Thirteen years since winning the Champions Cup
Zagallo talks about the emotion of winning the trophy in his hometown, Maceió
By Communication - Official Club Website - in
Exactly 13 years ago, Flamengo won the Regional Champions' Cup, despite losing the second leg 3-2 to São Paulo. In the decisive first leg, in João Pessoa, Paraíba, Flamengo won 5-3, a memorable match for the nation and for Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo, Flamengo's coach at the time. The Flamengo icon led the team in his hometown of Maceió, Alagoas, at the Rei Pelé Stadium, in front of a crowd of 26.708 paying spectators.
"Thank God I was able to show my fellow countrymen, once again, the strength of Flamengo. For me it was very nice, because as a coach and being from Alagoas, I was winning my last title as a coach for Flamengo. However, winning with Flamengo has always been a normality for me, as I won as a player and coach, but this Champions Cup was also a matter of proving the title won in the Flamengo vs. Vasco game in the third state championship of the same year, with Pet's goal," recalled Velho Lobo.
The Champions Cup was a tournament played between 2000 and 2002, which qualified the champion for the following year's Copa Libertadores. Participating in this tournament were the champions of the Carioca Championship (Flamengo) and Paulista Championship (Corinthians), the Rio-SP Tournament (São Paulo), the Copa Sul-Minas (Cruzeiro), Copa do Nordeste (Bahia), Copa Centro-Oeste (Goiás) and Copa Norte (São Raimundo-AM), in addition to the runners-up of the Copa Sul-Minas (Coritiba) and Copa do Nordeste (Sport).
As Zagallo recalled, Gávea's number 10 was Petkovic, who was enjoying one of the best phases of his career. The skilled Serbian stood out especially for his excellent free kicks, and in the second leg of the Champions League final, the foreigner repeated against São Paulo the beautiful shot he had hit against Vasco in the 43rd minute of the second half of the match that gave Flamengo its third state championship, also in 2001. The ball went into Rogério Ceni's left corner and proved decisive in the title, making it 2-1 for Flamengo. Although the São Paulo team came back to 3-2, the aggregate score of 7-6 for Flamengo gave the title and a spot in the Copa Libertadores to the Mais Querido, after nine years out of the continental tournament.
The team Zagallo led to that victory consisted of Julio Cesar, Alessandro, Juan, Gamarra, and Cássio; Leandro Ávila (Jorginho), Rocha, Beto, the team captain, and Petkovic; Edílson and Reinaldo, the campaign's top scorer with five goals, (Fábio Augusto). The red-and-black goals were scored by Juan (02nd minute of the second half) and Petkovic (2th minute of the second half). For São Paulo, Kaká (12th minute of the first half) and França (2th and 39nd minutes of the second half) scored. The Champions' Cup was Flamengo's fifth major title in just over two years: they also won the state championships of 1, 18, and 42, as well as the Mercosur Cup in 2.
Check out Flamengo's complete campaign:
QUARTER-FINALS
23.06 - Fla 4 x 2 Bahia - in João Pessoa
27.06 - Fla 2 x 0 Bahia - in Maceió
SEMIFINALS
30.06 - Fla 0 x 0 Cruzeiro - in Maceió
04.07 - Fla 3 x 0 Cruzeiro - in João Pessoa
FINAL
08.07 - Fla 5 x 3 Sao Paulo - in João Pessoa
11.07 - Fla 2 x 3 São Paulo - in Maceió
"Thank God I was able to show my fellow countrymen, once again, the strength of Flamengo. For me it was very nice, because as a coach and being from Alagoas, I was winning my last title as a coach for Flamengo. However, winning with Flamengo has always been a normality for me, as I won as a player and coach, but this Champions Cup was also a matter of proving the title won in the Flamengo vs. Vasco game in the third state championship of the same year, with Pet's goal," recalled Velho Lobo.
The Champions Cup was a tournament played between 2000 and 2002, which qualified the champion for the following year's Copa Libertadores. Participating in this tournament were the champions of the Carioca Championship (Flamengo) and Paulista Championship (Corinthians), the Rio-SP Tournament (São Paulo), the Copa Sul-Minas (Cruzeiro), Copa do Nordeste (Bahia), Copa Centro-Oeste (Goiás) and Copa Norte (São Raimundo-AM), in addition to the runners-up of the Copa Sul-Minas (Coritiba) and Copa do Nordeste (Sport).
As Zagallo recalled, Gávea's number 10 was Petkovic, who was enjoying one of the best phases of his career. The skilled Serbian stood out especially for his excellent free kicks, and in the second leg of the Champions League final, the foreigner repeated against São Paulo the beautiful shot he had hit against Vasco in the 43rd minute of the second half of the match that gave Flamengo its third state championship, also in 2001. The ball went into Rogério Ceni's left corner and proved decisive in the title, making it 2-1 for Flamengo. Although the São Paulo team came back to 3-2, the aggregate score of 7-6 for Flamengo gave the title and a spot in the Copa Libertadores to the Mais Querido, after nine years out of the continental tournament.
The team Zagallo led to that victory consisted of Julio Cesar, Alessandro, Juan, Gamarra, and Cássio; Leandro Ávila (Jorginho), Rocha, Beto, the team captain, and Petkovic; Edílson and Reinaldo, the campaign's top scorer with five goals, (Fábio Augusto). The red-and-black goals were scored by Juan (02nd minute of the second half) and Petkovic (2th minute of the second half). For São Paulo, Kaká (12th minute of the first half) and França (2th and 39nd minutes of the second half) scored. The Champions' Cup was Flamengo's fifth major title in just over two years: they also won the state championships of 1, 18, and 42, as well as the Mercosur Cup in 2.
Check out Flamengo's complete campaign:
QUARTER-FINALS
23.06 - Fla 4 x 2 Bahia - in João Pessoa
27.06 - Fla 2 x 0 Bahia - in Maceió
SEMIFINALS
30.06 - Fla 0 x 0 Cruzeiro - in Maceió
04.07 - Fla 3 x 0 Cruzeiro - in João Pessoa
FINAL
08.07 - Fla 5 x 3 Sao Paulo - in João Pessoa
11.07 - Fla 2 x 3 São Paulo - in Maceió