Brazil Show Otto Who's King

Brazil provided the first clear-cut victory in the Confederations Cup with a 3-0 victory against Greece. The first three matches were all decided by one goal but coach Carlos Alberto Parreira's team sent a very clear message to the seven other teams that the Selecao are hungry for another international title.

"The team was well-balanced," explained Parreira. "Sometimes they played too complicated but it was in order how we played."

The Brazilian play was definitely in order but unlike the first three matches, it took a while for the first goal to be scored. And how it was scored set the tone for the remainder of the match because Greece got in a situation they prefer not to be in, namely attacking soccer.

After 40 minutes in which Otto Rehhagel's Euro 2004 champs played aggressively enough to hold the Brazilians in check, Adriano finally broke the Gordian knot. In a moment when the Greeks failed to press the Inter Milan striker who then pulled up from 27 meters and launched a rocket that just squeezed inside the right post past a flying Greek keeper Antonis Nikopolildis.

Second-half starts off disastrously

In the first half, Greece missed a golden opportunity in the first half-minute. The second-half would start with a golden opportunity for Brazil. One they didn’t waste.

Hertha Berlin's defender Gilberto raced with the ball up the left sideline, crossed it through the Greek penalty box where Robinho (photo), the replacement of superstar Ronaldo, was waiting to place the ball in the net. 40 seconds into the second-half, Greece were beaten.

At this point, Brazil could toy with Otto Rehhagel's side like a cat with a wounded mouse. The Selecao handed the ball over to the Greeks for the next ten minutes but when the Euro champs were unable to take advantage of the Brazilian gift, the world champs retook control.

Ronaldinho had a few good opportunities. Rubinho broke free occasionally and the Achilles heel of the Greek defense, the right side, was used continuously as a launching pad for attacks by the yellow-clad Brazilians.

Midway through the second-half, a series of substitutions interrupted the flow of the match but important was the entrance of Olympique Lyon Juninho Pernambucano in the 77th minute.

Quality goal seals Greece's fate

Four minutes later, Juninho stepped up to take a free-kick just outside the Greek penalty box. After all, the master of the free-kick Ronaldinho had been taken out of the game. But Juninho plays at a level, if not equal, then very close to last year's Footballer of the Year.

Juninho bent the direct kick over the top of the Greek wall, the ball dropped 2 meters in a millisecond, and Nikopolidis could only watch as the leather fell into the back of the net. The very real and classy Greek defense of 2004 was transformed into something comparable to the best myths classic Greek mythology.

"The Brazilians were clearly better," commented Rehhagel. "All 11 players must give 110% to beat a Brazilian team and tonight we only gave about 50%. That wasn't enough."

So the Greeks, after a series of disappointing qualifying matches for next year's World Cup in Germany, are finding out that Rehhagel no longer has the Midas touch. Brazil, on the other hand, was convincing after last week's bitter 3-1 defeat to Argentina in Buenos Aires. Understandably, they would like a chance to exact revenge against their South American rivals. But before that they have two more matches to play.