P	W	D	L	F	A	PTS
Boca Juniors	6	5	0	1	7	5	15
Cobreola		6	3	1	2	8	7	10
Deportivo Cali	6	3	0	3	13	8	9
Oriente Petrolero	6	0	1	5	6	14	1

RED = Qualified For Round of Last 16


2 MAY 2001

DEPORTIVO CALI 3 : Bedoya 34, Aristizábal 77, Marchant 86 (og)
BOCA JUNIORS 0

Here Deportivo Cali got a great, but meaningless, victory over defending
champions Boca Juniors, who were playing mostly with reserves.

ORIENTE PETROLERO 2 : Coimbra 51, Lunari 83
COBRELOA 2 : Tagliani 10, Cornejo 55

Cobreloa needed only one point against Oriente Petrolero in order to
qualify, and they did just enough to get it, allowing the Bolivian side to
score its first point in the competition.

Red Cards : Melendez (Cobreloa), Vidal (Oriente)


4 APRIL 2001

COBRELOA 2 : Tagliani 45, Galaz 88
DEPORTIVO CALI 1 : Valenciano 51

Cobreloa is just one step away of ensuring qualification to the round of 16,
thanks to this deserved victory over Deportivo Cali. The Colombian was just
two minutes short of hanging on for a draw. Now, in order to qualify, Cali
must win its two remaining games and hope that Cobreloa lose to crappy
Oriente Petrolero in the final round.


ORIENTE PETROLERO 0
BOCA JUNIORS 1 : Pandolfi 90

Boca became the first team to assure their place in the final 16 with their
fifth straight one-goal victory. They should have done better, considering
they were playing against one of the worst sides in the competition.


20 MARCH 2001

BOCA JUNIORS 1 : Pinto 12
COBRELOA 0

This was Boca's fourth straight one-goal victory in the Libertadores Cup.
The quality of this match was severely harmed because of the heavy rain that
castigated Buenos Aires that night. With the pitch looking like a pool, both
sides had problems to create decent plays. The only goal of the match came
in the 12th minute, when Gustavo Pinto headed home a cross by Riquelme.
There was some emotion in the final 20 minutes of play, after the rain
stopped. Cobreloa created a couple of chances to tie the match, and Boca
Juniors missed a penalty kick.


7 MARCH 2001

BOCA JUNIORS 2 : Delgado 29, 73
DEPORTIVO CALI 1 : Quintana 25

The Boca fans have to thank goalkeeper Córdoba and Marcelo Delgado for this
win, since they were the only two players had a good night on the pitch for
the home side. The match began at full pace, with scoring chances for both
sides. And it was Deportivo Cali that scored first. Vásquez and Murillo made
a nice passing play, leaving Quintana in good position to score. But then
Boca showed why they are the defending champions, and swiftly tied the
match. Delgado made a run down the right side, entered unopposed in the box
and fired a crossed shot with no chance for the goalkeeper. The match
remained balanced, and any side could have scored the decisive goal. And in
the 72nd minute it was Boca Juniors who took their opportunity. Deportivo's
defenders Dinas and Hurtado failed to properly clear the ball, which ended
up with Delgado, who scored his second goal of the night. The final minutes
were dominated by the home side, who could have scored a third goal.


COBRELOA 2 : Tagliani 51, 87
ORIENTE PETROLERO 1 : Suárez 72

The match started very violently, with two players sent off in the opening
FIVE MINUTES of play (both for violent fouls). Cobreloa dominated the first
half, but their strikers were unable to capitalise on the numerous
opportunities they created. The opening goal came only in the 51st minute,
when Vivar went down the right side and crossed to Tagliani, who scored from
close range. After scoring, Cobreloa simply stopped playing, and allowed
Oriente Petrolero to dominate the proceedings. And in the 72nd minute, they
deservedly tied the match, with a perfect header by Suárez. This time, it
was Oriente that stopped playing, and Cobreloa regained control of the
match. And with three minutes to go, they scored the game winner, with
Tagliani capitalising on a good assist by Cornejo.

Red Cards : Pérez (Cobreloa), González (Petrolero)


2 MARCH 2001

ORIENTE PETROLERO 1 : Coimbra 28
DEPORTIVO CALI 3 : Valenciano 24, Murillo 42, 84

This was an easy victory for Deportivo Cali. Valenciano opened the scoring
in the 24th minute with a perfect free kick from 25 yards out. Oriente
Petrolero managed to tie the match thanks to a blatant error by goalkeeper
Dudamel. Later, a scuffle between Valenciano and Camacho resulted in the
sending off of both players, leaving each team with ten men on the pitch.
Three minutes before half time, Murillo put the visitors back ahead,
completing to the net a pass by Hernández. In the second half, there were
another two red cards. First, Petrolero's keeper Monasterio was sent off for
a dangerous foul on Murillo. A little bit later, Aristizábal, from
Deportivo, saw red for dissent. Six minutes from the end, Murillo scored an
insurance goal for the Colombian side, with a nice long distance shot.

Red Cards : Valenciano (Deportivo Cali), Camacho (Oriente Petrolero),
Monasterio (Oriente Petrolero), Aristizábal (Deportivo Cali)


28 FEBRUARY 2001

COBRELOA 0
BOCA JUNIORS 1 : Bermúdez 77

Cobreloa dominated the early stages, but Boca gradually settled and began to
create chances. In spite of the dominance from the Argentinean side, the
match seemed to be heading to a goalless draw until the 77th minute, when
Delgado ran down the left side and crossed the ball into the box. Goalkeeper
Mele couldn't control the ball, and Cobreloa's defenders, instead of
clearing it, gifted it to Bermúdez, who headed it in from close range.


21 FEBRUARY 2001

BOCA JUNIORS 2 : Pérez 32, Riquelme 55
ORIENTE PETROLERO 1 : Coimbra 58

This was a far from brilliant debut by defending champions Boca Juniors.
Playing at home against weak Bolivian side Oriente Petrolero, Boca almost
conceded a draw. The home side dominated the match, but experienced
difficulties to beat the coward defensive stance of Petrolero. In the 32nd
minute, Boca finally opened the scoring, thanks to a header by Pérez. The
Argentinean side kept the pressure on, and their second goal came ten
minutes after the break. Riquelme received a defective low cross inside the
box, but he did brilliantly in controlling it and shooting past the
goalkeeper. But just three minutes later, the visitors pulled one back,
taking advantage of a nap by the Boca defenders. The final half hour was
tense for the Boca fans, since Oriente Petrolero pressed for the equaliser.
In the end, Boca held out for a deserved, but not convincing, victory.


13 FEBRUARY 2001

DEPORTIVO CALI 1 : Valenciano 38
COBRELOA 2 : Fuentes 45, Vivar 49

Cobreloa surprised everybody with this comeback away from home. Valenciano
opened the scoring for Deportivo Cali with an excellent free kick. But the
Chilean side managed to tie the match in the first half. Baldivieso crossed
to Fuentes, who expertly headed it in. Four minutes after the restart,
Cobreloa completed its comeback, with an identical play. The only difference
was that this time Vivar headed it in. In the 65th minute, the home side was
awarded a penalty kick. Goalkeeper Dudamel took it, but he hit the post.
After that, desperation took control of Deportivo Cali, and they weren't
able to create more scoring chances.


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