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Santos loses home field advantage Posted: Friday December 06, 2002 9:58 AMRIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -- Santos will be forced to play both legs of the Brazilian championship final against Corinthians on enemy territory after authorities ruled its stadium was too small to host the event. Santos, who are based in the port of the city of the same name, had hoped to convince officials that its Vila Belmira ground was fit to stage one leg of the final, which under Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) rules can only be played in stadiums holding more than 25,000. But the CBF said Friday that both legs of the final would be played at the Morumbi stadium in Sao Paulo, which Corinthians use for most of their big games. Sao Paulo is 70 kilometers from Santos and the nearest city with a stadium which meets the 25,000-capacity rule. Santos coach Emerson Leao was angry at the decision. "It's our right to play at the Vila," he told reporters. "Until now, everything has been difficult, we have always been underdogs and we have overturned the disadvantage by winning our match at home." Flowing football Santos, the club where Pele spent nearly all of his career, has resurfaced from several years of midtable mediocrity to reach the final with a team of home-bred youngsters. The team, inspired by 17-year-old midfielder Diego and 18-year-old striker Robinho, has an average age of 23 and even captain Paulo Almeida is only 21. The team has captivated the imagination of the Brazilian public with its flowing football, which has had critics nostalgically remembering the club's heyday in the 1960s. "This team has reconquered the fans and given the club back its respect," said Leao, who has resurrected his own career after an unhappy eight months in charge of Brazil which ended last year. "We've carried out a policy of reducing expenses and raising new talent and we've had a much better return than we expected." Santos has already guaranteed a place in next year's Libertadores Cup by reaching the final, returning to South America's top competition for the first time since 1985, and is now aiming to win its first domestic title since 1984. The team known as the Fish will be without fullback Maurinho, sent off in Wednesday's semifinal second leg against Gremio, and central defender Andre Luis, suspended with three yellow cards. Unique treble Corinthians, champions in 1998 and 1999, are hoping to complete a unique treble under Carlos Alberto Parreira, who led Brazil to World Cup victory in 1994, having already won the Rio-Sao Paulo tournament and Copa Brasil in the first half of the season. Parreira, who despite winning Brazil's fourth World Cup was criticized at the time for allegedly defensive tactics, promised a feast of attacking football. "Santos have a very attacking team and so do we, with three forwards," said Parreira, who led Fluminense to the Brazilian championship title 18 years ago. Corinthians midfielder Fabinho is suspended and Vampeta -- a reserve in Brazil's World Cup squad -- has a knee injury.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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