BRAZIL WORTHY WINNERS OF A FANTASTIC TOURNAMENT

BRAZIL WORTHY WINNERS OF A FANTASTIC TOURNAMENT

Posted: Jun 30, 2013

By NWANKWO KANU: It goes without saying that the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup lived up to expectations. All eight teams, apart from Tahiti, were excellent representatives of their continents and we had some really great matches.

Before the tournament, no one really knew how it was going to turn out. But after what we witnessed these past two weeks, I don’t believe anyone has been left disappointed.

Apart from the good football on show on the pitch, the stands were also buzzing throughout the tournament with most of the games sold out. The atmosphere was electric, especially when Brazil played. I hope we will have more of this next year during the World Cup. It would be fantastic.

Picking the tournament’s Golden Ball winner was an easy choice. Neymar stood out from the first game and was outstanding all through the tournament.

The Brazil forward went into the tournament under a lot of pressure to prove he wasn’t all hype. By the end of Sunday’s final, he had proven every doubter wrong; he had silenced his critics.
He didn’t just score goals; he scored spectacular goals that sent the fans into wild celebrations. He also made goals and his general contributions were impressive.

Neymar carried the Brazil team, which is no mean feat, especially for one so young and with a lot to live up to. It is never easy to be Brazil’s No10 – they’ve produced great ones over the years – but Neymar grew into the shirt and came of age in the tournament.

He was the special player in a very talented Brazil squad and it was fitting that he led them to the trophy and emerged as tournament MVP.

After watching Neymar in the previous games, I knew he was going to make a difference in the final and that was why I tipped Brazil to win. I know a lot of people expected Spain to win, but I saw in Brazil a side that would be able to stand up to Spain and take their chances.
I have been saying since the beginning of the tournament that if a team disrupted Spain’s flow in midfield and have a go at their not-so-impressive defence, the world champions would be in trouble.

Brazil did not allow Spain any time on the ball and exploited that weakness in their defence. Brazil won as I said they would; I just didn’t expect it to be so easy for the hosts. They completely ripped Spain apart and fully deserved their 3-0 win.

So, to me it was not a big surprise that Brazil defeated Spain. Indeed, there were no big surprises in the tournament.

We all expected Tahiti to get thoroughly beaten and they were. The teams from Europe and South America as usual dominated and the hosts won.

I would have been very happy though if the Super Eagles had surprised the world and made it to the semi-finals at least. But I’m sure the team has learnt a great lesson from the experience and they will gain from participating.

Like I have always said, let us give Stephen Keshi our full support and his team will go places. Signs of progress are already there; we just need to continue going forward.

Nigeria did not have a disastrous tournament and several players stood out for me in the Eagles squad. Nnamdi Oduamadi was the best player against Tahiti; Kenneth Omeruo was the best against Uruguay and Mikel Obi stood out against Spain.

We saw a different Mikel that excelled in an attacking role but it is up to the coaches how he is deployed in future.

A future that looks bright for the Super Eagles. And Brazil. And the football world.

 

 

BRAZIL, SPAIN IS A FITTING FINALE

 

 

By NWANKWO KANU: Brazil versus Spain is probably the final most neutrals wanted and that is what we are getting.

I am excited for this final because these are two teams which try to play very good football all the time. Interestingly, the current Spain team play the free-flowing Samba kind of game Brazil used to be famous for. Although Brazil are still quite good, they do not quite play that same Samba anymore.

So it will be intriguing to see the contrast in styles tonight. I’m really looking forward to a great game.

But this is a tough one to call. I’m expecting a very tight match, like I foresaw in the semi-final between Spain and Brazil. There is very little to choose between these sides.

I believe the team that takes it's chances will be the winner tonight. If Italy had taken their chances early in the semi-final, they would have been 2-0, 3-0 up and it would have been very difficult for Spain to fight back.

The edge I feel Brazil will have in this final is the fans. The Brazilian spectators have been very vocal throughout this tournament and I expect them to be at their loudest tonight. ’m not saying the noise will unsettle Spain – they are far too experienced for that. But the support will give Brazil extra strength and motivation, and that could be the difference.

On their day, this new Brazil side are a tough bunch to beat and getting to the final in front of their own adoring fans will only make them stronger and more determined to be triumphant.

The key to a Brazil win is doing what Italy did so effectively in the semi-final and adding good finishing to it. The Italians packed the midfield and forced Spain to go wide where they were not very effective.If Brazil could do that and then get the ball to Neymar and Fred in attack, they will be on the right track.

The Brazil attack has been very impressive in the tournament, with Neymar and Fred scoring important goals. In contrast, the Spain defence is not the best around. Nigeria and Italy created loads of chances against them only to be let down by poor finishing.

I think Spain will be in trouble if they concede first. Then they would have to increase the pace of the game and leave spaces behind. If they score first they would just keep the ball and slow the game down, wearing down the opposition. I’m leaning towards a narrow Brazil win, maybe 1-0.That would be a fitting finale to a tournament that has produced a great deal of thrills.

Spain, Italy, Brazil, Japan, Nigeria and the others have given us some really good football and these past two weeks have been fun-filled. Even Tahiti, despite their heavy defeats, have brought smiles to our faces with their enthusiasm and the pure joy they displayed in just being on the global stage.

If this is a glimpse of what the World Cup will be like, then I can’t wait for next year. Hopefully, our Super Eagles will be in the party.

 

EAGLES WERE NOT DISGRACED

By NWANKWO KANU: Obviously as a Nigerian I’m not happy that the Super Eagles lost to Spain. But the score line was a bit unfair to us, going by how the game unfolded.

I believe we got undone by the early goal Spain scored because we had to chase the game.

Spain got on top after that early Jordi Alba goal and it was tough as we tried to fight back and get the equalizer.
It was a cheap goal to give away but I was impressed with the way the Eagles responded and created chances.

 But like I wrote in the past during this Confederations Cup, our inability to take our chances led to the team’s downfall.
If you don’t take your chances at this level you get punished, especially against the world and European champions.
But the defeat to Spain was not just because of the missed chances and our poor finishing. The whole team has to take responsibility.

I understand that Nigerians will be frustrated by the team’s lack of goals, but the Eagles also have to learn to defend better.
Even if you are not scoring many goals but you defend well, chances are you will not lose.
All in all, this has been a good lesson for the Eagles. Sometimes you think you have arrived only for a result like this to give you the wake-up call.

It is always good to participate in tough competitions like this, play against bigger sides and learn from your mistakes. We can go back to the drawing board, study videos of this tournament and go into tough games with the right mentality.

One thing the match showed us is that if you have a go at the Spain defence you can rattle them. The Eagles attacked Spain and the result might have been different if we had taken our chances.
If we could create chances against the best team in the world, who says we can’t compete against any team.

If we meet Spain again the result could be different, because today the major difference was that they took their chances while we didn’t take ours.
It is not surprising that people are talking about the absence of Victor Moses and Emmanuel Emenike. But even if they were available, we still have to improve our finishing before we can score goals.

We have already shown that we can attack any team in the world.
I am sure the players and the coaches are better off for this experience and it will stand them in good stead if we qualify for the World Cup.
The players and coaches should not feel bad about their two losses in this tournament. They competed till the last minute against Uruguay and they were not disgraced against Spain.

Now we have the World Cup qualifiers to look ahead to and we should go into it with confidence.
Nigerians should not take this as a letdown because we lost two games. We should regard it as a great adventure by our team, one in which they came out with their heads held high.

We have had a week of excellent football served up by Spain, Italy, Japan and hosts Brazil. Nigeria has added spice to the tournament too with our exciting football, even if our finishing has not been topnotch.

 

 

DEFEATING SPAIN IS NOT MISSION IMPOSSIBLE

 

By NWANKWO KANU: Defeating Spain is surely one of the hardest tasks in football at the moment. The world and European champions have been the best side in the world since 2008 and they have won every competition they have participated in since then.

The Spaniards are so good that even their second team is scary. The likes of Chelsea’s best player last season and one of the top stars in the English Premier League, Juan Mata, Bayern Munich’s Javier Martinez and Arsenal’s best player last season Santi Cazorla would walk into virtually every  national team in the world. But they can only start when Spain ‘rest’ their big stars.

So the last thing any team in the world will want is to need to beat Spain to make progress. But that is what the Super Eagles have to do tonight, since we all know Uruguay will trounce Tahiti. And it is not impossible.

But how do you beat this slick Spanish side? First, you have to play them without fear. Forget their big names and big reputations; just do your own thing.

We can’t afford to feel sorry for ourselves and hope that Spain will take it easy on us. We should go into the game feeling we can still qualify and realizing that Spain will also respect us.
The past few games have shown us that if the Super Eagles work well together and get things right, they can beat any team in the world.

I remember that before we played Cote d’Ivoire at the last Africa Cup of Nations, nobody gave the boys a chance. Everybody said we couldn’t match the Ivorian superstars. But when I met the boys, I told them to take the opportunity of such a big game to make their mark.

They were determined to prove their doubters wrong and they were in superb form against the Elephants.

Now, they have another chance to make history on the big stage and only they can do it for themselves,no other person can do it for them.  I spoke with some of the players on the phone after the Uruguay game and told them they didn’t do badly at all. I told them to see the game against Spain as a shot at making history; I urged them to look forward and not to panic. I told them to make us all proud by giving it their absolute best.

One good thing about this match is that the Eagles will not be under pressure. Yes, they need to win to stand a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals. But not many people expect them to beat the world champions. So no pressure in that regard.

Playing against a team like Spain before a global audience is good for us and I believe the boys have the ability to pass this real test.

Why not? We are African champions and with a good game plan, it is possible to beat Spain.
The Eagles have a good coach in Stephen Keshi and I’m sure he will have worked out how to play against Spain.

The two teams have played two games each and should know each other’s strengths and weaknesses by now.

What I know from watching Spain over time, is that they won’t change their way of playing for any opponent. They play the same way; the opposition doesn’t matter. Spain are like Barcelona in a way and if we can figure them out like Bayern did against Barca in the Champions League, then we’re halfway there.

Their major asset is their midfield and if we can disrupt their flow in that area, we can upset them and force them into making mistakes. Our midfielders should also not repeat the mistake they made against Uruguay when they held on to the ball too long. Against Spain they might not have much of the ball, so they must use it well when they have possession.

If we can put the pace of our attackers to good use, we can cause Spain a few problems. Spain don’t have too many weaknesses, but if we can nullify their strengths, we will stand a good chance. ------------------------ complete sports