The Hindu : Sport / Football : Brazil wins Copa America on penalties

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 27, 2004

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Sport - Football

Brazil wins Copa America on penalties

LIMA, JULY 26. Goalkeeper Julio Cesar blocked Andres D'Alessandro's shot and Gabriel Heinze missed over the crossbar as Brazil defeated Argentina 4-2 on penalties in the Copa America final on Sunday.

The arch-rivals played out a thrilling 2-2 draw in regulation in a near-capacity National Stadium.

Cesar, who also blocked a shot in the shootout against Uruguay in the semifinal, dived to his right to stop D'Alessandro's opening attempt for Argentina. Defender Heinze then missed the second shot.

However, Brazil made all of its penalty kicks, capped by defender Juan's for its seventh Copa title, and first against Argentina in the final.

``We never thought it would be easy,'' Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said. ``Argentina came with all these experienced players, but our team proved they are capable of overcoming any difficulties.''

Adriano, Edu, Diego and Juan all scored for the world champion, while only Cristian Gonzalez and Juan Pablo Sorin netted for Argentina, which missed a grand chance to win a record 15th Copa title.

``There are things that can't be explained in soccer,'' Argentina midfielder Javier Zanetti said. ``That's what happened against Brazil, we can't explain what went wrong.''

Brazil had to equalise in injury time of each half, the last time in the third minute of second-half injury time by Adriano, the tournament's top scorer with seven goals. ``I can't explain how I'm feeling right now,'' Adriano said. ``This is definitely the greatest moment in my career.''

Argentina had only gone ahead in the 87th minute, when replacement striker Cesar Delgado's powerful shot appeared to have deservedly won it for the dominant Albiceleste.

Adriano to the rescue

Adriano's equaliser began a squabble between both teams on the field when Argentina players took exception to taunts from Brazil's bench. Referee Carlos Amarilla requested riot police to separate the sides and prepare for the shootout.

``They shouldn't have celebrated ahead of time,'' Parreira said of Argentina. ``It's one thing to slow the game down, but you can get in trouble when you start fooling around with the ball before it's all over.''

Argentina's patient craft allowed it to control possession and pin Brazil in its half for long stretches, but the Brazilians' explosive counter-attacks helped rivet 40,000 spectators to their seats.

Midfielder Cristian Gonzalez had put Argentina ahead with a penalty in the 20th after Brazil defender Luisao brought down midfielder Luis Gonzalez. Luisao then made up for the penalty-kick foul when he headed in a free-kick from playmaker Alex a minute into first-half injury time.

Luisao missed his team's celebrations. He was carried off in the 82nd minute bleeding from the nose following a clash of heads with Argentina captain Roberto Ayala, and immediately taken to hospital. Team doctors later said Luisao lost his memory but was conscious at the hospital and not seriously injured.

Brazil's third title in four Copas capped an unexpectedly successful campaign by a second-string side. Parreira rested his major stars and wanted to test new talent for World Cup qualifying. Only Kleberson of its 2002 World Cup champions was in Peru.

For Argentina, which has not won a major title anywhere in 11 years, the loss to Brazil's `B' team could be devastating. Its demanding fans had just begun to warm to the side and put behind the shocking first-round exit in 2002.

``We keep asking ourselves what we could have done differently to have avoided this kind of result,'' Argentina coach Marcelo Bielsa said. ``Argentina always pressured and sought ways to win just as it did through the tourney. Unfortunately, what happened is what happened.''

Argentina paced the match throughout. The back line gave Adriano little space, and Zanetti helped it dominate the midfield. The team forced four corners in the first 15 minutes and finished the game with 10 corners to Brazil's two.

After Luisao fouled Luis Gonzalez and Cristian Gonzalez (no relation) converted for his third penalty goal of the tournament, it only underlined Argentina's control.

Luis Gonzalez would have made it 2-0 six minutes later but his low drive from the top of the box was brilliantly parried by Cesar.

The threat posed by Brazil's individual talents finally came to fruition in injury time when Luisao ran onto Alex's free-kick and headed it past paralysed goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri. The goal warned Argentina, the tournament's high-scorer with 16 goals in six games, to stop squandering its frequent chances.

But even after Brazil had replaced Kleberson, captain Alex and Luisao, and kept struggling to set up a score, Argentina took until almost time to score the go-ahead goal.

Sorin headed out of the box to an unmarked Delgado, and the Cruz Azul player rifled in what everyone thought was the title-winning goal, his first of the Copa.

But in injury time, a pass into the box was missed by Ayala and Fabiano and fell close to Adriano, who flicked it up with his left foot and smashed in the volley. He took off his jersey, earning an automatic yellow card, and kissed it while his team-mates erupted in joy.

``I usually don't like to single out anybody, but Adriano was very important to this title,'' Parreira said.

It was the teams' first match-up since Brazil, then with its top stars, defeated Argentina 3-1 in a World Cup qualifier last month in Belo Horizonte.

Parreira was able to field his ideal starting line-up for the third consecutive match, while Bielsa welcomed the return of captain Ayala from a one-game ban.

Jubilation

Minutes later, the Brazilian fans were celebrating their country's success in Rio de Janeiro. A crowd of dozens of supporters in a street bar in the Rio district of Botafogo just below the city's famed Sugar Loaf mountain started yelling ``Brazil champion.''

Just minutes before, trailing 2-1, long faces and occasional slurs against Argentine players had predominated the scene, while well-known football reporter Galvao Bueno on Brazil's Globo television said ``it's necessary to know how to lose.''

Then Juan netted the fourth penalty to clinch the continental title and send the jubilant supporters into a frenzy of celebration.

``This was Brazil's `B' team and we actually had expected a better performance. But you just can't beat Brazil, whoever is playing,'' Luciano Tavares, a 30-year-old marketing specialist said as he kissed his yellow-green Brazil shirt.

Natalia Menezes, 16, and Amanda Carvalho, 15, both students, hugged each other and demanded to see their favourite player, Diego, who is immensely popular among Brazilian teenage girls.

``He's so hot,'' Menezes yelled, as Globo television started playing victory songs and firecrackers exploded over Rio de Janeiro.

Line-ups:

Argentina: Roberto Abbondanzieri, Fabricio Coloccini, Roberto Ayala, Gabriel Heinze, Javier Zanetti, Juan Pablo Sorin, Javier Mascherano, Luis Gonzalez (Andres D'Alessandro, 74), Carlos Tevez (Facundo Quiroga, 90), Mauro Rosales (Cesar Delgado, 63), Cristian Gonzalez.

Brazil: Julio Cesar, Maicon, Luisao (Cris, 80), Juan, Gustavo Nery, Renato, Kleberson (Diego, 54), Edu, Alex (Felipe, 63), Adriano, Luis Fabiano. — AP

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