It was a beautiful and historical morning at the Pacaembu Stadium in São Paulo for football. A day in which the country’s largest city was celebrating its 458th anniversary.
Both teams are the biggest winners of the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior, or the Brazilian Youth Cup – the nation’s most prestigious of its kind, where a frenzy of scouts from all over the world go to drool over young Brazilian talent in order to travel back to their lands with signed contracts and new players.

Apart from the business aspect of the cup, Corinthians and Fluminense put on a spectacle for the nearly-packed Pacaembu Stadium for the final of this 43rd edition of the Copa São Paulo. Around 40-thousand came to show their support, mostly for Corinthians, as the venue is regarded as their home ground.

The first half was well-matched, but with Fluminense creating more chances on goal. Corinthians defended well, and scoreless to the halftime break they went.

At the start of the second half, Fluminense’s offensive persistence payed off, and after a poorly-executed save attempt by Corinthians goalie Matheus, forward Michael simply had the job of putting the ball into the net, opening up the scoreline for Fluminense.

Corinthians captain and defender, Antônio Carlos, scored both the tying and winning goal for his team (fpf.org.br)

But anyone who knows the Corinthians spirit can tell you, no matter what category, youth or main squad, they’re a team who’ll never give up and will keep on giving it their all until the last minute of the match. With that in mind and down a goal still, Timãozinho went after the result, while still being threatned by Fluminense’s counter-attacks. With the crowd pushing the team non-stop, Corinthians found a tying goal off a corner kick from Matheuzinho, beautifully and efficiently headed in by defender and captain, Antônio Carlos for the delight of the fans. It was evident that the goal affected Fluminense’s youngsters, who started showing signs of wearing down.
But the point of climax was still yet to come, and with 3 minutes until the end of the match, Matheuzinho crossed it straight into captain Antônio Carlos, who again powerfully headed it in, in almost a repetition of Corinthians’ first goal. What’s even more surreal was that Fluminense were defeated with 2 goals from a player that spent his whole teen career, from 9 to about 15-years-old, at the club!

Final result, a battling Corinthians 2×1 over a Fluminense squad who overall played better than the Paulistas, but were inefficient in finishing. This was Corinthians’ eighth Copa São Paulo title, three more than Fluminense who comes in second-place with five such titles.

What’s left to see now is how, if and when will any of these talented young players be fitted into the main squad. What’s known is that, apart from the vulture-like scouts ever so present in this competition, Corinthians’ main squad head coach, Tite, has been paying close attention to these youngsters.

Corinthians - 8-time champions of the Brazilian Youth Cup (Marcos Ribolli/Globoesporte)

Corinthians’ road to the final:

Group phase
Jan/4 – Corinthians 9X0 Santos (PB) – in Jaguariúna
Jan/7 – Corinthians 2X0 Desportiva Capixaba (ES) – in Jaguariúna
Jan/10 – Corinthians 3X0 Juventus (SP) – in Jaguariúna
2nd round
Jan/14 – Corinthians 1X0 Goiás (GO) – in Jaguariúna
Round of 16
Jan/17 – Corinthians 5X1 Primeira Camisa (SP) – in Jaguariúna
Quarterfinals
Jan/19 – Corinthians 2X0 América (MG) – in Jaguariúna
Semifinals
Jan/21 – Corinthians 6X0 Atlético (PR) – in Jaguariúna
Final
Jan/25 – Corinthians 2X1 Fluminense (RJ) – In São Paulo

(8 Matches – 8 Wins – 30 Goals Scored – 2 Goals Against)

Fluminense’s road to the final:

Group phase
Jan/5 – Fluminense 5×0 Jí-Paraná (RO) – in Ribeirão Preto
Jan/8 – Fluminense 2×1 Mogi Mirim (SP) – in Ribeirão Preto
Jan/11 – Fluminense 2×3 Olé Brasil (SP) – in Ribeirão Preto
2nd round
Jan/15 – Fluminense 1×0 Bahia (BA) – in São Paulo
Round of 16
Jan/18 – Fluminense 4×1 Grêmio (RS) – in São Paulo
Quarterfinals
Jan/20 – Fluminense 4×2 Desportivo Brasil (SP) – in São Carlos
Semifinals
Jan/22 – Fluminense 4×0 Coritiba (PR) – in São Carlos
Final
Jan/25 – Fluminense 1×2 Corinthians (SP) – in São Paulo

(8 Matches – 6 WIns – 2 Losses – 23 Goals Scored – 9 Goals Against)

2X1

Corinthians: Matheus (Ravi); Cristiano (Leandro), Antônio Carlos, Marquinhos, Denner; Anderson, Gomes, Giovanni (Wesley), Matheuzinho; Douglas and Leonardo – Coach: Narciso

Fluminense: Silézio; Fabinho, Wellington, Léo Lelis, Ronan; Willian, Rafinha, Higor, Eduardo (Fernando); Marcos Júnio and Michael (Igor Julião) – Coach: Marcelo Veiga

Tournament: Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior (Brazilian Youth Cup) – Final
Date: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 – 10am (local time)
Place: Pacaembu Stadium (São Paulo, SP)
Goals: ’49 Michael (FLU), 66′, 88′ Antônio Carlos (COR)
Attendance: 37.659