Plate of Argentina in a penalty shoot-out, to finally reach the long-awaited final. Unfortunately they would come short, losing against Olimpia of (Paraguay) 2–0 in the away game, and tying 1–1 in the home game. Many considered the referee had affected the outcome in favor of the Paraguayan team. But with the runner up title, they would finally be considered among the best and most respected teams in South America. In 1992, they put together another great team, beating the previous champions Colo-Colo (Chile) and reaching the Libertadores Cup semi-finals once again, but losing against the powerful Brazilian team of São Paulo, who at the time was coached by Tele Santana. Among their stars, São Paulo had players such as Zetti, Cafu, Raí, Müller and Palhinha. This decade also proved to show a negative side in the team's history. On 26 December 1993, three days after Barcelona had achieved the second place in the Ecuadorian league and earning a spot in the next Libertadores cup, Ecuadorian striker Carlos Muñoz died in a car accident at the age of 26. After winning the Ecuadorian league title in 1997 (their last until 2012) with the help of such players as former Bolivian international Marco "El Diablo" Etcheverry, former Colombian international Anthony "El Pipa" De Avila and former Ecuadorian international Agustin "Tin" Delgado, they would go on to play the 1998 Libertadores Cup with mostly old players that seemed to be on their way out. But against all odds, they would reach their second Libertadores Cup final, losing both championship games against Brazilian team Vasco Da Gama, 2–0 in the away game and 2–1 in the home game. 1998 was their last appearance in the Copa Libertadores final as of 2022, ultimately meaning that their intention of capturing the Copa Libertadores that they wanted since the turn of the decade turned out to be a missed opportunity and was disappointing to many fans as they expected to win at least one continental title. The glory of being the first Ecuadorian team instead went to bitter rivals L.D.U. Quito who won the 2008 Copa Libertadores and leaving Barcelona further stings of what could have been. Title drought (1998–2012) Barcelona did not win a national title for 15 years since 1997, and participated in only two editions of the Copa Libertadores in the 2000s (decade). Despite the lack of titles in recent years, the club