27 MAY 2001

VASCO 1 : Juninho Paulista 35
FLAMENGO 3 : Edílson 21, 53, Petkovic 87
(Flamengo wins the title 3x2 on aggregate)

This was a great final, decided only in the final minutes. Flamengo needed a
two-goal victory, so they did the early pressure. In the 21st minute, Cássio
was brought down inside Vasco's box. Edílson stepped up and converted the
ensuing penalty kick. That goal woke up Vasco, which started to play better
and created numerous scoring chances. In the 35th minute, they tied the
match: Viola entered the box, dribbled a defender and passed to Juninho
Paulista, who was all alone in front of the goalkeeper and scored. After the
break, Flamengo didn't give up, and once again took the lead of the match:
Petkovic ran down the left side and made a perfect cross to Edílson, who
headed the ball in. The 2x1 result was still good for Vasco, so they began
to play very defensibly. Flamengo piled forward, but found it difficult to
break Vasco's rearguard. Finally, three minutes from time, Flamengo was
awarded a free kick just outside the box. Petkovic took it superbly,
perfectly placing the ball in the top left corner of the goal. The Flamengo
fans went wild, and everybody knew it was too late for Vasco to attempt a
comeback. This is Flamengo's 20th State Championship title, the third in a
row.

Attendance: around 80,000


20 MAY 2001

FLAMENGO 1 : Petkovic 59
VASCO 2 : Viola 77, Juninho Paulista 87

With this unexpected victory, Vasco is now firmly in the driving seat of the
series. In order to win the title, Flamengo needs a 2-goal victory in the
second leg. This match was tense, but there was a handful of scoring
chances, but both teams failed to score. After the break, Flamengo dominated
the match, and they opened the scoring in the 59th minute, through Petkovic.
After the goal, Vasco took the initiative and had some scoring chances. In
the 77th minute, Euller made a nice play and was brought down inside
Flamengo's box. Viola stepped up and scored from the penalty spot. But while
celebrating the goal, Viola foolishly took off his shirt, what meant a red
card for him. Nevertheless, Flamengo wasn't able to take advantage of their
numerical superiority. Three minutes from time, Euller created a counter
attack and was brought down just outside the box. Juninho took the ensuing
free kick, which deflected in the defensive wall, fooling the goalkeeper
before going in.

Red Card : Viola (Vasco)
Attendance : 49,761


22 APRIL 2001

FLUMINENSE 1 : Ramón 83
BOTAFOGO CARIOCA 1 : Taílson 43

This result severely dented both teams' chances of winning the second stage
of the Rio de Janeiro championship. The match clearly showed how poor are
the squads of these teams. Each side wasted a couple of half-chances in the
first half, until Botafogo finally managed to open the scoring. Geraldo sent
a long ball to Taílson, who dribbled past a defender and shot with no chance
for the goalkeeper. As expected, it was Fluminense that controlled the
second half. And seven minutes before time, the game-tying goal finally
arrived, thanks to a perfectly placed free kick by Ramón.


15 APRIL 2001

FLUMINENSE 3 : Ramon 31, Agnaldo 33, Magno Alves 47
VASCO 3 : Viola 17, Pedrinho 66, Dedé 75

This draw makes the second stage much more interesting, with the top four
teams separated only by three points. Vasco scored first, with Viola heading
home a cross by Clébson. But Fluminense came back in the 31st minute, with
Ramon scoring from a free kick. Just two minutes later, 'Flu' took the lead,
in a penalty kick converted by Agnaldo. Early in the second half, Magno
Alves took advantage of a mistake by Nasa and made it 3x1, seemingly putting
the match beyond Vasco's reach. But in the 66th minute, the team from São
Januário clawed back into the match, with a very nice goal by Pedrinho. Nine
minutes later, a shot by Pedrinho hit the post and Dedé poked the ball in on
the rebound, rescuing an unlikely point for Vasco.

Red Cards : Viola (Vasco), Paulo Miranda (Vasco)
Attendance : 27,741


1 APRIL 2001

BOTAFOGO CARIOCA 1 : Serginho 52
FLAMENGO 1 : Roma 29

This draw severely harmed both teams' chances of winning this stage.
Flamengo dominated the first half-hour of play, and it was just fair when
Roma opened the scoring with an unstoppable shot. Early in the second half,
Serginho took advantage of a bad pass by the Flamengo defenders, stole the
ball and shot from long range. The ball deflected in a defender, fooling the
goalkeeper. Flamengo dominated the remainder of the match, but was
unable to break the deadlock.


3 MARCH 2001

FLAMENGO 1 : Marco Brito 76
FLUMINENSE 1 : Reinaldo 64
(Flamengo wins 5x3 on penalties)

Flamengo wins the Guanabara Cup, thus assuring their place in the real final
of the Rio de Janeiro State championship, against the winner of the second
stage, the Rio Cup. The first half of this match was boring, with the only
emotion coming in the 30th minute, when a header by Agnaldo hit Flamengo's
crossbar. The match came to life on the 64th minute, when Flamengo opened
the scoring, with a perfectly taken free kick by Reinaldo. Fluminense threw
everything they got to the attack, and managed to tie the match on the 76th,
thanks to Marco Brito. Fluminense still dominated in the final minutes, but
wasn't able to score the game-winning goal, so the 'title' had to be decided
on penalty kicks.

Flamengo converted all their five shots, while Magno Alves missed for
Fluminense. The most unusual scene of this final happened on Cássio's shot,
the 4th by Flamengo. His penalty shot was saved by Júlio César and, while
the goalkeeper celebrated, the ball got some spin in the air, bounced on the
floor and went in. Talk about bad luck...

Penalty kicks :
FLAMENGO		FLUMINENSE
Reinaldo (goal)		Marco Brito (goal)
Juan (goal)		Magno Alves (missed)
Roma (goal)		Paulo César (goal)
Cássio (goal)		Régis (goal)
Beto (goal)

Attendance : 66,191


24 FEBRUARY 2001

FLUMINENSE 1 : Agnaldo 44
AMERICANO 0

Fluminense booked its place in the final of the 'Guanabara Cup' against
Flamengo with this unconvincing victory over minnows Americano. The first
half was eventful, with plenty of scoring chances, most of which were
created by Americano. In spite of that, it was Fluminense who scored.
Americano's defence tried to play the offside trap, but it didn't work, so
Marco Brito found himself all alone, before passing to Agnaldo, who scored.
Americano started the second half at full speed, and once again it was
Fluminense who found the net. But this time the goal was disallowed because
of an inexistent offside. Anyway, that play seemed to take the air off
Americano, who didn't create any more scoring chances.


22 FEBRUARY 2001

FLAMENGO 1: Beto 76
VASCO 0

The first half of this semi-final was disappointing, with Flamengo playing
very defensibly and Vasco clearly in an uninspired night. The match improved
only after the 65th minute, when Leandro Ávila and Clébson got into a fight
and were both sent off. That rekindled the rivalry between the two teams,
which started to attack a little more. In the 76th minute, there was finally
a goal: Cássio crossed from the left side and Beto headed home. The
scoreline tells what the match was: a forgettable encounter, with a small
dominance by Flamengo.

Red Cards : Leandro Ávila (Flamengo), Clébson (Vasco)
Attendance : 27,841


18 FEBRUARY 2001

FLAMENGO 0
BOTAFOGO CARIOCA 1 : Taílson 18

Sadly, this derby had no meaning in the championship, since Flamengo had
already ensured first place in group A and Botafogo had no more chances of
qualifying to the semi-finals. This was a very bad match, since both teams
had nothing to play for. In the first attacking play of the game, Botafogo
opened the scoring. Souza went down the right side and passed to Donizete,
who sent a low cross to Taílson. The attacker was all alone in the box and
shot with no chance for the goalkeeper. After the goal, the only exciting
play came on the 39th minute, when Flamengo had a goal disallowed for
offside.

In the semi-final phase of the 'Guanabara Cup', Flamengo will meet deadly
rivals Vasco, while Fluminense will have an easy task, against Americano.

Red Cards : Juan (Flamengo), Serginho (Botafogo Carioca)


11 FEBRUARY 2001

VASCO 2 : Pedrinho 33, Euller 67
FLUMINENSE 0

Even playing with six reserves among the starters, Vasco had no problems to
beat Fluminense. The first half was violent, with eight yellow cards and two
penalty kicks. In the first one, Euller hit the post, but Pedrinho opened
the scoring for Vasco on the rebound. Three minutes later, Fluminense
suffered another heavy blow, with the sending off of César. Nevertheless,
they had a great scoring chance in the 44th minute, when Agnaldo was brought
down inside Vasco's box. Asprilla took the penalty, but his shot was saved
by Helton. In the 67th minute, Vasco scored their second goal, which
effectively decided the match. In a counter-attack, Pedrinho sent a long
ball to Euller, who coolly struck it over the advancing keeper.

Red Card : César (Fluminense)


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