After the dramatic 3rd place match, no one expected the FIFA Confederations Cup final to follow the same script. However, this matchday in South Africa was special as was Brazil’s amazing comeback performance against a United States side with massive heart.
The U.S. did to Brazil what they did to Spain as the Americans jumped out to an early lead on Clint Dempsey’s fabulous twisting shot from a Jonathan Spector service into the box to shock the Brazilians and give the Americans the 1-0 lead in the 10th minute.
The carryover from the Spain game continued in the 27th minute when the gave the Brazilians a bit of their own medicine when the Americans quickly turned a bad pass to a counter attack with Landon Donovan giving a pass to Charlie Davies and then receiving it back just outside the box. The U.S. number 10’s 1st touch lost his marker and then Donovan slotted it past Julio Cesar for the eye-rubbing 2-0 lead.
Some excellent goal keeping from US keeper Tim Howard kept the 2-0 lead safe going into halftime as the world was 45 minutes away from witnessing a massive upset. However, Brazil is Brazil and in the 1st minute of the 2nd half Luis Fabiano woke up and scored on a twisting shot that went between Jay Demerit’s legs and got past Howard to cut the lead to 2-1.
A Kaká header in the 61st minute looked like it crossed the line but Howard knocked it out as the referee said to play on. Unfazed the Brazilians continued to dominate possession and attack the US goal. The equalizer finally came in the 74th minute when Kaká sped down the left side into the box and centered to Robinho who’s shot bounced under the crossbar and out to Luis Fabiano who headed in the rebound.
The dagger in the heart of the Americans came off the head of the Brazilian captain. With the final seemingly moving toward into extra time Lucio rose above the US defense to head in the trophy winning goal.
3-2 Final Score: Brazilian comeback complete, US heartbreak begins, Seleção solidifies its place as the world’s best footballing nation.
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The exciting 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup is unfortunately over as the final matchday witnessed 2 dramatic matches with identical scorelines that justify football’s place as “The Beautiful Game.” The 3rd place game was a Thriller.
La Furia Roja and Bafana Bafana played an extra time affair whose drama started in the 2nd half with some fire from a couple of subs. Neither team could establish their advantage until the 73rd minute when South African substitute Katlego Mphela scored from a Siphiwe Tshabalala centering pass to give South Africa the 1-0 lead.
Spain’s own super sub Daniel Güiza came on for Fernando Torres and scored a pair of goals a minute apart in the 87th & 88th minute. Güiza’s 2nd goal was a GOLAZO as the Turkish based striker buried a well-placed looping shot over South African keeper Itumeleng Khune.
The crowd in Rustenburg were headed for the exits when Mphela blasted a marvelous free kick 3 minutes into injury time as the GOLAZO sent the 3rd place match to extra time and breathed hope into the home side.
The match was eventually decided early in the 2nd extra time period when Xabi Alonso’s bending free kick bounced past Khune into the back of the net. Spain held on to claim 3rd place in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup with a 3-2 win. South Africa’s performances against Spain & Brazil were excellent and gave South Africans justified hope for a memorable showing in 2010.
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I know what you’re thinking, what on Earth is a Vuvuzela? For those of you who have been watching the Confederations Cup in South Africa you will probably have heard some insanely annoying buzzing noise that sounds a bit like Satan playing a Kazoo – this is the Vuvuzela (see pic).
Some commentators, players, managers and fans have all complained about the noise and suggested banning them at the World Cup 2010. Indeed, FIFA actually did ban them until the South African Football Association (SAFA) made a presentation and suggested you would not get a true South African football experience without these horns.
Even though the noise is awful (horrifying really) I’m inclined to agree with the SAFA on this one. As much as the World Cup is about football it is also about the global football community and exploring new footballing cultures. If I’m starting to sound a bit like a hippy here I’m sorry, but it generally is the way I feel. Indeed the Vuvuzela is so important to South African fans it has come to ‘symbolise the sport in the country’ according to southafrica.info.
Basically, no matter how annoying the Vuvuzela simply can’t be banned. It would take away the whole point of holding the tournament in South Africa. I was watching the Confederations Cup with a friend of mine and I’ve got to be honest, we both thought it was a bit much. It turns out everyone else did as well and there has been quite a lot written about it on the internet already (search ‘Vuvuzela’ and you’ll see what I mean). However, I found this gem of a quote on the official FIFA website to back the unconventional instrument’s cause.
“When we started the vuvuzela, there was so much sadness in our country in those years and it brought so much joy,” said Mzion Mofokeng, deputy chairman of the South African team’s supporters’ association. “All of a sudden people would go to the stadiums because of this instrument that was able to get fans on their feet and start cheering. For few hours, they would forget about the reality in our society and enjoy the sound.”
So there you have it, everyone will moan a bit but it is a part of their football culture and the governing bodies can’t change that – nor do they want to. The English fans sing and have a very British brass band, the Brazilians use the samba drums and the South Africans have the Vuvuzela – it might not be the prettiest of sounds, but it is their sound. And if the noise does get too much for you to bear, you can always hit mute….
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It was supposed to be a butt whippin, it was supposed to be like that supermodel that bitched Terrell Owens on the new NBC show, Superstars. The FIFA Confederations Cup semifinal between Spain and the USA would set US Soccer back 20 years. Everyone who watches football thought that La Furia Roja would embarrass the Stars & Stripes (including myself).
However, Bob Bradley and his crew were the only ones who believed and with body sacrificing defending and timely finishing, the United States pulled off the greatest win in US Soccer history. A 2-0 victory against the “world’s best team” that had all kind of world record streaks was a result of American grit.
The Americans began the 1st half pressing the action and aggressively attacking the Spaniards, something the European champs were definitely uncomfortable with. That early aggression paid off when Jozy Altidore outmuscled defender Joan Capdevila, held off Carles Puyol and sent a shot on goal that caught captain Iker Casillas leaning the wrong way and found the back of the net even though the Real Madrid keeper got a palm on it.
After the 27th minute the US led 1-0 and had breached a Spanish defense that hadn’t allowed a goal all tournament. From that point on the Spaniards pressed hard to get the equalizer but every time it looked like they would score a US defender was going to ground deflecting a shot, sacrificing bruises for a historic clean sheet.
Fierce defending and superior keeping by Tim Howard kept Spain at bay and eventually put the US in a position to seal a place in the final. In the 74th minute that place in the championship game was finalized when Landon Donovan’s centering pass was lazily handled by Sergio Ramos allowing Clint Dempsey to slide from behind and put the ball past Casillas for the back breaking 2-0 lead and win.
After 90+ minutes it was over, Spain’s world record streaks: DONE, Spain-Brazil Dream Final: NOT GONNA HAPPEN, Future underestimation of US Soccer in non-CONCACAF international competitions (US is never underestimated in CONCACAF Competitions): NEVER AGAIN.
Spain must be hating US sports teams right now. This Confederations Cup semifinal loss and the loss in the gold medal basketball match to the US in the 2008 Beijing Olympics have left Spain devoid of some major titles.
This victory was not the final, its important that the US refocus on winning the Confederations Cup trophy and make this victory last in the minds of their detractors. When Muhammad Ali beat Sonny Liston he loudly boasted that he shook up the world, after the 2-0 win over Spain, US Soccer can make the same claim.
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Its that time once again to give praise to the football team that caught our attention more than any other squad. To let the world know that MAF recognizes their accomplishments. The World Cup Buzz Team Of The Week played matches and/or made headlines during the calendar week of June 15-21.
The winner is: [click to continue…]
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