P	W	D	L	F	A	PTS
Vasco da Gama	6	6	0	0	16	5	18
America de Cali	6	4	0	2	10	9	12
Penarol		6	1	1	4	7	10	4
Depor Tachira	6	0	1	5	3	12	1

RED = Qualified For Round of Last 16


2 MAY 2001

DEPORTIVO TÁCHIRA 0
AMÉRICA DE CALI 2 : González 6, Roganovich 59

This was a friendly match. América de Cali has a much better side, so they
won it without too much effort.

PEÑAROL 1 : Aguirregaray 58
VASCO 3 : Dedé 40, 87 Viola 52

Both teams had their fates sealed before this match. This victory enabled
Vasco to finish the first stage as the only team with a perfect record.

21 APRIL 2001

VASCO 3 : Romário 28, 52, Dedé 80
DEPORTIVO TÁCHIRA 2 : Ponte 54, González 88

This match was played in a Saturday (!!!), two weeks ago. Vasco was far from
their best (again), but still managed to beat Deportivo Táchira, although by
a narrow margin.


18 APRIL 2001

PEÑAROL 3 : Franco 7, Pintos 25, Pilipauskas 76
DEPORTIVO TÁCHIRA 1 : Tortolero 46

Peñarol finished Deportivo Táchira's slim hopes of qualification with an
easy victory. Early goals from Franco and Pintos effectively decided the
match in favour of the Uruguayans, who had no chance at all of qualifying.
Anyway, this result ensured qualification for the other two teams of the
group, Vasco and América de Cali.


12 APRIL 2001

VASCO 4 : Asprilla (og) 19, Clebson 20, Romário 22, Jorginho Paulista 28
AMÉRICA DE CALI 1 : González 91

Vasco played just ten minutes of good football in this match, but it was
enough for them to score four times. The first goal came in the 19th minute,
when Clebson crossed the ball and defender Luis Asprilla panicked,
deflecting the ball into his own net. In the next minute, Vasco scored
again, and this time Clebson headed home a cross by Odvan. Less than two
minutes later, Romário poked the ball in after a scramble inside América's
box (it was Romário's first goal in the competition). In the 28th minute,
Vasco made a superb passing play, which was neatly finished by Jorginho
Paulista. With the four-goal lead, Vasco relaxed, and just waited for the
final whistle. Midway through the second half, Viáfora and Viola were sent
off, for hitting each other. On the ensuing play, Asprilla also saw red,
making things even easier for the Brazilian side. In injury time, América
de Cali got a consolation goal from a penalty kick.

Red Cards : Viáfora (América), Viola (Vasco), Asprilla (América)


5 APRIL 2001

VASCO 2 : Viola 13, 90
PEÑAROL 1 : Giacomazzi 87

Once again Vasco played crap football, but got away with it. Peñarol got a
late game-tying goal, but Vasco got an even later game-winner from Viola.
It this defeat, the Uruguayan side is mathematically eliminated from the
competition.


21 MARCH 2001

DEPORTIVO TÁCHIRA 0
VASCO 1 : Euller 84

Everybody expected a rout by Vasco, which has a much better side than
Deportivo Táchira. But the Brazilians were severely uninspired this night,
while the home side worked very hard, and deserved to get a draw. With six
minutes to go, there came the cruel punishment for the Venezuelan team.
Romário, who did nothing in the first 83 minutes of the match, superbly
assisted Euller (who also had no influence in the first 83 minutes), and the
Vasco attacker made no mistake. If Vasco doesn't improve, they'll not get
very far in this competition.


14 MARCH 2001

AMÉRICA DE CALI 0
VASCO 3 : Juninho 30, Clébson 54, Euller 82

37 days after the start of the competition, Vasco finally made its debut in
the Libertadores Cup. And the Brazilian side got a convincing victory over
América de Cali, which had a perfect record of three victories in three
matches. The home side started the match on the attack, but it was Vasco
who struck first, with Juninho.  América attacked with all their strength, but
Hélton denied them with a couple of great saves. Once again, Vasco scored
in a counter attack created by Juninho. The midfielder put Romário in great
position and the 'Baixinho', instead of scoring, passed to Clébson, who just
needed to tap the ball in. After allowing the second goal, the Colombian
side completely lost its feet. Eight minutes from the end, Euller scored a
third for Vasco, once again capitalising on an assist by Romário.


6 MARCH 2001

AMÉRICA DE CALI 2 : García 20, González 81
PEÑAROL 1 : Bengochea 21

This was a very physical match, with many violent tackles that escaped
unpunished by the referee. América opened the scoring in the 20th minute
with García, who poked the ball in after a rebound of a free kick taken by
Mafla. But in the next minute Peñarol tied the match. Goalkeeper Barbat
tried to cut a free kick by Bengochea, but completely missed the ball, which
went directly into the net. The match continued violent and balanced, and it
seemed that 1x1 would be the final score. But nine minutes from the end,
González scored the game-winner for América. He received a ball in the left
side, entered the box, dribbled a defender and shot a rocket, giving no
chance for the goalkeeper.

Attendance : around 12,000


27 FEBRUARY 2001

AMÉRICA DE CALI 3 : Mafla 13, Ferreira 36, Vásquez 83
DEPORTIVO TÁCHIRA 0

Venezuelan side Deportivo Táchira was no match for the 'Diablos Rojos' (Red
Devils) of América de Cali. The home team dominated the match from the
start, and opened the scoring on the 13th minute. The goal came in a perfect
free kick taken by Mafla. The visiting side must thank goalkeeper Angelucci
for keeping the scoreline respectable. In the 36th minute, América scored
its second goal. Mafla made a perfect pass to Mázziri, who sent a great ball
to Ferreira, who shot a rocket in the right side of Angelucci's net. The
second half saw the same story: the Colombian side pressing forward and
Deportivo Táchira powerless to respond. In spite of their pressure, América
scored just one more goal, with Vásquez, seven minutes from the end.


22 FEBRUARY 2001

DEPORTIVO TÁCHIRA 0
PEÑAROL 0

The first half of this match was awful. Favourites Peñarol were undecided
between attacking weak Deportivo Táchira or just holding out for a draw away
from home. After the break, the Uruguayan side improved a little bit and
created a couple of scoring chances. But then it was time for the home team
to lock themselves in defence and hold out for the goalless draw.


13 FEBRUARY 2001

PEÑAROL 1 : Bizera 40
AMÉRICA DE CALI 2 : Roganovich 22, 59

This match was a repeat of the 1987 Libertadores Cup final, which was won by
Peñarol. The Uruguayan side started the match better, but it was América who
opened the scoring, in a controversial play. Roganovich was brought down
inside the box and the referee awarded a penalty. Roganovich took the
penalty, and his shot was saved by Elduayén, but the referee ordered it to
be retaken, claiming that the goalie moved before the shot was taken (he
really moved before the whistle, but we know that it happens in 99% of the
penalty kicks). Up stepped again Roganovich, and this time he made no
mistake. The goal upset the home side, which distributed some rough tackles.
In the 40th minute justice was restored when Bizera scored the tying goal.
In the second half, the match was well balanced, and it was once again
América the team that found the net first. Ferreira made a quick run through
the right side and passed to Roganovich, who was all alone in front of the
goal and had no problems to score. In the 76th minute, the Colombian side
had a player sent off and they had to endure 14 minutes of intense pressure
by the home side in order to earn all three points.

Red Card : Zapata (América de Cali)


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