In the Copa Libertadores, Universitario made it to the Round of 16 in 1998 but lost to Vélez Sársfield. In 1999 and 2000 they failed to advance past the group stage. Universitario also participated in all four editions of the Copa Merconorte between 1999 and 2001 but did not have a lot of success, being eliminated in the group stage all four times. Recent decade (2001–2010) Universitario saw little success after its Tricampeonato. In 2002, Universitario beat Alianza Lima in the Apertura two-legged play-off but were unable to finish in the top four of the 2002 Clausura and were ineligible to dispute the national title. In 2005, Universitario placed first on the aggregate table and qualified for the 2006 Copa Libertadores, where they won on away goals against Nacional in the first phase of the tournament, however, they were eliminated in the group stage. Universitario continually failed to win a twenty-fifth national title but qualified to the Copa Sudamericana in 2007 and 2008. In both editions, they were eliminated in the first stage. Minor success came in 2008 when Ricardo Gareca led Universitario to an Apertura tournament. The last time they won an Apertura title was in 2002. They won the tournament on their twenty-second game 10 points ahead of Sporting Cristal and four games away from the end of the Apertura. They defeated Cienciano 3–1 to secure first place and accumulated 50 points to win the title. They qualified for the 2009 Copa Libertadores but did not finish in the top seven of the Clausura and consequently could not contest the season final for the national title against Universidad San Martín. In 2009, following the resignation of Ricardo Gareca the club hired Juan Reynoso as the new manager, a former player of the club in the 90s and with a long history in the Mexican football. Much of the 2008 squad remained for the 2009 season, but with the departure of some notable players like Héctor Hurtado, Mayer Candelo and Donny Neyra. The most important signing prior to the 2009 season was Nolberto Solano. Other players to arrive were Carlos Orejuela, John Galliquio, Piero Alva, Francisco Bazán, Rodolfo Espinoza, and Ronaille Calheira. Reynoso intelligently led Universitario to the season final which would be a repeat of the 1987 final in which they would face arch-rival Alianza Lima. Universitario won both legs; in the first leg they won 1–0 with