# 1997 South American U-17 Championship

The 1997 South American Under-17 Football Championship was played in Paraguay from 28 February to 16 March 1997.
The host of the competition were the cities of Asunción, Pedro Juan Caballero and Encarnación.
Sandro Hiroshi was banned for 180 days in 1999 when it was discovered that his age had been falsified in the 1997 tournament. Brazil did not face team sanctions as the federation argued that Hiroshi acted without its authorization.

## First round

The 10 national teams were divided in 2 groups of 5 teams each. The top 2 teams qualified for the final round.

### Group A

| Team | Pts | M | W | D | L | GF | GC |
| Argentina | 9 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 4 |
| Paraguay | 9 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| Venezuela | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| Ecuador | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| Peru | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 28 February 1997 |
| Venezuela | 2:0 | Ecuador | Encarnación |
| Paraguay | 1:0 | Peru | Encarnación |
| 2 March 1997 |
| Argentina | 6:0 | Venezuela | Encarnación |
| Paraguay | 1:2 | Ecuador | Encarnación |
| 4 March 1997 |
| Ecuador | 2:3 | Argentina | Encarnación |
| Peru | 0:1 | Venezuela | Encarnación |
| 6 March 1997 |
| Argentina | 2:0 | Peru | Encarnación |
| Paraguay | 3:0 | Venezuela | Encarnación |
| 8 March 1997 |
| Ecuador | 2:2 | Peru | Encarnación |
| Paraguay | 2:0 | Argentina | Encarnación |

### Group B

| Team | Pts | M | W | D | L | GF | GC |
| Brazil | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3 |
| Chile | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 3 |
| Colombia | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| Uruguay | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Bolivia | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 15 |
| 1 March 1997 |
| Bolivia | 0:2 | Colombia | Pedro Juan Caballero |
| Brazil | 1:1 | Chile | Pedro Juan Caballero |
| 3 March 1997 |
| Brazil | 4:0 | Bolivia | Pedro Juan Caballero |
| Uruguay | 1:0 | Chile | Pedro Juan Caballero |
| 5 March 1997 |
| Bolivia | 1:7 | Chile | Pedro Juan Caballero |
| Uruguay | 0:2 | Colombia | Pedro Juan Caballero |
| 7 March 1997 |
| Brazil | 1:1 | Colombia | Pedro Juan Caballero |
| Uruguay | 2:0 | Bolivia | Pedro Juan Caballero |
| 9 March 1997 |
| Brazil | 2:1 | Uruguay | Pedro Juan Caballero |
| Chile | 1:0 | Colombia | Pedro Juan Caballero |

## Final round

The final round were played in the same system that first round, with the best 4 teams.
| Team | Pts | PJ | PG | PE | PP | GF | GC |
| Brazil | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 4 |
| Argentina | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Chile | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| Paraguay | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| 11 March 1997 |
| Argentina | 3:0 | Chile | Asunción |
| Brazil | 5:0 | Paraguay | Asunción |
| 13 March 1997 |
| Argentina | 0:0 | Paraguay | Asunción |
| Brazil | 5:3 | Chile | Asunción |
| 16 March 1997 |
| Argentina | 1:2 | Brazil | Asunción |
| Paraguay | 1:2 | Chile | Asunción |
* Brazil, Argentina and Chile qualify to FIFA U-17 World Cup, Egypt '97
* 1997 South American Under-17 Football champions
* Brazil 4th title

## Top goalscorers

| Players | Goals |
| Geovanni | 4 |
| Milovan Mirosevic | 4 |
| Juan Viveros | 4 |

## Ideal Team of the Tournament

| Players | Position |
| Franco Costanzo | GK |
| Janiro | DF |
| Paulo da Silva | DF |
| Gabriel Milito | DF |
| Jorginho | DF |
| Ferrugem | MD |
| Tacio | MD |
| Ronaldinho | MD |
| Milovan Mirosevic | MD |
| Juan Viveros | FW |
| Luciano Galletti | FW |