return for championships

At its third edition, the Friendship Cup started to grow and, among the 12 participating teams, there were two brazilian clubs from out of the Rio de Janeiro State. The clubs were divided into 3 groups. In group A, there were Flamengo, Vasco, América-RJ and Saitama. In group B, CFZ, Botafogo, São Paulo and Kashima Antlers. And in group C, Fluminense, Atlético-MG, Bangu and an Ichikawa/Nova Iguaçu selection team. This time, there was a semifinal stage, holding each group’s winners (Flamengo, São Paulo and Atlético-MG) and the best second placed team (Fluminense). At the final match, Atlético-MG defeated Flamengo by 1 to 0 and took the trophy away to another state for the first time. CFZ did its best campaign under the command of Dudu Coimbra: defeated Kashima, smashed São Paulo and, when the advancement to next stage seemed certain, once only a simple tie was necessary, Botafogo, which had been smashed by São Paulo, recovered over CFZ with a merciless 4 to 0. If Dudu’s players scored once or lost by 3 to 0, they would have celebrated its first advancement to the Friendship Cup’s semifinal stage.