return for championships

The competition continued to grow in 2001, and the former 12 participating teams soon became 16, and were divided into 4 groups. In group A, there were CFZ, Cruzeiro, Olaria and Kashima Norte. In group B, Vasco, Atlético-MG, América-RJ and Kumamoto. In group C, Flamengo, São Paulo, Bangu and Ichikawa. And in group D, Corinthians, Madureira, Nova Iguaçu and Kashima Antlers. This time, the winner of each group (CFZ, Vasco, Flamengo and Corinthians) advanced to the semifinal stage. In the final match, Vasco defeated Flamengo by 2 to 1. The CFZ, now coached by Kika, finally reached the semifinals. In the first stage, the team started tying with Kashima Norte, but won its subsequent matches against Olaria and Cruzeiro. With such results, it finished in first and advanced to the next stage. Both the coach and the technical staff remember the semifinal against Vasco with a certain level of sadness. CFZ was winning by 1 to 0, but the referee gave 7 minutes of injury time, and later 1 minute more, when Vasco finally equalized the match. The semifinal went to extra time, and Vasco scored the golden goal, advancing to the final and to the title. Both the opening match between CFZ and Kashima Norte and the final between Vasco and Flamengo were aired by TVE, a national television network.