P W D L F A PTS
Rosario Central 6 4 1 1 13 4 13
Junior 6 3 1 2 10 6 10
Velez Sarsfield 6 3 0 3 5 8 9
Universitario 6 0 2 4 3 13 2
RED = Qualified For Round of Last 16
19 APRIL 2001
VÉLEZ SARSFIELD 0
ROSARIO CENTRAL 2 : Pizzi 74, Arias 87
Rosario Central was the better side in this match. Vélez needed a win, but
they never came really close of scoring. The first half was even balanced,
and there were few scoring chances. Early in the second, Jairo Castillo got
his second yellow card, and was sent off. With one extra man on the pitch,
things became easy for Rosario. In the 74th minute, González sent a great
pass to Pizzi, who dominated the ball and sent it past the onrushing
goalkeeper. Three minutes before the end, Pizzi found Arias all alone in
front of the goal, and he made no mistake. This result qualified Rosario
Central to the next stage, while Vélez say goodbye to the competition.
Red Card : Castillo (Vélez)
5 APRIL 2001
VÉLEZ SARSFIELD 1 : Husaín 58
UNIVERSITARIO 0
Vélez almost dropped two vital points against the awful team of Universitario.
Given that Junior Barranquilla will probably beat the Peruvian side in final
round of matches, Vélez will need a victory over Rosario Central to qualify.
4 APRIL 2001
ROSARIO CENTRAL 1 : Cuberas 23
JUNIOR BARRANQUILLA 0
Uninspiring match, where the only goal came in a penalty kick. I expected
more from this decisive encounter.
22 MARCH 2001
JUNIOR BARRANQUILLA 4 : Pérez 38, Marquinho 47, Alcázar 66, Ballesteros 85
VÉLEZ SARSFIELD 0
Vélez went to Colombia with the clear intention of getting a draw. Their
tactic worked out pretty well in the first half-hour. But in the 37th
minute, the team began to fall apart, when Castillo was substituted and
almost punched head coach Tabárez. In the next minute, Junior opened the
scoring, with a potent 35-yard free kick. Early in the second minute, the
home side made it 2x0, thanks to a questionable penalty kick awarded by the
referee and converted by Marquinho. In the next minute, Müller was sent off
for deliberately hitting Aguilar, and that was it for Vélez. Later in the
match, the home side scored two more times, through Alcázar (a nice goal)
and Ballesteros (thanks to an error by Crosa).
Red Cards : Müller, Cubero
20 MARCH 2001
UNIVERSITARIO 1 : Cárpena 42
ROSARIO CENTRAL 1 : González 78
This was the first point by a Peruvian team in the Libertadores Cup. But it
wasn't enough for Universitario, which needed a win to keep their slim
qualification hopes alive. The home side played desperate football
throughout the match, while Rosario abused of the fouls to stop the plays.
In the 42nd minute, the Peruvian side finally got a goal, with Marcelo Jaime
Cárpena connecting with his head from a corner. The home side was the better
team in the second half, but they were surprised in the 78th minute, with
Ezequiel González scoring with a perfectly taken free kick.
15 MARCH 2001
UNIVERSITARIO 1 : Ibarra 52
JUNIOR BARRANQUILLA 2 : Zuleta 70, Ballesteros 90
Both teams desperately needed all three points, so they played with a lot of
heart. The home side tried to impose themselves, but they clearly lacked
talent to do so. But in the 52nd minute Universitario got an unexpected
goal. Ibarra received the ball with his back to the goal, quickly turned
around and fired a powerful shot to make it 1x0. Junior Barranquilla threw
itself to the attack, and Universitario had some good chances to increase
their lead in counter-attacks. But in the 70th minute the visitors got a
deserved equaliser. Luis Fernando Zuleta made a great play, dribbling
Banegas and Masías down the right side, before scoring. The goal took the
air off Universitario, who allowed more and more space to the visitors. The
Colombian side wasted a penalty shot in the 85th, but five minutes later
they finally scored the game-winning goal, through Ballesteros. It was the
9th straight defeat for Peruvian sides in the Libertadores.
8 MARCH 2001
ROSARIO CENTRAL 2 : Pizzi 13, Maceratesi 43
VÉLEZ SARSFIELD 0
This was the first encounter of two teams of the same country in this year's
Libertadores Cup. Vélez created a couple of early chances, but it was
Rosario Central who scored first. Iván Moreno crossed from the right side
and Pizzi shot the ball past the goalkeeper. Vélez went to the attack and
created many chances, but their forwards wasted them all. On the other hand,
Rosario Central was very effective in front of the net. And they made it 2x0
in their second scoring chance of the match. Pizzi made a nice move past
Méndez, waited for the goalkeeper to leave the goal and passed the ball to
Maceratesi, who just deflected it into the empty net. The second half was
owned by Vélez, but once again their forwards were unable to capitalise on
their chances.
22 FEBRUARY 2001
VÉLEZ SARSFIELD 2 : Müller 6, 14
JUNIOR BARRANQUILLA 0
It took just a quarter of hour for Vélez to win this match. In the sixth
minute, Husain crossed from the left, goalkeeper Higuita failed to cut the
cross and Víctor Müller headed the ball into the empty net. The home side
kept the pressure on, and they doubled their lead in the 14th minute. Once
again, the play started with Husain, who sent a long ball to Castillo, who
found Müller all alone in the box, and the striker made no mistake. After
the second goal, Vélez seemed content in just playing out time. They had a
couple of chances to score in what was a dull second half.
21 FEBRUARY 2001
ROSARIO CENTRAL 6 : González 7, 34, Cuberas 17, Pizzi 60,
Fabianesi 63, De Bruno 71
UNIVERSITARIO 0
Rosario Central recovered from their first-round defeat by handing
Universitario its worst defeat since 1970. The first goal came in a free
kick, which González converted from 30 yards out. In the 17th, the home side
made it 2x0. Sánchez took a corner from the right, Pizzi passed to Cuberas,
who headed it in. The third goal was the best one: González went all alone
down the left side of Universitario's box, the goalkeeper left his goal, but
the striker managed to squeeze the shot in from a tight angle. After the
break, Rosario's dominance continued. Pizzi was brought down inside the box
when attempting a header. The same Pizzi stepped up and converted the
penalty. Just three minutes later, the Argentinean side scored their fifth.
It was a nice play, with Sánchez passing to Arias, who dribbled the keeper
and passed to Fabianesi, who just deflected the ball in. With 71 minutes
gone, substitute De Bruno headed home the six and final goal of the match.
7 FEBRUARY 2001
JUNIOR BARRANQUILLA 3 : Ballesteros 41, Marquinhos 45, Restrepo 51
ROSARIO CENTRAL 1 : Sánchez 89
Junior Barranquilla started the match nervously, allowing too much space for
the visiting team, which went to the attack. But as time went on, the home
side dominated the proceedings. And they opened the scoring on the 41st
minute, through a potent shot by Ballesteros. Just four minutes later,
Arriaga was brought down inside Rosario's box and Marquinhos converted the
ensuing penalty, to make it 2x0. With six minutes into the second half,
Junior Barranquilla put the nail in Rosario's coffin, with Restrepo scoring
a nice goal. From that point on, the match lost interest. In the last
minute, Sánchez scored a consolation goal for the Argentinean side.
6 FEBRUARY 2001
UNIVERSITARIO 0
VÉLEZ SARSFIELD 2: Jairo Castillo 38, Domínguez 55
Vélez Sarsfield got a comfortable win, playing away from home. The team from
Argentina was clearly superior throughout the match, so much that the home
side only managed their first shot in the 30th minute. In the 38th minute,
Vélez opened the scoring. In a counter attack, Jairo Castillo made a
remarkable individual effort, scoring the first goal of the 2001
Libertadores Cup. Universitario started the second half determined to tie
the match, but in the 55th minute, Vélez made it 2x0. Candelo took a corner
kick for the Argentinean side and Domínguez rose higher than the defenders
and headed it in. From that point on, Universitario had most of the
possession, but never looked likely to threat Vélez's lead.
Red Cards : Bernales (Universitario), Pujan (Vélez)
Tomaz R. Alves
tomaz@trivela.com
http://trivela.com
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