Vasco win the Cup

First up, congratulations to Vasco Da Gama for winning the Copa Do Brasil.

The Rio giant got on the board early and picked up the first piece of silverware available to top level Brazilian clubs.  Admittedly, on account of the odd nature of the Brazilian season, with the Copa Libertadores and Copa Do Brasil AND the various state championships all coinciding early in the calendar year, many top clubs are barred from taking part and give it a miss.

However Vasco and Coritiba beat those who were in front of them, and eventually setup an engrossing two leg final that went the way of the Rio club.

I tipped Vasco to edge the tie and they did just that.  Having won the first leg over their visiting opponents, Coritiba, but then having got shellacked 5-1 in a league fixture that, coincidentally, fell between two legs of the final, Vasco looked likely to lose the final altogether.  Momentum is everything, after all.

However a strong away performance secured the cup.  Vasco did lose the away leg 3-2, to Coritiba but triumphed on away goals.

So edge they did, by the narrowest of margins.

For Coritiba, an excellent campaign that saw them reach the final the same year that saw them return to the top flight.  Before the final, the club from the city of Curitiba beat Palmeiras in the quarterfinals quite handily, having thrashed them 6-0 at home.  They then squeaked by Ceara 1-0 on aggregate in the final four.

Vasco's route to the final was, somewhat gentler, having  beaten Avai 3-1 in the semifinals and Atletico Paranaense, again on away goals, in the last eight.

Vasco's Alecsandro, who scored the opening goal in the final, finished as one of the five joint top scorers in the competition, with five goals.

The final was played last Wednesday, on the same night, and at the same time that Sao Paulo beat Atletico Miniero in the crucial top of the table clash.