World Cup 2006 Blog |  |
- Individual Awards at Confederations Cup 2009
- Confederations Cup Final (or: How to Win a Tournament, by Brazil)
- Brazil vs USA Confederations Cup Final LiveBlog
| Individual Awards at Confederations Cup 2009 Posted: 29 Jun 2009 03:40 AM PDT Brazil got the big trophy yesterday, but there were plenty of smaller ones handed out too. There were Gold, Silver and Bronze Balls for individual players, Gold, Silver and Bronze shoes for goalscorers and a solitary Golden Glove to the best keeper.
Clint Dempsey (USA) (Because apparently the shortlist couldn’t wait until after the tournament was actually completed) Members of the FIFA accredited media were each asked to pick a top three from that list, and then the points were tallied to come up with: Golden Ball: Kaka Not sure I’m 100% on board with that. Kaka was excellent in the final (especially the second half) but probably wouldn’t claim to have had an outstanding tournament. Luis Fabiano has led the line solo for Brazil and finished as top scorer (including two massive goals in the final - the first of which was a gem). So maybe he deserved it more. And Clint Dempsey as the third best player at the tournament? Sure he’s scored three goals, and got better as the tourney progressed. But for the first two and a half games he was worthless, and many US fans were calling for him to be benched. Who came in fourth? DaMarcus Beasley? I’m also more than a little unhappy with how the precious metal shoes for top scorers were distributed. Golden Shoe: Luis Fabiano - 5 goals Clint Dempsey also got three goals. But apparently his bronze ball disqualifies him. And why does Torres get silver and Villa bronze? Torres scored all his goals against New Zealand. The summer 2008 version of Mario Gomez could have done that (maybe), Last but not least… Golden Glove: Tim Howard No argument there, the man was incredible against both Spain and Brazil. But respect to Egypt’s Essam Al Hadary for his performance against Italy. Most headed clearances: Oguchi Onyewu. If this tournament doesn’t earn him a move from Standard Liege to the Premier League then nothing will. Best performance by someone playing out of position: Dani Alves. With the score at 0-0, the attacking rightback came on at lefback, and thundered home a late free-kick to send Brazil to the final. Costliest error: Andrea Dossena, for the own goal vs Brazil which was ultimately what sent Italy home early. Best redemption: Bernard Parker. Horrible moment for the South African striker where he cleared his teammate’s shot off the line in the opener vs Iraq, but Parker scored two in the next game vs New Zealand and all was forgiven. Biggest impact form a player most people had never heard of: Charlie Davies. He plays for Hammarby in Sweden, in case you were wondering. Any other individual awards? Hand them out in the comments.        |
| Confederations Cup Final (or: How to Win a Tournament, by Brazil) Posted: 28 Jun 2009 06:47 PM PDT The Confederations Cup 2009 is done, with both the third place playoff and the final taking place today. Congratulations to champions Brazil (who celebrated by wearing their shirts backwards) and to USA (yes, they threw away a two goal lead, but achieved plenty just by being in the final). Highlights from both the final and the third place playoff after the jump…
South Africa 2-3 Spain (aet) Hosts South Africa went ahead through sub Katlego Mphela in the 73rd, and came thisclose to claiming third place. But Spanish sub Dani Guiza scored in both the 88th and 89th (the second of which was clearly a cross) before Mphela made it 2-2 with a screamer of a free kick in the 93rd and sent it to extra time. If you came late to this game, you timed it right. South Africa did themselves proud, but had to settle for fourth after Xabi Alonso curled a 107th minute free kick into the far bottom corner. Spain’s winning run has begun again, but South Africa have done themselves proud at this tournament by running both Brazil and Spain close. Now onto the more serious game… Brazil 3-2 USA (goals, highlights and celebrations) Obviously this was a bigger deal for the USA than for Brazil. The US has never won a tournament not named the Gold Cup, so the Confed Cup trophy would have taken pride of place in the US Soccer cabinet. And after just 27 minutes, they were 2-0 up thanks to Clint Dempsey’s gentle volley (he meant it though, I think) and Landon Donovan’s goal on the counter-attack. With Oguchi Onyewu and Jay DeMerit putting on a repeat show of their defending vs Spain and Tim Howard looking like some sort of unbeatable half android, half human goalkeeping monster, a win looked a real possibility at half-time. Second half was a different story, as Luis Fabiano’s turn and volley made it 2-1 with just 45:30 on the clock. From there it was almost all Brazil. Howard continued to make save after save, and even somehow convinced the refs that Kaka’s header hadn’t crossed the line (it clearly had). Kaka’s influence grew and he eventually created Brazil equalizer by accelerating past Spector down the right and crossing for Robinho to hit the underside of the bar and Luis Fabiano to bury the rebound. Last but not least, Lucio made it 3-2 Brazil with just six minutes left when he headed home an Elano corner. Great game of football for the neutral, and if the World Cup 2010 Final is even half as exciting as this, then I’ll be happy. US fans might feel annoyed that their team let a 2-0 lead in a final disappear. Like when you smell great food heading your way in a restaurant and start salivating, only to see the food delivered to the next table. But the fact that the US even came that close is an achievement in itself, especially for a team that was all but mathematically eliminated before the final group game. They did well just to be at the table. As for Brazil, that’s trophy number two for Dunga, who can respond to his critics with both Copa America and Confederations Cup medals. Not everyone loves how his Brazil plays, and the questions will continue all the way up to (and during) World Cup 2010. But his team battled back from two goals down today and got the job done.   |
| Brazil vs USA Confederations Cup Final LiveBlog Posted: 28 Jun 2009 09:52 AM PDT
USA WCB preview here Brazil WCB preview here LiveBlog (from 30 minutes before kick off) below…
Any predictions?   |
Here it is then. Brazil vs USA in the 2009 Confederations Cup Final. The most important cup final the USA has ever reached. But definitely not the most important cup final Brazil has ever reached. | You are subscribed to email updates from World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010 To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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