Brazil’s Neymar, Marcelo and Spain striker, Fernando Torres
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Protests
have marred the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup but hosts Brazil and Spain
are set to engage each other in a potentially explosive final
encounter, reports ’TANA AIYEJINA
The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup final
is set, with hosts Brazil set to face Spain for the title at the
Maracana Stadium on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro.
For Brazil, the final will offer the
opportunity for a fourth Confederations Cup title, which could serve as a
springboard to further success at next summer’s World Cup, also to be
held in Brazil.
Spain have never won the Confederations
Cup (this is their second appearance in the tournament), but they have
won everything else lately. World Cup winners in 2010 and European
champions in 2008 and 2012, Spain are currently unrivaled as the best
international side in the world.
With such historic success of late, they
also rank as one of the best international teams of all time. Will they
add another title to their haul this Sunday, or will Brazil claim
another Confederations crown?
Road to final
As hosts, Brazil were drawn into Group A
with Japan, Mexico and Italy. Brazil won all three group matches to win
Group A with nine points.
Brazil beat Japan 3-0 in the opener,
followed by a 2-0 victory over Mexico. They closed out the group stage
with a 4-2 win over group runners-up Italy.
On Wednesday, Brazil defeated Uruguay 2-1 in the semifinals, with Paulinho heading in the late winner.
Neymar and Fred have scored three goals apiece to lead Brazil, while Jo and Paulinho have scored twice each.
Spain won Group B with a 100 per cent record against Uruguay (2-1), Tahiti (10-0) and Nigeria (3-0).
Spain then outlasted Italy in the
semifinals, winning a penalty shootout 7-6 after the match had finished
scoreless following 90 minutes of regular time and 30 more of extra
time. Jesus Navas converted the decisive penalty.
Fernando Torres scored four goals in the
rout of Tahiti and has recorded five in the tournament so far. David
Villa scored a hat-trick in the match. David Silva and Jordi Alba have
scored two goals each at the tournament.
Tactics
Spain
Spain manager Vicente Del Bosque’s team
relies on a patient passing game to break down opponents. Spain
regularly dominate possession in their 4-3-3 formation and win the ball
back quickly upon losing it.
At Euro 2012 Del Bosque experimented
with a lineup that featured no true strikers. At this tournament,
however, he has regularly used a striker. Roberto Soldado started the
opener against Uruguay and the group finale against Nigeria, while
Torres started against Tahiti and Italy.
Another tactical development to watch
out for involves Spain’s midfield. Injury ruled midfielder Xabi Alonso
out of the tournament, meaning Del Bosque had to shuffle his formation.
Italy managed to disrupt Spain’s rhythm in the semifinals, however, and Brazil could take a cue from the Azzurri’s strategy.
Brazil
Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has
opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation throughout the tournament, with Fred at
the top of the formation and budding superstar Neymar on the left side
of the attacking midfield.
In the semifinals, Uruguay stunted
Brazil’s attack with high pressing, forcing mistakes and negative
passes. But Uruguay’s admirable defending was undone in the first half
by a long ball and a bit of skill from Neymar, who set up Fred for the
opener. In the second half, Neymar’s corner led to Paulinho’s headed
winner.
Against Del Bosque and Spain’s patient
passing game in the final, Brazil likely will need another strong
tactical performance from Scolari.
Tactics: Expert opinion
Former Super Eagles coach, Adegboye Onigbinde, says tactics is not the only area to watch out for in the final on Sunday.
He said, “In a match of this nature,
tactics is not the only thing to look out for; you need to look at the
fitness of the players as well. If your players are unfit, how do you
execute your tactics?
“So you need to look at the composure of
the players, which you will mix with intellectual and psychological
fitness. The Spanish play with a lot of confidence and good composure
and they have a way of making their opponents play to their pattern.
“But the Brazilians are tactically and technically fit as well. I think the two sides will be perfectly matched.”
Folorunsho Okenla, a former Nigeria
international, believes both sides will add an aggressive touch to their
otherwise passing game.
“We are definitely going to see
free-flowing and fluid football. Both sides are not aggressive but since
it is the final of such a big tournament, they will come out with some
sort of aggression,” Okenla said.
Neymar influence
The youngster is undoubtedly the star of
the tournament. He scored three goals in the group stage and has a hand
in almost all Brazil’s goals.
Fans are anxiously waiting to see how the new Barcelona signing will fare against Spain’s tightly knit defence.
But close followers feel Neymar may not be the deciding factor in the final on Sunday.
“No doubt, he (Neymar) is Brazil’s
arrowhead. He has been very influential in the tournament and Spain know
this. They will try to cage him and make sure he doesn’t embark on
those dangerous dribbling runs,” Thompson Oliha, a 1994 Africa Cup of
Nations winner, said.
Also, Onigbinde, who coached the Eagles
to the 1984 Africa Cup of Nations final, says building a squad around a
particular player could be detrimental.
“Neymar is a good player but football is
a team game. It’s normal practice with FIFA and other confederations to
select best players but it is destroying football.
“The player that touches the ball less
may be the player that has contributed most to the success of the team. I
have never built my team around any so-called outstanding player,”
Onigbinde, who coached Nigeria to the 2002 World Cup said.
Prediction
Spain faced a tough test in the
semifinal against Italy—and passed narrowly. Perhaps that shouldn’t have
been surprising. Even considering Spain’s 4-0 victory over Italy in
last summer’s Euro 2012 final, the Azzurri had the advantage of intimate
knowledge of Spain’s tactics and strategy, having played the world
champions so often in the recent past.
Brazil won’t have that advantage. The
ultimate goal, of course, is winning the World Cup next summer, but the
fans and players alike will be passionate about taking the
Confederations Cup title on home soil as well.
An upset is possible, of course. Italy
proved Thursday that Spain are not invincible But Spain do have plenty
of experience in major tournament finals, and Brazil are still dealing
with issues in the squad, particularly in central midfield.
“It will be challenging to predict who
wins the final match but we will get the best of football and
entertainment. It’s going to be a great final that will prepare us for
what to see at the 2014 World Cup,” Okenla said.
Home-field advantage will play its role, but in the end, Spain should have enough talent and experience to win.
Protests
Protests continue to mar the
Confederations Cup right from day one of the competition. Police clashed
with more than 5,000 protestors before Spain’s semifinal win over Italy
in Fortaleza on Thursday and once again responded with tear gas.
Nearly 90 people were arrested for rioting outside the stadium and several demonstrators and police officers were injured.
The World Cup warm-up competition has
been overshadowed by public demonstrations over the last fortnight as
ordinary millions of Brazilians have taken to the streets across 80
towns and cities to express their disgust at the misuse of public funds,
including the hosting the global football showpiece and the 2018
Olympic Games.
Police and the BOPE – Brazilian special
forces – have retaliated with the use of tear gas and rubber bullets, a
response condemned by international onlookers.
But the public unrest has not moved FIFA
president Sepp Blatter, who has insisted that the Brazilian public
should not use the competition to give visibility to their protest.
Blatter told Brazilian newspaper O
Globo, “I can understand that people are not happy, but they should not
use football to make their demands heard. Brazil asked to host the World
Cup. We didn’t force it on them.”
Onigbinde argues that the protests did not have any negative effect on the tournament.
“The tournament was highly successful.
The protests were outside football; that is what FIFA will tell you. In
the laws of the game, you don’t find a single word referring to
spectators. That is why matches can be played behind closed doors. We
have seen great games in this edition despite the protests,” Onigbinde
said.
Lessons for Nigeria
The Super Eagles crashed out in the
first round after losing to Uruguay and Spain. Having beaten whipping
boys Tahiti 6-1, the Nigerians crumbled to their South American and
European counterparts 2-1 and 3-0 respectively.
Criticisms greeted the performance of
coach Stephen Keshi’s team, which once again had most of the experienced
players excluded from the squad.
“We’ve learnt our lessons. Now we know
that we must keep a stable team. Players should be allowed to fight for
places in the team irrespective of where they play. That is what Brazil
do. David Luiz was once left out of their squad but today, he is an
integral member of the team,” Oliha said.
