6 JUNE 2001

CORINTHIANS 3 : Marcelinho 10, Ewerthon 46, André Luiz 74
PONTE PRETA 0
(Corinthians wins 5x0 on aggregate)

This match was very aggressive, with many rough tackles and an excessive
number of fouls. Corinthians was the better side most of the time and their
qualification was never in question. In the 10th minute they extended their
aggregate lead to three goals after Marcelinho converted a questionable
penalty awarded to them by referee Alfredo dos Santos Loebeling. Corinthians
struck again in the first half injury time: Muller crossed from the left
side and goalkeeper Alexandre failed to hold on to the ball, dropping it at
the feet of Ewerthon, who poked it in. The second half was awful, with no
emotion, since the tie was obviously decided. In the 79th minute Gil was
brought down inside Ponte Preta's box, and the referee correctly awarded
Corinthians another penalty. André Luiz stepped up and converted from the
spot.


CORITIBA 0
GRÊMIO 1 : Zinho 60
(Grêmio wins 4x1 on aggregate)

Coritiba controlled the first half, but failed to create any dangerous
scoring chances. In the 60th minute, Zinho scored for Grêmio, against the
run of play: Tinga crossed the ball, goalkeeper Júnior failed to intercept
it and the ball ended up with Zinho, who easily scored. Coritiba didn't give
up and pressed forward until the final whistle. They had a couple of great
chances to score, but failed to capitalise.


3 JUNE 2001

PONTE PRETA 0
CORINTHIANS 2 : Scheidt 36, Kléber 52

Corinthians took a commanding lead over Ponte Preta with this two-goal
victory. The team from Campinas still has some hope, since the second leg
will be played at a neutral venue (in fact, the first leg was also played in
a neutral field). The first half of this match was bad. There were few
decent plays and fewer scoring chances. In the best chance of the first
half, Scheidt opened the scoring for the 'Timão': André Santos failed to
properly clear a cross by Marcelinho and the ball ended up with Scheidt, who
easily scored from five yards out. After the break, both teams showed more
attacking flair. Ponte Preta intended to press forward, but Corinthians was
most dangerous in the counter-attacks. In one of those plays, the 'Timão'
extended their lead: the Ponte Preta defenders childishly failed in their
attempt to make an offside line and Ewerthon entered all alone in the box.
Nevertheless, goalkeeper Alexandre managed to clear the ball, but his shot
hit a defender, and the ball ended up with Kléber, who poked it into the
empty net. Afterwards, Ponte Preta created a couple of good scoring chances,
but failed to capitalise.


30 MAY 2001

GRÊMIO 3 : Warley 33, Zinho 50, Ânderson Lima 81
CORITIBA 1 : Anderson 28

In spite of an early scare, Grêmio managed to beat Coritiba, and is heavy
favourite to advance to the Brazilian Cup final. The visitors opened the
scoring in the 28th minute, against the run of play, thanks to Anderson, who
hit a rocket in the top right corner of Grêmio's goal from a long-range free
kick. But five minutes later the home side tied the match, after a nice play
orchestrated by Tinga and finished by Warley. Five minutes into the second
half, Ânderson Lima was brought down inside the box. Zinho stepped up and
converted the ensuing penalty kick. In the 36th minute, Ânderson Lima made
it 3x1 for Grêmio, with a perfectly taken free kick. Grêmio currently holds
the record for most Brazilian Cup final appearances.

Red Cards : Ânderson Lima (Grêmio), Ataliba (Coritiba)


Tomaz R. Alves
tomaz@trivela.com
http://trivela.com