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2001 CONCACAF Giants Cup

Copa de Gigantes
Tournament details
Dates	March 4 – August 5
Teams	12
Final positions
Champions	América (1st title)
Runner-up	D.C. United
2002 CONCACAF Champions' Cup	América D.C. United
Tournament statistics
Matches played	27
Goals scored	54 (2 per match)
← 1998

The CONCACAF Giants Cup was an international soccer club competition held in 2001 to replace the CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup. The tournament was organized by CONCACAF for the 12 teams with the highest attendance in their respective national leagues. The winners and runners-up would qualify for the new CONCACAF Clubs Cup, which would serve as a qualification tournament for the FIFA Club World Championship. The Giants Cup was announced in November 2000 and planned to be one of the two primary annual club tournaments for CONCACAF alongside the more traditional Champions' Cup.

The tournament's semifinals and final were originally scheduled to take place in late April in Los Angeles, but were later postponed to early August to accommodate conflicts with the teams' schedules. The prize money for the Giants Cup was set at $50,000 for the winner and $40,000 for the runners-up. Mexico's Club América won 2–0 in the final against D.C. United of the United States at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, with 3,127 spectators in attendance. Both teams qualified for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup 2002, which replaced the Clubs Cup in October 2001.

First round

March 4, 2001 1st leg	Transvaal	1–1	Arnett Gardens	Paramaribo, Suriname
15:00	Kijansi 31'		Neil 63'	Stadium: André Kamperveen Stadion Referee: Urvin Faneijte (ANT)

March 11, 2001 2nd leg	Arnett Gardens	5–1 (6–2 agg.)	Transvaal	Kingston, Jamaica
15:00	Shedden 15', 77' Neil 60' Smith 88' Chin-Sue 90'		Reingoud 32'	Stadium: Tony Spaulding Sports Complex Referee: Mervin Lee (ATG)

Arnett Gardens qualified for the quarterfinals.

March 7, 2001 1st leg	Alianza	1–5	Saprissa	San Salvador, El Salvador
12:00	Larrea 45'		Campos 33' Fonseca 58', 83' Vieira 67' Centeno 87'	Stadium: Estadio Cuscatlán Referee: Hugo Castillo (GUA)

March 9, 2001 2nd leg	Saprissa	0–0 (5–1 agg.)	Alianza	San Juan de Tibás, Costa Rica
20:00				Stadium: Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá Referee: Marcio Carranza (HON)

Saprissa qualified for the quarterfinals.

March 7, 2001 1st leg	Águila	1–3	Municipal	San Miguel, El Salvador
15:00	Sampaio 72'		Acevedo 11', 69' Pérez 64'	Stadium: Estadio Juan Francisco Barraza Referee: Roberto Moreno (PAN)

March 14, 2001 2nd leg	Municipal	1–1 (4–2 agg.)	Águila	Guatemala City, Guatemala
20:00	Martins 19'		Ponciano 74'	Stadium: Estadio Mateo Flores Referee: Vivian Rodríguez (HON)

Municipal qualified for the quarterfinals.

March 7, 2001 1st leg	Comunicaciones	4–0	Motagua	Guatemala City, Guatemala
20:00	Torres 15', 31', 39' Machón 44'			Stadium: Estadio Mateo Flores Referee: Olger Mejía (CRC)

March 14, 2001 2nd leg	Motagua	1–1 (1–5 agg.)	Comunicaciones	Tegucigalpa, Honduras
19:30	Carballo 42'		Machón 15'	Stadium: Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino Referee: Neftalí Recinos (SLV)

Comunicaciones qualified for the quarterfinals.

Quarterfinals

Arnett Gardens	0–3	D.C. United
	Report

D.C. United	2–1	Arnett Gardens
	Report

D.C. United won 5–1 on aggregate.

Comunicaciones	3–1	Guadalajara
	Report

Guadalajara	1–1	Comunicaciones
	Report

Comunicaciones won 4–2 on aggregate.

C.S.D. Municipal	0–1	Club América
	Report

Club América	2–1	C.S.D. Municipal
	Report

América won 3–1 on aggregate.

Deportivo Saprissa	2–0	Columbus Crew
	Report

Columbus Crew	1–1	Deportivo Saprissa
	Report

Saprissa won 3–1 on aggregate.

Semifinals

D.C. United	2–1	Comunicaciones
Moreno 26' Lisi 88'	Report	García 22'

Deportivo Saprissa	1–2	Club América
	Report

Final

Club América	2–0	D.C. United
Mendoza 52' Valdez 70'	Report

Champion

CONCACAF Giants Cup 2001 Winners
América First title

Top goalscorers

• Jorge Toledano (América) – 3 goals
• Martín Machón (Comunicaciones) – 3 goals
• Walter Centeno (Saprissa) – 2 goals
• Rolando Fonseca (Saprissa) – 2 goals
• Raúl Díaz Arce (D.C. United) – 2 goals

References

1. ^ Goff, Steven (February 17, 2001). "United's Ammann To Return Monday". The Washington Post. p. D3. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
2. "Two M.L.S. Teams Invited to Event". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 17, 2001. p. D7. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
3. Jones, Grahame L. (August 2, 2001). "The Giants Cup Is a Bigger Joke". Los Angeles Times. p. D3. Retrieved November 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Goff, Steven (April 5, 2001). "United Wins in Jamaica". The Washington Post. p. D2. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
5. Goff, Steven (April 11, 2001). "United Takes Time For the Giants Cup". The Washington Post. p. D2. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
6. ^ Jones, Grahame L. (August 6, 2001). "Club America Beats D.C. United to Win Giants Cup Event". Los Angeles Times. p. B6. Retrieved November 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Jones, Grahame L. (August 4, 2001). "Lisi's Goal Clinches Victory". Los Angeles Times. p. D9. Retrieved November 18, 2024.

External links

• RSSSF: FC Giants' Cup

• Defunct CONCACAF club competitions
• 2001 in CONCACAF football
• Recurring sporting events established in 2001
• Recurring events disestablished in 2001
• 2001 establishments in North America
• 2001 disestablishments in North America