Spain's golden era not over: Del Bosque

AFP

Rio de Janeiro: Spain coach Vicente del Bosque denies his team's golden era is over after the reigning World and European champions were crushed 0-3 by Brazil in the Confederations Cup final here.

Spain's heralded possession game was comprehensively picked apart by Luiz Felipe Scolari's side at the Maracana here Sunday, raising doubts about La Roja's ability to continue its dominance of world football, reports Xinhua.

But Del Bosque insisted the result was not cause for panic, stressing he still had utmost faith in his players.

"We are not happy with this result and we have to analyze it," Del Bosque said. "We can't let it just pass by. But we also have to accept that sometimes a team can be better than us on any given day.

"We have players of real quality and a style which has been defined over a long period of time. I don't think we should change that just because of one defeat."

The 62-year-old said his team was already eyeing its next World Cup qualifier against Finland September 6.

When asked if Brazil were now among the favorites to win the World Cup, Del Bosque was unequivocal.

"There's no doubt they are one of the favorites to win. They have a strong team. They had a good tournament and finished off today with a great result," he added.

Brazil not yet World Cup favourites: Scolari

AP

Rio de Janeiro: Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari says his team is not yet the favourite to win next year's football World Cup despite its comprehensive 3-0 victory over Spain in the Confederations Cup final.

Victory in the World Cup warm-up tournament here Sunday guarantees Brazil will rise sharply from their current position of No. 22 when the next FIFA rankings are announced, reports Xinhua.

"The result gives us great confidence, because it shows we can match the best teams in the world. But we still have areas where we know we need to improve," Scolari said during his post-match press conference here at the Maracana.

"We have beaten France, Uruguay, Italy and Spain in the past month, all previous World Cup winners. But there are other teams who we are yet to play like Germany and Argentina that are going to be very tough to be beat."

Scolari did not rule out the possible return of veterans Kaka and Ronaldinho at next year's World Cup, despite the pair having been overlooked for the Confederations Cup.

"The door is always open for great players," the 64-year-old said. "We will look at all of our players in Europe and the rest of the world over the next year. They will be well received if and when we call on them. The team is open to all."

Neymar wins Confederations Cup golden ball

AFP

Rio de Janeiro: Brazil striker Neymar has been awarded the Golden Ball trophy for the best player in the FIFA Confederations Cup.

Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta was named runner-up and Brazil's Paulinho third after the host nation's 3-0 victory over Spain in the final here Sunday, reports Xinhua.

Neymar becomes the fourth Brazilian to win the award after Denilson (1997), Ronaldinho (1999) and Kaka (2009).

The Golden Boot award went to Fernando Torres with five goals, including four in Spain's 10-0 victory over Tahiti.

Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar won the Golden Glove, having conceded just three goals from five matches.

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Neymar to have throat surgery before Barca move

AP

Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian striker Neymar was named as the best player of the Confederations Cup after he helped Brazil seal a 3-0 win over world champions Spain in the final on Sunday, then said he would need minor throat surgery before his move to Barcelona.

Neymar, who has joined Barcelona from Santos for 57 million euros won the Golden Ball, awarded to the best player in the competition after a vote among the media.

Andres Iniesta of Spain and Paulinho from Brazil were second and third respectively.

The 21-year-old Neymar, who scored four goals during the tournament, said he would have the surgery on Friday before he goes to Spain.

"It's a problem that I have, my throat always bothers me, so we're going to operate to resolve it once and for all," he said in adding that it was not a serious issue.

He also urged a word of caution to his compatriots among the celebrations following Brazil's demolition of the world and European champions at the Maracana.

"Lets keep calm, let's keep our feet on the ground," he said as Brazil emerged as serious contenders to win the World Cup on home soil in a year's time. "We did very well and we are on the right track.

"We needed this time to train, we get to know each other and to work together and we are much better than we were. We won the title and that was a great end to a great tournament."

Neymar began the tournament with a brilliant strike against Japan, added goals against Mexico and Italy then ended it with another superb goal against Spain when he lashed the ball past keeper Iker Casillas just before halftime.

Spain's Fernando Torres, who scored five goals and was joint top scorer along with Fred of Brazil, won the Golden Boot for having an assist in his four matches, while Fred had one assist but played one more match.

Brazil's Julio Cesar collected the Golden Glove for the best goalkeeper while Spain took the FIFA Fair Play Trophy.

Confederations Cup improved FIFA's reputation: Blatter

AP

London: FIFA President Sepp Blatter has said that he thinks that the football's governing body's reputation has improved because of the Confederations Cup, despite widespread demonstrations in Brazil over big spending on the event.

According to BBC, a further protest is expected before Sunday's final between Brazil and Spain in Rio, and there were doubts whether President Dilma Rousseff will attend the match.

Although Blatter sympathized with the people who took to the streets across 100 cities in Brazil, he,however, said that FIFA had come out stronger because of the protests and their image had enhanced, adding that football had played a positive part in Brazil, giving it emotion.

Moyes meets Rooney to convince him "stay" at United

AP

London: New Manchester United boss David Moyes has reportedly secretly met Wayne Rooney to convince the concerned star to stay at the club, amidst reports that the striker had expressed his anger at former manager Alex Ferguson who he claims had put him in a transfer request.

According to The Sun, Rooney was angry at Ferguson questioning his fitness levels and the two club members were scheduled to meet again to monitor the situation, with the star already being wooed by Chelsea and Arsenal along with Barcelona preparing for a 25 million pounds transfer bid.

Even Brazilian superstar, Neymar, urged Rooney to join him in Spain, after the striker moved to the Nou Camp himself, adding that Wayne was one of the most gifted and technical players in the world.

Arsenal have reportedly made a bid for 20 million pounds to have Rooney in their team while Chelsea is also expected to make a counter bid for the player who is currently seeking assurances from Moyes about his role in the team.

However, senior sources in the United camp have revealed that Rooney is not for sale, with the striker having two years left on his 250,000 pounds a week deal.

Brazil win Confederations Cup

AFP

Brazil humbled world and European champions Spain with a crushing 3-0 win in the Confederations Cup final on Sunday, ending their opponents' three-year record run of 29 unbeaten competitive matches.

Two goals from Fred, one either side of a stunning left-foot shot from Neymar, gave next year's World Cup hosts their fifth straight win in the competition as they clinched the trophy for a third time in a row.

Spain endured a miserable night with Sergio Ramos missing a penalty early in the second half and Gerard Pique sent off for a lunge on his new Barcelona team mate Neymar after 68 minutes.

Fred put Brazil ahead after two minutes, Neymar added a majestic second just before halftime and the crowd erupted again when Fred made it 3-0 two minutes after the re-start with his fifth goal of the competition.

The Maracana crowd taunted Spain and chanted "the giant is back" as Brazil overpowered Vicente del Bosque's team whose last competitive defeat was against Switzerland at the 2010 World Cup.

Brazil started this competition just over two weeks ago with a third minute goal against Japan and began this final in similar fashion with an even faster opener.