FOOTBALL Brazil lifts Copa America Cup
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from July 1999.
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The first title under new coach Wanderley Luxemburgo helped to soothe a bit the pain of losing last year's World Cup. And it kicked off Brazil's assault on the next one.
"This is the first phase of our project to prepare for the Olympics and the 2002 World Cup," Luxemburgo said Sunday, moments after Brazil had dispatched Uruguay 3-0. "We're happy with the win, but our minds are on the World Cup."
Brazilians have won four World Cups, more than any other country, and it's their yardstick for soccer teams. They have had a hard time digesting the 3-0 loss to host France in a game they expected to easily win.
On Sunday, Sunday, Luxemburgo dedicated the victory to the players ``who were crucified for losing the Cup." Only four remain on the team Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos and Cafu and they were huge in the Copa America
``The team's resurgence belongs to them," Luxemburgo said. Rivaldo, one of the scapegoats for the Cup fiasco, was named the tournament's outstanding player. Against Uruguay he was brilliant, scoring two goals, assisting on the third and creating a handful of chances.
Ronaldo also got a goal, joining Rivaldo as the Cup's high scorer with five goals. He also felt the weight of losing the Cup lift a little.
``This is an especially happy moment, because it's been a difficult year for me," he said. Since the World Cup, Ronaldo broke up with his fiancee, struggled with tendonitis in his knees and was booed for his uneven play at the Cup. For a fresh start, the Copa America couldn't have gone better.
Despite the loss of starters Vampeta and Leonardo, the team came together almost at once. Brazil beat Mexico twice, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela and Uruguay to finish undefeated, with the most goals scored (17) and the fewest allowed (2). "It's not that the others were bad, but Brazil right now is superior," Roberto Carlos said.
Uruguay was outplayed and outclassed, but the Cup was far from a disappointment. The young squad that came here to gain some experience won the hearts of soccer fans with a storybook run to the finals.
If the youngsters learned something in their upsets of Paraguay and Chile, on Sunday Brazil took them to school.
Brazil took 10 minutes to figure out Uruguay's zone defense, then began to buzz the net. In the 21st minute, Flavio Conceicao curled in a free kick from the left side, and Rivaldo headed it back into the far corner for a 1-0 lead.
Six minutes later, Ze Roberto crossed and Rivaldo trapped the ball, shook his defender and gently chipped the ball over goalie Fabian Carini to make it 2-0.
Uruguay's best chance came with a minute left in the half, when defender Martin de Campo fired from the right side and hit the crossbar.
Barely a minute into the second half, Rivaldo spotted Ronaldo on a breakaway and sent a perfect pass to the Inter striker, who fired a rocket past Carini to make it 3-0. Brazil's only weakness was its failure to convert so many scoring chances into goals. Ronaldo and Amoroso misfired with Carini beaten, and Rivaldo was disarmed after dribbling all the way to the goal line.
The Uruguayans pressed in the closing minutes, but Gabriel Alvez and Federico Magallanes fired just wide.
