a way to launder his drug money. Although Escobar never took a public role, the money he poured into the club made a major impact. In Maturana's words, "The introduction of drug money into soccer allowed us to bring in great foreign players. It also kept our best players from leaving. Our level of play took off. People saw our situation and said Pablo was involved. But they couldn't prove it". Regardless of how the club was assembled, by 1987 they certainly had a strong roster featuring a collection of Colombian internationals. In goal was René Higuita, the flamboyant keeper known for his tendency to leave his area. In the defense they had the cool, calm, and collected Andrés Escobar and veteran Luis Fernando Herrera The midfield featured Leonel Álvarez (capped over 100 times for Colombia) and Alexis García (team captain and Medellín native). In the attack, the club could count on John Jairo Tréllez, one of the country's most prolific goal-scorers. This lineup was good enough to finish second in both the Apertura and Finalización, qualifying for the championship round, in which they finished fourth. The 1988 season was even better, as the club qualified for the championship round again, finishing as runners-up behind Millonarios. That result was good enough to qualify the team for the 1989 Copa Libertadores. The entire focus of the 1989 campaign was on the Copa Libertadores, which Atlético Nacional hoped to become the first Colombian club to win the competition. In the group stage, Los Verdolagas were placed with fellow Colombian side Millonarios, as well as Ecuadorian clubs Deportivo Quito and Emelec. Two wins and three draws allowed Nacional to advance out of the group stages for the first time in five attempts. In the round of 16, they defeated Racing Club of Argentina by an aggregate score of 3–2. That sent them into the quarterfinals for an all-Colombian matchup with Millonarios, their group stage opponent. Nacional won the first leg 1–0, then held out for a 1–1 draw in a controversial match in Bogotá, advancing to the semifinals. In the semifinals the team faced Danubio of Uruguay. The away match ended in a 0–0 draw, but four goals from Albeiro Usuriaga sparked a 6–0 rout in the return match to send the club into the finals. In the finals, they faced Paraguay's Olimpia, who had already played two Libertadores finals in their history.