Showing posts with label Confederations Cup 2013. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Confederations Cup 2013. Show all posts

Monday, July 1, 2013

Congratulations to Brazil: 2013 Confederations Cup Champions

Neymar and Brazil dominated Spain to win the Confederations Cup.

I'm not sure what I expected from the Confederations Cup Final, but that wasn't it.  Now, I didn't think that it was totally out of the realm of possibility for Brazil to win on home soil, but I didn't expect them to dominate Spain the way they did.  I believe that scoring the first goal (within 3 minutes) was key.  It immediately put Spain under pressure and gave Brazil a foundation to build on, which they did.

All in all, you have to admire Brazil.  They certainly had the more difficult road to the final, at least in my opinion.  After all, they didn't play Tahiti and Nigeria.  Once they emerged in the final, they easily outplayed and outworked a lackluster Spanish side, that honestly looked second best even in the semis against Italy.

So Brazil put themselves in good position for next summer, though since they have already qualified, they won't have another competitive match until the World Cup.  Neymar won the Golden Ball, and Julio Cesar was the top 'keeper.  Spain's Fernando Torres won the Golden Boot, which even as a Chelsea fan, I find kind of laughable.

So congrats to Brazil, their country surely needed something to celebrate during this time of protest.  Hopefully this can be a unifying force and help effect some needed changes in that country.  Next up for them will be the 2014 World Cup!

Monday, June 17, 2013

Puddle's Goal of the Weekend: Luis Suarez vs Spain

A late wonder strike from Suarez couldn't help Uruguay against Spain

The 2013 Confederations Cup kicked off this last weekend, and there were a good few outstanding goals to go around.  Neymar hit a great strike against Japan, and Pirlo started things on Sunday with an outstanding free kick goal vs Mexico.  However, for me the goal of the tournament so far is this strike by Luis Suarez against Spain:


He's pretty good when he's not biting, diving, or cheating in some other fashion. Unfortunately for Uruguay, it wasn't enough as the defending World Champion Spain went on to win 2-1.