Brazil demolish Argentina in style

Germany :: Confederations Cup 2005 Final

Adriano was the hero of Brazilian football this morning after his two goal performance led his country to a brilliant 4-1 victory over arch rivals Argentina in the final of the Confederations Cup.

Not only was it sweet revenge for a 3-1 mauling in World Cup qualifying just three weeks earlier but the mesmeric display of attacking football will add invaluable credibility to a tournament that has come under close scrutiny in the past few years.

It was the familiar and daunting starting line up which won the trophy for Brazil as coach Carlos Alberto Parreira relied on his supposedly 'tired' superstars once more, Cicinho returning at right back to replace the previously ineffectual Maicon.

Jose Pekerman however after seeing his side taken to extra time just three days earlier decided that he needed some new impetus and made three changes with Delgado, Placente and Bernardi all taking the field from the start.

It was unsurprisingly a cagy first few minutes in match up between two sided abundantly familiar with each others styles and it seemed that perhaps the match needed a moment as explosive as the weather in the Waldstadion to truly ignite this contest.

That moment spectacularly arrived courtesy of one of the usual suspects Adriano and it was to be the first of many attacking instances of inspiration throughout the encounter.

Cicinho provided Adriano with the ball outside the area and after expertly evading the challenge of Heinze the Inter Milan striker struck a ferocious effort from 25 yards which flew past a stunned Lux and gave Brazil an 11th minute lead.

Delgado was instantly presented with a chance to equalise but Dida was grateful to deflect the ball to safety.

The brilliance of Juan Roman Riquelme was never going to take long to emerge and after turning his marker he fired an excellent effort narrowly wide.

Kaka soon went one better.

A long pass from Cicinho was chested down and quickly moved on by Robinho, and after taking one touch to set the ball up Kaka unleashed an unstoppable strike from 20 yards which doubled their lead and left Argentina reeling.

Robinho himself tried to become the third superstar to leave his mark on a pulsating first half but much to the relief of Lux his long range effort was straight at the goalkeeper.

Having earlier been booked for simulation Juan Sorin was lucky to escape the further wrath of the referee with a wild lunge on the tremendously gifted Kaka, and the Argentine skipper stayed on the field with the task of lifting his team from a very difficult position.

Adventurously minded centre back Lucio provided a final glimpse of inspiration for Brazil with a wonderfully inventive overhead kick from the narrowest of angels which had Lux worried but just missed the far post.

Javier Zanetti winning his 101st cap for Argentina fired into the side netting seconds later but the two time World Cup winners would have to provide a significantly improved performance in the second half if they were to snatch the Confederations Cup from the grasp of their South American rivals.

Despite the efforts of Pekerman during the break to instil the usual desire and competitiveness into the Argentina side any realistic hope of a memorable comeback faded within minutes as Brazil claimed the third killer goal.

After a jinking run on the right Cicinho cut back an accurate cross which was volleyed home by captain Ronaldinho, albeit through the legs of the unfortunate goalkeeper, and at 3-0 any Brazilians watching could begin to celebrate a triumph.

Fabricio Coloccini was perhaps not the man you'd like to see your best attacking chances fall to and after being left wide open in the area he provided a typical example of Argentina's profligacy in front of goal as they continued to stare at a three goal deficit.

It could have been made worse moments later as the attacking ability of the Brazilian quartet looked to exploit the newly formed spaces in the Argentine defence.

Ronaldinho at full speed with the ball at his feet is surely one of the greatest sights in world football and after he stroked the ball to Kaka the AC Milan midfielder struck a fierce effort which was well saved by Germán Lux.

Robinho next showed all the skills that are attracting the interest of clubs throughout Europe as he danced past the attentions of one defender after another before hitting a right footed shot which struck the woodwork venomously and Argentina were holding on to only being three goals adrift.

That resolve was soon broken as after a tremendous passage of possession Brazil's lead was duly increased in the 63rd minute.

Yet again it was the highly impressive stand in for Cafu who provided his third assist of the evening, Cicinho's cross powerfully headed past Lux by Adriano for his fifth goal of a tournament where he was now outright top scorer ahead of Ballack, Figueroa and Australia's own John Aloisi.

Argentina did eventually provide their fans with something to cheer as minutes later they scored a consolation goal but it was certainly nothing more than that as the men wearing the famous blue and white stripes remained understandably dejected.

After some nice work from Zanetti space opened up for César Delgado, and his accurate cross was met with an excellent header from the diminutive substitute Pablo Aimar to pull the score back to a three goal difference at 4-1.

Riquelme had drifted out of the game but tried to reduce arrears further only for his low effort to be easily claimed by Dida.

Adriano was hat-trick hunting and tested Lux once more with a typically thunderous shot but Brazil were slowing down the tempo as they were more than satisfied with their current lead.

Sorin, Tévez and Coloccini all tried their luck in the latter stages however all were foiled by the usually infallible AC Milan no. 1 Dida as the Brazilians thoughts turned to the celebratory samba that would inevitably follow the final whistle.

The result in general had long since been decided and Ronaldinho lifted the Confederations Cup with immense delight after his side had defeated their great rivals 4-1.

Earlier hosts Germany had claimed third spot in a highly eventful contest with Mexico 4-3 with Ballack scoring the winner in extra time, and if this tournament is an accurate prelude to the 2006 World Cup then we are in for a truly magnificent spectacle of football in 12 months time.

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