The Dallas Cup has announced that the Brazilian clubs Atlético Paranaense and Vasco da Gama have committed to play in the Gordon Jago Super Group at Dallas Cup XLI in April. Derby County confirmed their participation back in August while defending Super Group Champs committed in September. Dallas Cup XLI will be played April 5-12, 2020.
Current Copa do Brasil champion Club Atlético Paranaense return to the Dallas Cup as former two-time Super Group champions. In the club’s only two tournament appearances, CAP defeated Argentinos Juniors in 2004 and Santos Laguna in 2005 respectively in the Finals. 2019 has been a milestone year for the former FC Dallas partners from Curitiba as they were crowned champions of both the Copa do Brasil and Campeonato Paranaense, the top-flight soccer league of the state of Paraná, Brazil. Atlético is notably the club from which FC Dallas signed David Ferreira, the 2010 MLS MVP and father to current FCD leading scorer Jesus Ferreira. Historically, CAP wears a black and red vertically striped kit.
Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama will also compete in the Gordon Jago Super Group at Dallas Cup XLI. The 2020 Dallas Cup will mark the first Super Group appearance for the club from Rio de Janeiro in just their second Dallas Cup appearance overall. Vasco’s Under-14 team participated at the 1988 Dallas Cup. Vasco da Gama, founded in 1915, has a rich history in Brazilian soccer, highlighted by four top-flight titles in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A and the 1998 Copa America. Vasco’s most famous alumni is perhaps Romario who famously scored 70 goals in the 2000 season for the Admirals. Vasco traditionally wears black or white kits with a slash taken from their logo.
Brazil is the most successful country in Dallas Cup’s Super Group history, winning twelve championships in the elite bracket. Atlético Paranaense and Vasco da Gama will look to add to this history next April at Dallas Cup XLI. They join defending champion Tigres and U18 Premier League champion Derby County in the 2020 Gordon Jago Super Group.
The Dallas Cup is the oldest and most prestigious international youth soccer tournament in the United States. Consisting of age groups from U12 to U19, Dallas Cup averages more than 100,000 spectators during tournament week. Since its inception in 1980, Dallas Cup has hosted teams and referees from across 47 states, six continents and more than 100 countries. Follow Dallas Cup on Twitter, Facebook and on Instagram.