v Corinthians, São Paulo seek to end 29-year wait: first women’s title | OneFootball

When they begin the final of the Brazilian Women’s Championship this weekend against rivals Corinthians, São Paulo will be aiming for more than just ending an annoying 29-year drought without winning the competition. They will also be trying to reclaim the top spot in the women’s football scene—a category, moreover, in which Tricolor were pioneers.

Yes, for those who may not remember, the Morumbi club were the first-ever Brazilian women’s champions in 1997, in a historic final in which they beat Portuguesa 4-0.

The I (First) Brazilian Women’s Football Championship of 1997 was held between November 8 and November 30, 1997, at a single host venue in the city of Taubaté, in the interior of São Paulo state. (And, yes, this was the official name of the competition, as stated in the regulations, the official match reports, and on the plaque of the tournament trophy organized by the Brazilian Football Confederation – CBF).

The tournament featured 16 teams from seven Brazilian states, divided into four groups of four teams each in the first phase. Tricolor, coached by José Duarte, were placed in Group A alongside Rio Negro from Amazonas, Universidade Gama Filho, and Cabo Frio, both from Rio de Janeiro.

São Paulo’s campaign was full of routs. In their opener, on November 8, the Tricolors beat Cabo Frio 4-0 at Joaquinzão, with two goals from Kátia Cilene and one each from Tati and Cidinha. In the second round, on the 10th, at CTI, the women steamrolled Rio Negro with an emphatic 11-0 scoreline. The goals were scored by Kátia Cilene (3), Adriana (2), Cidinha (2), Sissi (2), Elsilene, and Karin.

The biggest thrashing of the tournament, however, came in the last round of the first phase, on the 12th, at the Mecânica ground, where the São Paulo side showed no mercy against Universidade Gama Filho, beating them 13-0, with a starring performance from Kátia Cilene and Sissi, who scored four times each. The other goals came from Cidinha, with two, Adriana, Karin, and Grazielle.

São Paulo thus qualified in first place for the second phase, which featured seven other teams. In Group E, Tricolor would then face Portuguesa, known as Lusa Sant’Anna, Tupinambás from Minas Gerais, and Raiz da Gávea from Rio de Janeiro.

In the other group, Group F, were Internacional from Porto Alegre, Rio Negro from Amazonas, Corinthians, and Vasco da Gama. All matches would be played at the main stadium, Joaquinzão, and once again only two teams from each group would advance to the semifinals.

In what proved to be the toughest and most closely contested match of the entire competition, São Paulo beat Portuguesa 1-0 on the November 15 holiday, thanks to a goal from top scorer Kátia Cilene.

Having come through the derby, Tricolor had no trouble against Raíz da Gávea on the 18th, thrashing them 8-0, with an incredible six goals from Kátia Cilene (a record in that tournament) and two from Sissi.

To wrap up the qualifying stage, the São Paulo side handed out another rout on the 22nd, this time against Tupinambás: 7-0, with four goals from Cidinha, two from Karin, and one from Sissi. Kátia Cilene, who would finish as the tournament’s top scorer with 18 goals, did not play in that match.

Advancing to the semifinals, then, were São Paulo and Portuguesa on one side, and Vasco da Gama and Corinthians on the other. Thus, on November 22, Tricolor faced a tough match against the team from Rio. But thanks to two goals from Kátia Cilene, São Paulo beat Vasco 2-0 and advanced, for the first time in history, to the final of a Brazilian Championship.

The decider took place on November 30, 1997, against Portuguesa, who had beaten Corinthians on penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation time. Unlike the second-phase meeting, this time the São Paulo side gave their opponents no chance, completely dominating the match and running out 4-0 winners by the end. The title-clinching goals came from Cidinha (twice), Formiga, and Sissi.

In this way, São Paulo were crowned the 1997 Brazilian women’s football champions.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.