BRAZILIAN CHAMPIONSHIP - FINAL - 2ND LEG REPLAY

18 JANUARY 2001

VASCO 3 : Juninho Pernambucano 30, Jorginho Paulista 40, Romário 53
SÃO CAETANO 1 : Adãozinho 37
(Vasco wins 4x2 on aggregate)

Finally, the João Havelange cup has come to an end, and Vasco deservedly
took the title. São Caetano dominated the early exchanges, but failed to
create clear-cut chances. It was Vasco that opened the scoring, though.
Juninho Paulista passed to Romário inside the box and the 'Baixinho' passed
the ball first time to Juninho Pernambucano, who struck it on the top left
corner from 15 yards out. São Caetano continued pressing forward and in
the 37th minute they tied the match, with a long-range rocket by
Adãozinho. But it took just three minutes for Vasco to get back in control.
Juninho Paulista found Jorginho Paulista in acres of space inside the box,
and the defender scored with a low crossed shot.

São Caetano increased the pressure after the break, but it was again Vasco
that scored. Once again, it was Juninho Paulista (the man of the match, in
my opinion) who started the play, setting up Romário, who entered the box,
powered his way past a defender and scored. After that, São Caetano was
down and out. They enjoyed most of possession, but Vasco's defence was
well placed, not allowing space for their opponents. Euller scored a fourth
goal for Vasco, but the referee correctly dismissed it. Well, congratulations
for Vasco - winners of the worst Brazilian championship ever!


BRAZILIAN CHAMPIONSHIP - FINAL - 2ND LEG

30 DECEMBER 2000

VASCO   x
SÃO CAETANO   x
(match interrupted midway through the 1st half)

This was supposed to be the match report of the final of the Brazilian
Championship. Instead, what we saw was the most embarrassing moment
in the history of Brazilian football.

At least 53 people were injured, 3 of which seriously. One of the fences that
separated the fans from the pitch collapsed, and hundreds of fans had to
enter the pitch to avoid being crushed by the panicking crowd. This match
was played at the São Januário stadium (home of Vasco), since the
Maracanã was closed for maintenance. The stadium was clearly
overcrowded. At the 25th minute, a fight broke out in one of the stands,
causing panic among the crowd, who had to enter the pitch, trying to avoid
being killed in the confusion. The injured ones were treated on the pitch and
then removed to nearby hospitals.

After one hour of stoppage, Eurico Miranda, president of Vasco, attempted to
restart the match, but the Rio de Janeiro governor interveined, and ordered
the match to be abandoned (the governour was right; there were no safety
conditions to play the match). The Vasco chairman was furious by the
decision, and proclaimed his team 'Brazilian Champions'. Neither Vasco nor
São Caetano seem to have disposition to replay the match, so there won't be
a champion in the João Havelange Cup (next week, the board of the 'Clube
dos 13' will meet and probably they will split the title between Vasco and
São Caetano).

I must remember that this competition was ridiculous from the start, with
second division teams (like Fluminense) being brought back to the first
division, no relegation or promotion and lower division teams having a
chance to win the title (like in São Caetano's case).

Indeed, this was the perfect ending for the perfect competition.

PS : my intention was filling the subject line with something like
"São Caetano (or Vasco) is the Brazilian champion", but that was
impossible. One thing is undeniable : Brazilian football is indeed
unpredictable...


BRAZILIAN CHAMPIONSHIP - FINAL - 1ST LEG

27 DECEMBER 2000

SÃO CAETANO 1 : César 11
VASCO 1 : Romário 27

Vasco got a good result, and now needs just a goalless draw to clinch the
Brazilian title. But remember : on previous stages, São Caetano twice
stunned its opponents with wins away from home in the second leg
(against Fluminense and Grêmio).

São Caetano started very well the match, throwing everything they got at
Vasco. At the 11th minute, Jorginho failed to clear a cross from Wagner.
César stole the ball from him and scored from a tight angle. Vasco managed
to tie the match on the 27th minute. After a little scramble inside São
Caetano's box, Clébson passed to Romário, who coolly scored from ten yards.
Vasco then dominated the proceedings, but São Caetano was dangerous with
their long-range shots. On the 37th minute, Adhemar hit Vasco's crossbar.

In the second half, the pace of the match dropped a little. Vasco still
dominated, but they created few good chances. São Caetano tried to
score with long range shots, but most times they missed the target.
The return leg will be played on Saturday.


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