Daily Archives: July 1, 2013

Brazil 3-0 Spain: Spain unable to cope with Brazil’s pace and power on the break

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“Brazil won the Confederations Cup at the Maracana after a convincing demolition of the world champions. Luis Felipe Scolari stuck with his usual side – in five games he only deviated from this XI once, when Paulinho wasn’t 100% fit for the final group game. Vicente Del Bosque brought in Juan Mata on the left of his 4-3-3 system, but otherwise the side was unchanged. Brazil yet again started superbly – but Spain failed to mount a significant fightback.” Zonal Marking

“Brazil produced a breathtaking performance at the Maracana to overwhelm Spain and claim their third consecutive Fifa Confederations Cup. Driven on by the passion of a fiercely partisan crowd, the five-time world champions signalled their intent ahead of next summer’s World Cup by ending Spain’s 29-match competitive unbeaten record with a majestic display. Fred scored twice, but Neymar again stole the show, scoring Brazil’s second goal with a rasping left-foot shot. To compound Spain’s misery, Sergio Ramos missed a second-half penalty before Gerard Pique was sent off for bringing down Neymar as last man, with 22 minutes remaining.” BBC

Dream final a sub-plot to urban uprising (June 28)
“And so the 2013 Confederations Cup has its dream final – Brazil against Spain, the match the world has been waiting years to see. It is a clash of two philosophies. For the Brazilians, the star player (known over here as the ‘craque,’ from the English ‘crack’) tips the balance with a moment of individual inspiration. For the Spaniards the collective idea is all important – the constant passing at pace, the continuous formation of triangles, each one opening up new possibilities for a new combination, until a runner can be slipped through on goal.” The World – Tim Vickery

Brazil on the verge of greatness
“Forget history and superstition. You have to be pretty twisted to believe that because Brazil won the Confederations Cup in 1997 and 2005 and 2009 and then failed to win the big one the following year, beating Spain and lifting the trophy at the Maracana was anything but a good thing. Anyone who witnessed the performance against Spain, who felt the goose bumps from the Torcida, who saw Fred, then Neymar, then Oscar, then just about every member of the Selecao vault the pitch-side barriers and celebrate with the supporters will know just how important this was.” ESPN (Video)

Confederations Cup: police clash with protesters outside Maracanã

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“Protests against the rising cost of hosting the World Cup and a raft of other social inequalities in Brazil see police and demonstrators clash outside the Maracanã on the night of the Confederations Cup final. Brazil won the game against Spain 3-0 to win the trophy. Protests have taken place for the duration of the tournament, involving hundreds of thousands of people” Guardian (Video)

FIFA World Cup – Everybody Wants To Rule The World

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“The article below covers the financial impact of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and was first published a couple of years ago in Issue One of The Blizzard, the thinking fan’s football magazine of choice. Each issue can be purchased on a pay-what-you-like basis and includes some of the finest writing in the world of football, so I would encourage you to visit their website and invest some of your hard-earned cash. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed. Although this is an old piece, I thought that it might be worth republishing on my blog, as it seems very timely given the recent criticism aimed at FIFA over the money it will make from the World Cup in Brazil – in stark contrast to the billions invested by the host country. As you will see, many of the concerns are nothing new and would surely find resonance with many of the South African people.” Swiss Ramble

How delicious: Sepp Blatter has kicked off Fifa’s Arab Spring in Brazil
“It may be a little early to call this, what with several days of the Confederations Cup and an entire World Cup to run, but there’s a nagging sense that Sepp Blatter is somewhat miscast as a Brazilian counter-revolutionary. At time of writing, Fifa had yet to request covert support from the CIA in the form of arms shipments and financial backing. But with protests in Brazil continuing to make the most explicit of links between the money the country’s government has spent on Fifa tournaments, and the money it hasn’t spent on less uplifting things such as healthcare and education, Herr Blatter finds his usual arsenal increasingly wanting.” Guardian

The Special One, King Carlo and Resurrecting Real Madrid

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“If the San Siro in Milan is called the graveyard of European football, the Bernabeu under Florentino Perez has become the graveyard for some of Europe’s top managers. They all came here to bring the European Cup to the Spanish capital, and for a little more than a decade now they have failed to do so. The latest addition to Florentino Perez’s exit list is Jose Mourinho, who undoubtedly was ‘the man’ expected to restore some pride into the Los Blancos side.” Outside of the Boot