There is a new tournament in Brazil, that started this week, called Champions Cup.
It's a knock out competition in two legs (excepting the final, that is played in just
one match). The winner of this competition is awarded a place next years
Libertadores Cup.

All matches of the Champions' Cup are taking place in two cities : Maceió
and João Pessoa.

Eight teams take part of this tournament :

- The winners of the Rio-São Paulo tournament : PALMEIRAS
- The winners of the Sul-Minas Cup : AMÉRICA MINEIRO
- The runners-up of the Sul-Minas Cup : CRUZEIRO
- The winners of the Centro-Oeste Cup : GOIÁS
- The winners of the Nordeste Cup : SPORT
- The runners-up of the Nordeste Cup : VITÓRIA
- The winners of the São Paulo State Championship : SÃO PAULO FC
- The winners of the Rio de Janeiro State Championship : FLAMENGO

The truth is that no one understands why the Brazilian FA decided to add yet
another competition to an already crowded schedule (in fact, we know - money).
The only reason that people care about who wins the Champions Cup is that it's
the easiest way to get to the prestigious Libertadores Cup. Anyway, enjoy the
reports.


QUARTER FINALS - 1ST LEG

12 JULY 2000

PALMEIRAS 3 : Pena 10, 15, Asprilla 69
CRUZEIRO 1 : Cléber Monteiro 56

Cruzeiro couldn't care less about this match. Since the team had already booked
its place in next year's Libertadores Cup (by winning the Brazilian Cup), this
tournament was absolutely meaningless to them. Being so, they fielded a team
with nine reserves, that was easily dominated by Palmeiras. With two goals by
Pena in the first quarter of hour, the team from São Paulo all but sealed the
destiny of this draw. Cléber Monteiro cut Cruzeiro's deficit in the second half,
but few minutes after scoring his goal, he was sent off, finishing off any hopes
of his team. A little later, Asprilla sealed the win for Palmeiras, making no
mistake  after a quick counter-attack.

Red Card : Cléber Monteiro (Cruzeiro)


FLAMENGO 3 : Iranildo (2), Reinaldo
GOIÁS 2 : Marquinhos, Araújo

The mighty Flamengo had many difficulties to beat resilient Goiás. The team from
Rio de Janeiro seemed to be poised to an easy victory after Iranildo scored two
goals for them, but Goiás came back into the game with Marquinhos. Reinaldo
put Flamengo two goals ahead, but a late goal by Araújo kept alive Goiás' hopes
for the second leg.


SÃO PAULO FC 0
VITÓRIA 0

This was a dull match. São Paulo was clearly feeling the effects of their shocking
defeat in the Brazilian Cup, and didn't play half as well as they usually do. At the
other side, Vitória tried to break the ‘Tricolor' defence, but they lacked creativity.
Anyway, the team from Salvador had the best chances, but were denied a goal
by the post and by some good saves by Rogério.


AMÉRICA MINEIRO 2 : Wellington Paulo 68, Denis 91
SPORT 1 : Nildo 40

Playing with the crowd at their side, Sport dominated this match and deserved a
better fate than this defeat. Sport was the better team in the first half and went
to the break leading thanks to a goal by Nildo in the 40th minute. The second half
was quite even, and Wellington Paulo equalised for América. In injury time,
América scored again, thanks to a blatant mistake by the referee, that failed to
see that Denis (the goal scorer) was clearly in offside position.


QUARTER FINALS - 2ND LEG

15 JULY 2000

VITÓRIA 0
SÃO PAULO FC 2 : Rogério Pinheiro 34, Marcelinho 37
(São Paulo wins 2x0 on aggregate)

São Paulo snapped a four game winless streak with this convincing victory over
Vitória. Two goals inside three minutes ensured the Tricolor's qualification. First,
defender Rogério Pinheiro headed home after a corner and then Marcelinho
made it 2x0, in a brilliant play inside the opponent's box. In the second half,
São Paulo just contained Vitória, that failed to create threatening plays. The
only downside for the Tricolor was Belletti's sending off in the last minute of
the match, after a violent and pointless tackle.

Red Card : Belletti (São Paulo FC)


GOIÁS 0
FLAMENGO 1 : Reinaldo 86
(Flamengo wins 4x2 on aggregate)

Flamengo was quite lucky not to have lost this match. The team from
Rio de Janeiro just needed a tie to qualify, and they played just well enough to
get it. Goiás pressed all the match and missed three guilt-edged chances. The
only goal of the game came four minutes from the end, in a counter attack
converted by Reinaldo.

Red Card : Luciano Baiano (Goiás)
Attendance : 34,162


CRUZEIRO 1 : Alê 63
PALMEIRAS 1 : Neném 28
(Palmeiras wins 4x2 on aggregate)

Once again, Cruzeiro showed clearly their lack of interest in this competition.
Even needing to score two goals, few times the team from Minas Gerais
threatened Sergio's goal. In the 28th minute, Neném scored the goal that
decided once and for all the draw. In the 63rd, Alê scored to avoid another
defeat for the Brazilian Cup champions.


SPORT 3 : Leomar 64, Adriano 79, Marquinhos 82
AMÉRICA MINEIRO 0
(Sport wins 4x2 on aggregate)

The first half was boring, with few scoring chances (most of them created by
América). The game only lightened up after the 60th minute, when Sport decided
to take more risks. In the 64th minute they were rewarded with a nice goal by
Leomar. Two minutes later, Fabrício, from América, was sent off (the ref awarded
América a throw in, but Fabrício attempted to take a corner kick instead, and the
ref understood that he was trying to delay the match and showed the player his
second yellow card). With one more man on the pitch, things became easier for
Sport, that scored two more goals to book their place in the semi-finals.

Red Card : Fabrício (América Mineiro)


CHAMPIONS CUP SEMI-FINAL DRAW

Palmeiras x Flamengo
São Paulo FC x Sport

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