The Clausura tournament saw América end in next-to-last place in the general standings. This had not been seen since the mid-1950s. In the first five months of 2008, América was showered with twelve defeats, two draws and three victories, which resulted in the third-straight tournament without qualifying for the playoffs. The manager at the time was Rubén Omar Romano, who was one of the least successful coaches in the club's history. Coincidentally, after being replaced by Juan Antonio Luna, América got their third victory of the Clausura against Monterrey. Despite their poor domestic form, América fared well in the Copa Libertadores, defeating Brazilian side Flamengo 3–0 in the round-of-16 at the Estádio do Maracanã, overturning a 2–4 first-leg deficit, and advancing to the quarter-finals. They defeated Santos FC to reach the semifinal stage of the tournament, being eliminated by eventual champions LDU Quito after drawing 1–1 on aggregate.