MIAMI, Florida – This Friday at 7:00 PM ET, Concacaf will be airing a re-broadcast of two Concacaf Gold Cup classics, the first being the 2000 Gold Cup Final between Canada and Colombia, followed by the 2015 Gold Cup Final between Mexico and Jamaica. Both matches will be shown on Concacaf’s Facebook and YouTube pages, plus the Concacaf App.
After a rollercoaster journey through the 2000 Gold Cup, Canada would save its very best performance for last in the Final against Colombia.
On a rainy February day at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, Canada took the field fresh off of a hard-fought 1-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago, which punched their ticket to the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup in Japan.
After having not found the back of the net in the first half of their quarterfinal versus Mexico and the semifinal against Trinidad and Tobago, Canada looked to score early and nearly did so through Martin Nash, whose effort was saved by Colombia GK Diego Gomez.
It looked like Canada’s first half frustrations would continue, but on the brink of halftime Jason deVos gave his side a 1-0 lead when he squeezed in a header past Gomez off a Nash corner kick.
Instead of opting for a more defensive approach with a slim one-goal lead, Canada Head Coach Holger Osieck opted to stay on the attack in the second half and was richly rewarded when Jeff Clarke was taken down by Gomez in the Colombia area, resulting in a penalty kick.
FW Carlo Corazzin stepped up to take the spot kick and hammered in a right-footed attempt to extend the lead to 2-0. For Corazzin it was his tournament-leading fourth goal, earning him the Golden Boot.
There was still plenty of work to do, however, and Colombia looked poised to cut the deficit down to a goal when they were awarded a penalty kick with 10 minutes to play.
But just like he did in the semifinal versus Trinidad and Tobago when he saved a penalty kick, Canada GK and Golden Ball winner Craig Forrest put on his Superman cape and guessed correctly to deny Colombia star Faustino Asprilla from the spot.
From there the Canadian defense would batten down the hatches to complete the 2-0 victory and give Canada its first and only Gold Cup title to date.
