BRAZIL VICTORIOUS OVER ARGENTINA IN KL WORLD 5s FINAL

In a final watched by a packed Negara Stadium crowd, the Brazilians turned on the magic to thrill nearly 10,000 spectators with a performance that would have won admiration of futsal fans the world over.

The tie was a match worthy of a World Cup futsal final between two South American powerhouses.

Argentina came thinking they could contain and deny the Brazilians, but in the end were hit for four unanswered goals to claim the Cup which they lost to Argentina in the 2003 final.

This time, it is on its way back to Rio De Janeiro.

But for long periods in the opening half, Argentina held firm and the Brazilians, who had two of their best players back on the roster today despite niggling injuries, kept chipping away with Alessandro Viera, or better known as Falcao, and Ari Santos back in the fold.

Their perseverance paid off at the very last minute of the half, when the combination of Mauro Taffarel and Joao Carvalho tore down the Argentinian defence for the latter to hit home from close range.

The Argentinean wall because porous after that, and the Brazilians added its second in the 21st min through Lenisio Junior in a sweeping move that the Argentinians had no answer to.

Goal No. 3 came two minutes later through Falcao and William Morais sealed Argentina’s fate with the last goal of the match.

Said Brazil’s assistant coach Marcos Sorato: “We are happy to win because the last time in the final we lost to Argentina. Today we defended very well, never gave Argentina much room and when we had the break we took them well.

“Argentina is a good side. That’s why we played our best players tonight, like Falcao and Ari who are still not 100 per cent because today of their injuries because we wanted to beat Argentina.”

Argentina’s coach Jose Fernando said: “It’s alright. We lost to a better team. But it was a good match, especially in the first half.

“But we got very tired in the second period and it led to the three goals we conceded. But Brazil is Brazil. They are so good because they train five hours a day and they are all professional players.

“For us, some of my players have other jobs and that’s the difference.”

Said Harvey Davis, ESPN STAR Sports’ Senior Director, Event Management Group: “The last six days of competition gave Malaysian fans a huge treat, and we couldn’t have had a better final than these great futsal nations. We wanted to create an event that would grow the sport of futsal and promote the sporting culture in Malaysia. I believe we contributed to that with the number of spectators that came to this fabulous event.

“It was a huge success with passionate fans coming every day to cheer for all the teams. We’re very heartened by the support Malaysians have shown and we look forward to holding this tournament again in the future.”

FIXTURES and RESULTS (3 Feb 2008)

Bowl Final: England vs China (3-5)
Plate Final: Holland vs Iran (1-2)
KL World 5s Final: Argentina vs Brazil (0-4)