0 win in Rio and a 0-1 loss at the Gigante de Arroyito; and in the semifinals it met River again, and once again prevailed at the Monumental, this time with a 4-1 rout, with goals by Romário, Júnior Baiano, Juninho Paulista and Pedrinho, before a 1-0 win at São Januário with a goal by Juninho Paulista.
The final against Palmeiras was played over three matches. On December 6, at São Januário, Vasco won 2-0 with goals by Juninho Pernambucano and Romário. In the return leg, Palmeiras prevailed 1-0 with a goal by Neném and forced a third match. Before the decider at the Parque Antarctica, the 'Gigante da Colina' changed coaches: Joel Santana replaced Oswaldo de Oliveira. What happened on December 20 in São Paulo is hard to summarize without it sounding made up.
Palmeiras went into halftime 3-0 up, with a penalty by Arce and goals by Magrão and Tuta. In the second half, Romário pulled two back from the spot and, with Vasco already down to ten men after Júnior Baiano's sending-off, Juninho Paulista equalized and 'O Baixinho' himself sealed the 4-3. A hat trick, 11 goals in the tournament, top scorer of the competition. "Of the four goals, I scored three," he recalled himself two decades later.
From then on, the continental drought. In the 2001 CONMEBOL Libertadores, with Romário, Juninho Paulista, Euller and Viola, Vasco won all six of its group matches, eliminated Deportes Concepción in the Round of 16 and fell in the quarterfinals to Boca Juniors, the defending champion and future back-to-back winner: 0-1 in Rio with a goal by Guillermo Barros Schelotto and 0-3 at La Bombonera, with two more from the same twin and one by Matellán. The next high point came only in 2011, in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana: Vasco eliminated Palmeiras, Aurora and Universitario, and lost the semifinal to Universidad de Chile, 1-1 in Rio and 0-2 in Santiago. Since then, fifteen years without an international semifinal.
The 2026 Vasco is not going through its best moment domestically, and Portuguese coach Pedro Emanuel, who took over last July, is the fourth coach in charge of the Rio side this year. But in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana it has built one of those campaigns that are remembered: second in Group G behind Olimpia, it eliminated Independiente Medellín in the playoffs, Olimpia itself in the Round of 16 and Santa Fe in the quarterfinals, with a 0-0 draw in Bogotá and a 2-0 win at São Januário with goals by Bruno Duarte and David.
The first leg against Boca will be on October 13 at La Bombonera, a stadium where it drew (2001 CONMEBOL Mercosur) and lost (2001 CONMEBOL Libertadores). The return leg will be on October 20, at a venue to be confirmed. The final is on November 21 in Barranquilla. Juninho, Romário, Luizão and Donizete are no longer there, but the club knows, from its own experience, that memorable nights are built as a team.
