Guide
The Copa Libertadores in PES 2013: Konami's South American Jewel
How PES 2013 landed the fully licensed Copa Libertadores, what it added to Master League, and why South American football felt different in this game.
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Of all the licences Konami held in 2012, the Copa Libertadores was the one its rivals envied most. PES 2013 carried South America's great club competition fully licensed, and folded it into Master League for the first time. This is the story of what that meant on the pitch.
A licence with atmosphere
The Libertadores in PES 2013 is not a logo on a menu. It arrives with its own presentation, its clubs, its anthem energy and a fixture rhythm that feels different from the European game: louder, looser, and played at a tempo that turns matches into exchanges of attacks. Konami understood that the competition's romance is its chaos.
The clubs and the players
The licensed field brings Brazilian and South American giants with real squads, in the edition where the Brazilian league itself was licensed and Neymar, then at Santos, stood on the South American cover beside Ronaldo. Playing these clubs in their own stadiums of noise is a side of 2012 football no other game that year could offer. For the complete picture of the game, start from the PES 2013 guide home page and work outwards from there.
Libertadores inside Master League
The headline change for PES 2013 is structural: the Copa Libertadores sits inside the Master League calendar. A South American Master League save now has a continental mountain to climb alongside the domestic league, with away trips that test squad depth and nerve in equal measure.
How the matches play
Libertadores fixtures in this engine run hot. The AI presses with real aggression, transitions are fast, and individual dribblers get space to run at defenders in a way European knockout ties rarely allow. Bring pace out wide, protect your defence with a genuine holding player, and expect the second leg to be a storm.
Scouting the continent
For Master League managers, South America is the market's value aisle. Young wingers and number tens with elite dribbling attributes cost a fraction of their European equivalents, and Libertadores matches are the perfect shop window: sign the player who just ran your defence ragged, before his price notices. We go deeper on the connected topic in our guide to the best players in PES 2013, which pairs well with this one.
Why it mattered for the series
The Libertadores licence announced that PES took world football seriously beyond Europe's big five leagues. It deepened Master League, honoured a huge share of the series' fanbase, and gave PES 2013 a flavour entirely its own. Games are remembered for what only they could do, and this was something only PES could do.
Playing it well today
Start a Master League with a Brazilian club, keep the squad small enough that Libertadores weeks test you, and let the continental run become your season's heartbeat. The mode rewards managers who rotate bravely for away legs and protect a first leg lead like it is made of glass. We go deeper on the connected topic in our explainer on the PES 2013 mobile version and its data files, which pairs well with this one.
A licence worth remembering
Licences come and go in football games, usually as marketing footnotes. The Libertadores in PES 2013 was content: clubs, players, atmosphere and a place inside the series' greatest mode. It remains one of the strongest reasons to return to this edition over its neighbours.
Quick Answers
Is the Copa Libertadores licensed in PES 2013?
Yes. PES 2013 includes the fully licensed Copa Libertadores with South American clubs, and for the first time the competition forms part of the Master League calendar.
Which South American players star in PES 2013?
Neymar at Santos is the headline name and shares the South American cover with Cristiano Ronaldo. The licensed Brazilian league makes the continent's young stars a rich scouting ground in Master League.
Why was the Libertadores licence important?
It gave PES exclusive, authentic South American club content its rivals lacked, deepened Master League, and recognised the series' huge South American fanbase.