Favourites win in Brazilian Cup debut

The first games of the 2007 Brazilian Cup were played on Wednesday without too many major surprises. Most teams from the Brazilian First Division in general had no trouble beating their opponents from lower ranks.

The exception to the rule was Botafogo, from Rio de Janeiro, which went to Maceio and was held to a 1-1 draw with CSA. The other big clubs from Rio in the tournament, Vasco and Fluminense went to Manaus and Rio Branco in the North of the country to face Fast and ADESG, respectively, and got away with 2-1 wins.

Atletico Mineiro and Nautico, recently promoted from the Second Division, had away wins as well. Atletico beat Colo Colo 3-1, While Nautico got past Paranahyba 2-1. Palmeiras from Sao Paulo had no trouble at all with Operario in Cuiaba, posting a 5-0 win to avoid having to play the second leg at home (in the Brazilian Cup, away wins by more than one goal in the first stages of the tournament automatically qualify a team to the next stage).

In other results, Portuguesa beat SERC 2-0 away, while Noroeste gave ADAP a 4-1 pounding. Guarani lost 2-1 to Atletico Goianiense in Goiania, while Coritiba went to Caxias do Sul and lost to Caxias by the same score. Vitoria Espirito Santo beat Ipatinga 1-0, and Gama eliminated Araguaina with a 3-1 away win. America-RJ tied Coruripe 1-1 away from home, the same result achieved by Vitoria Bahia against Baraunas. Fortaleza also advanced with a 3-1 away win over Sampaio Correa, while Ulbra defeated Santa Cruz 2-0 at home and Bare had a 1-0 home win over America-RN.

As is traditionally the case, the teams that represent the country in the continental Copa Libertadores do not take part in the Brazilian Cup. Thus, this year the tournament does not have the participation of Internacional, Sao Paulo, Santos, Gremio, Flamengo (the 2006 Brazilian Cup winners) and Parana. The winner of the Brazilian Cup automatically qualifies to next year's Libertadores.