P W D L F A PTS
Cruzeiro 6 5 1 0 15 4 16
Emelec 6 2 3 1 7 6 9
Olimpia 6 1 2 3 10 13 5
Sporting Cristal 6 1 0 5 4 13 3
RED = Qualified For Round of Last 16
1 MAY 2001
CRUZEIRO 3 : Marcelo Ramos 1, 38, Alexandro 41
OLIMPIA 1 : González 86
Olimpia badly needed a victory to keep their qualification hopes alive, but,
although playing with several reserves, Cruzeiro got an easy win. In my
opinion, Cruzeiro is the favourite to win the title. Coach Luiz Felipe
Scolari is a true Libertadores Cup genius.
EMELEC 3 : Sánchez 2, Juárez 51, 85
SPORTING CRISTAL 1 : Silva 53
This nice victory by Emelec over Sporting Cristal rendered the result of the
other match meaningless. For me, their qualification was a surprise, but I
think they won't go very far in the competition.
18 APRIL 2001
SPORTING CRISTAL 3 : Córdova 11, Alva 66, Julinho 82
OLIMPIA 2 : Escobar 42, Esteche 65
Sporting Cristal kept alive their slim hopes of qualification with this
hard-fought victory. The first goal of the match came in the 11th minute, in
a penalty converted by Córdova. Three minutes before the end of the first
half, Escobar equalised for Olimpia with a header. In the 65th minute,
Esteche put Olimpia ahead with a free kick, but less than one minute later
Alva evened things up. The final minutes were wide open, and the victory
could have gone to either side. In the 82nd, Julinho scored the decisive
goal for the home team. In order to qualify to the next stage, Sporting
Cristal needs a three-goal victory over Emelec in their final match, and
Olimpia must lose against Cruzeiro.
Red Cards : Cáceres (Olimpia), Quintana (Olimpia)
17 APRIL 2001
EMELEC 0
CRUZEIRO 0
Cruzeiro had absolutely nothing to play for, while Emelec desperately needed
a win. Cruzeiro played with six reserves, while Emelec counted with the
support of their fans. Even with that big handicap in their favour, Emelec
didn't even come close of scoring, in what was a very dull match.
Red Card : Cléber (Cruzeiro)
12 APRIL 2001
OLIMPIA 2 : Torres 22, Badell 44
EMELEC 2 : Juárez 30, Aguírrez 88
Although Emelec played better in the early minutes, it was Olimpia who took
the lead. González crossed from the right side and Torres headed the ball
into the net. On the half-hour mark, Emelec got a deserved equalizer, in a
similar play. The visitors put Olimpia's back against the wall, but once
again the Paraguayan side managed to score against the run of play, with
Badell poking the ball home after a series of rebounds inside the box. In
the second half, Olimpia's tactic was clear: to hold on to the ball for as
long as possible. It worked until the 88th minute, when a defender handled
the ball inside their box and Aguírrez converted the ensuing penalty. With
two matches to go, those teams are separated only by goal difference (two
goals).
10 APRIL 2001
CRUZEIRO 5 : Luisão 32, Oséas 37, 69, 90, Geovanni 80
SPORTING CRISTAL 0
Once again, a Peruvian side embarrassed itself with a ridiculous
presentation. On the other hand, Cruzeiro secured its place in the round of
16, thanks to another secure performance. Sporting Cristal intended to hold
on for as long as possible, so they came to this match in the classical
10-0-0 formation. It worked for nearly half an hour, until Luisão opened the
scoring for the Brazilians, with a strong shot from the right side of the
box. That completely destroyed Sporting's tactics, and things became easy
for Cruzeiro, who soon scored their second goal, through Oséas, who received
a great pass from Geovanni, and entered all alone in the box before scoring.
Early in the second half, the Peruvian side had a player sent off, and the
match became a mere formality. In the 69th, Oséas headed in a cross by
Luizinho Neto, to make it 3x0. The fourth goal came ten minutes from time.
Marcelo Ramos made an excellent play and put Geovanni face to face with
the goalkeeper, and the striker made no mistake. In the final minute of the
match, Oséas scored once again, completing his hat trick.
Red Card : Rojas (Sporting Cristal)
6 APRIL 2001
OLIMPIA 3 : Quintana 32, González 45, Esteche 56
CRUZEIRO 4 : Geovanni 10, 51, Jorge Wagner 79, Alessandro 88
Cruzeiro twice came from behind to beat Olimpia in this very thrilling
encounter. This victory, the second for the Brazilian side in three days
(talk about crazy schedules...), practically ensures they'll finish in the
top position, leaving Olimpia and Emelec to battle for second spot.
3 APRIL 2001
CRUZEIRO 2 : Geovanni 26, 60
EMELEC 0
Cruzeiro played just well enough to ensure victory over their fragile
Ecuadorian opponents.
13 MARCH 2001
SPORTING CRISTAL 0
CRUZEIRO 1 : Alessandro 80
This is a strong contender for worst match of the year. The influence of
coach Luis Felipe Scolari was clear in the Cruzeiro side : a very organised
and hard-tackling team that plays dull football. This match started with 79
minutes of total boredom, then there was a goal by Alessandro (heading
home a cross from the right), and 10 more boring minutes. Expect more of
that from Cruzeiro.
1 MARCH 2001
SPORTING CRISTAL 0
EMELEC 1 : Candelario 75
Sporting Cristal completely dominated the match, but they missed chance
after chance. Meanwhile, Emelec was dangerous in the counter-attacks. And in
the 75th minute the home side paid dearly for their mistakes. Moisés
Candelario sent a weak shot, but the ball deflected on the back of Salazar,
fooling goalkeeper Miranda. The Peruvian teams have now lost all their six
matches in the Libertadores Cup.
Attendance : around 11,000
22 FEBRUARY 2001
OLIMPIA 1 : Benítez 45
SPORTING CRISTAL 0
Olimpia dominated the first half, but seemed unable to find a hole in
Sporting Cristal's defence. In first half injury time, though, Olimpia
finally managed to score. Palacios crossed the ball, which hit defender
Rojas and ended up in the path of Benítez, who fired an unstoppable rocket
from close range. After getting the lead, Olimpia seemed happy in just
defending. Sporting Cristal had a couple of glorious chances to tie the
match, but Bonnet wasted them both.
Attendance : 11,744
13 FEBRUARY 2001
EMELEC 1 : Juárez 66
OLIMPIA 1 : Escobar 47
The first half was completely dominated by the home side, which wasted
several chances due to the nice showing of goalkeeper Tabarelli. And two
minutes after the break Emelec was punished for their mistakes, with Olimpia
scoring their first goal. Monzón crossed from de left side and Escobar just
deflected the ball to send it out of the reach of goalkeeper Aragón. In the
66th minute, Emelec finally got a deserved equaliser. Juárez received the
ball, dribbled past the goalkeeper and scored. The home team pressed for a
second goal, but Tabarelli and the post denied them.
Tomaz R. Alves
tomaz@trivela.com
http://trivela.com
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