Brazil victories for the ages

"Since so few teams will qualify from the qualifying tournament, I think it will be slightly tougher than the Olympics," coach Ricardo Gomes said.

The U-20 Brazilians defeated Spain, 1-0, on a Fernandinho goal in the 86th minute in the title game in Abu Dhabi. The team does not include the phenomenon players of the past, though Sao Paulo striker Kleber was among the top scorers in the recently-concluded Copa Sudamericana. Spain, which played shorthanded after the fourth-minute expulsion of Melli, featured Barcelona striker Sergio Garcia, who nearly salvaged the result with his counterattacking threat.

"This shows that Brazil has at least two new generations of champions on the way," said Marcos Paqueta, coach of the U-20 team.

Peru improving

Peruvian soccer has been in the doldrums since the emergence on the international scene of players such as Hector Chumpitaz and Nene Cubillas in the World Cup in the '70s. But the situation appears to be improving. Peru, preparing to host to the Copa America finals, is off to a good start in World Cup qualifying under Brazilian coach Paulo Autuori. And Cienciano de Cuzco became the first Peruvian club to win a major international title by defeating River Plate, 1-0, in the Copa Sudamericana final in Arequipa, Peru, Friday.

Club president Juvenal Silva credited Cienciano's success to "good coaching, and the fact the club pays everyone's salary and bonuses on time," a common theme among successful South American clubs. Coach Freddy Ternero credited "the discipline and humility of my players."

Cienciano is composed of mostly low-profile players. Midfielders Paolo Maldonado and Alessandro Moran command the team's highest transfer fee -- $300,000. Striker German Carty, who led the competition with six goals, should begin to attract transfer attention.

Cienciano's stadium in Cuzco did not fulfill the competition's minimum of 40,000 capacity, so the final game was moved to Arequipa. But Cienciano had strong support. During emotional postgame scenes, Cienciano players noted their victory was not only important for the club but for all of Peru. Incredibly, clubs such as the extremely popular Alianza Lima, which nearly always has talented players, never have matched Cienciano's accomplishment.

Cienciano was founded in 1901 by teachers and students of the Colegio Nacional de Ciencias in Cuzco. The team became decreasingly concerned with academics, though, and its fans nicknamed Cienciano "burritos," noting the players were more sportsmen than scientists.

Tough way to go

The Mexican Apertura playoff final produced a bitter end for Universidad de Nuevo Leon. Los Tigres converted the only goal against Pachuca in the 91st minute Saturday night in Monterrey, but lost the total-goal series, 3-2. Tigres coach Nery Pumpido, a former Argentina goalkeeper who guided Olimpia of Paraguay to the Copa Libertadores title last year, said "the best team of the championship did not win," and protested that more than three minutes of injury time should have been added. Pumpido failed in his attempt to convince referee Marco Antonio Rodrigues, nicknamed "Chiquidracula," who ejected three Tigres players. Rodrigues was escorted off the field by at least 20 helmeted security agents. Pachuca's Colombian goalkeeper, Miguel Calero, was unbeatable until leaving the goal area and surrendering a header to Nestor Silvani. Pachuca coach Victor Manuel Vucetich now has won three Mexican league titles with three different teams . . . Bicycle kicks rarely produce goals, much less the deciding score on nearly the final touch of the match. But that is what happened in the El Salvador final Sunday, as Honduran William Reyes biked a shot between the legs of CD Aguila goalkeeper Juan Jose Gomez as FAS tied the score, 2-2. FAS then won on penalty kicks at Estadio Cuscatlan, the club's 14th national title, one more than Aguila. Aguila's players included former Dallas Burn defender Zarco Rodrigues . . . Francesco Totti scored on a penalty kick and his specialty, a "cucchiaio," the Italian term for chipping a soft shot over the goalkeeper, as Roma took a 2-0 victory over Empoli to retain the Serie A lead. Roma has 36 points, a record at this time of the season and 6 more than second-place Juventus and Milan after 14 games.