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Latin American roundup Edmundo ignores ape problem to score twice
Posted: Monday September 27, 1999 11:26 AM
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -- Vasco da Gama's Edmundo forgot his problems with beer-swilling apes as he scored twice in a 2-0 Brazilian championship win over Internacional at the weekend. Brazilian veteran Bebeto scored his first goal for Mexico's Neza, only to see his side lose 6-1, while San Lorenzo went top in Argentina after drawing 0-0 with last season's double champions Boca Juniors. BRAZIL Vasco da Gama striker Edmundo, who could face prosecution for feeding beer to a chimpanzee during a party for his son, forgot that problem as well as another exclusion from the Brazil squad to sink Internacional with two goals. The former Fiorentina striker opened the scoring early in the second half and then converted a penalty shortly afterwards to give his side a 2-0 win and send Internacional, captained by Brazil's ex-World Cup player Dunga, nearer the relegation zone. They are 16th in the table. The performance capped a topsy-turvy five days for the volatile striker, whose team are fourth. On Wednesday, Edmundo gave a brilliant performance, scoring twice and setting up two more in a 4-2 win away to Corinthians, but was then attacked by a fan in the car park outside the stadium. The next day, he celebrated his son's first birthday by hiring a circus, complete with chimpanzees and elephants, to perform in his back garden. On Friday, Brazil coach Wanderley Luxemburgo again overlooked him when naming his squad to face the Netherlands. At the same time, the Brazilian government's environmental agency Ibama said Edmundo could be prosecuted after television pictures showed him cuddling a chimpanzee and giving it a glass of beer during the previous day's party. Romario, also left out of the Brazil squad Friday, replied with two goals as Flamengo beat Vitoria 5-2 to go level on points with Corinthians at the top of the table. Mario Zagallo's Portuguesa dropped to 20th after a 2-2 draw away to Atletico Mineiro where defender Fabricio was hero and villain, scoring both goals for his own team and one for the opposition when he diverted a cross into his own goal. Palmeiras coach Luis Felipe Scolari launched one of his customary anti-referee attacks after a 1-1 draw with Santos. "Santos must have committed 32 fouls in the first half and the ref did nothing," he said. "Then they say that my teams are rough." The 22 teams play each other once with the top eight qualifying for the quarterfinals. Corinthians stayed top on goal difference after a goalless draw at Sport Recife. MEXICO Brazilian veteran Bebeto broke his duck with new club Neza as he claimed his first goal since joining them in July, but his effort was a mere consolation in a 6-1 hammering by Toluca. He is yet to be on the winning side, Neza's two wins both coming when he was injured. It was a remarkable weekend in the Invierno (Winter) championship, the first of two championships in the Mexican season, as 39 goals were scored in the eight games. The highlight was UAG's 5-4 win over UNAM, while Atletico Celaya hammered Guadalajara 5-0 away, Atlanta and Atlas drew 3-3 and America beat Monterrey 4-2. Honduran striker Carlos Pavon scored a hat-trick for Celaya in its victory over a team that proudly field only Mexican players, while Uruguayan Carlos Morales scored three for Toluca. The 18 teams play each once but are divided into four groups, with eight progressing to the quarterfinals. Toluca, Cruz Azul, America and Necaxa lead the groups after eight games. ARGENTINA San Lorenzo, coached by Argentina's most capped international Oscar Ruggeri, and Boca Juniors drew 0-0 in an Apertura championship clash which allowed the former to go a point clear at the top. The Apertura is the first of two championships in the season. Boca Juniors, winners of both championships last season, sorely missed the presence of marksman Martin Palermo, sent off in last week's 3-1 defeat by Velez Sarsfield. San Lorenzo, which has 18 points from eight matches, is one point clear of Velez Sarsfield and River Plate. River lost its unbeaten record when it went down 2-0 to Argentinos Juniors, and Velez moved above them on goal difference by beating Gimnasia Jujuy 3-1. COLOMBIA Pasto remarkably beat Bucaramanga 1-0 despite playing the entire second half with nine men after having two sent off before halftime. They heroically clung to a lead provided by Echeverry's fifth minute goal. A brilliant goal by William Vasquez gave provincial side Tulua a 1-0 win over Atletico Nacional and kept it level on points with Millonarios at the top in the Finalisacion, the second stage of the championship. Millonarios came from behind to beat Tolima 2-1 CHILE Universidad de Chile extended its unbeaten league run to 27 wins with a 5-0 win over Palestino, Peruvian striker Flavio Maestri scoring twice. It has 72 points from 29 games and increased its lead to eleven points over second-placed Universidad Catolica, which was held 1-1 by Concepcion. Under the conventional league format, which was used until last year, Universidad de Chile would easily have wrapped up the title by now. However this year, after 16 teams have played each twice, the top eight go into a playoff stage where they start again from scratch. Champion Colo Colo is therefore still in with a chance of retaining the title, even though it is 25 points behind Universidad de Chile with one game left in the qualifying stage. URUGUAY Penarol maintained its 100 percent record in the Clausura, the second stage of the championship, by beating bottom club Tacuarembo 2-1 thanks to a last minute goal by Antonio Pacheco. This took the club to 27 points from nine games. The championship is divided into two stages -- the Apertura and Clausura -- with the winners meeting in the end-of-season final. Nacional won the Apertura and will claim the title automatically if it wins the Clausura as well. PERU Alianza Lima kept the lead in the Clausura, the second stage of the championship, despite going down 2-1 at altitude to Cienciano of Cuzco. Roger Serrano scored the winner with a 30-meter free kick while Walter Saenz missed a penalty for Alianza, which has 25 points from 11 games and a two-point lead over Sport Boys. The championship uses the same format as Uruguay. Sporting Cristal, which won the first stage, could manage only a 1-1 draw against nine-man Melgar. COSTA RICA Alajuelense beat Perez Zeledon 2-1 and lead the first stage of the championship, which is held over two stages, on goal difference from Saprissa. Both have 15 points from seven games. ECUADOR Deportivo Quito, which beat Macara 2-0, and Espoli, 1-0 winners away to Aucas, lead the two groups in the second stage of the championship. Barcelona, the country's most popular club, continued a terrible season with a 2-1 home defeat against El Nacional and is fifth in group one.
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