FOOTBALL Brazil and Ecuador are gold in Pan American football | |
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| Marta Silva #10 of Brazil (C) celebrates with her gold medal on the podium with teammates after their 5-0 victory in the Women's Gold Medal Match over the United States of America during the 2007 XV Pan American Games at Maracana Stadium on July 26, 2007 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Silva will retire after this gold medal win. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) |
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By Vicente Dattoli
Member, AIPS Football Commission
RIO DE JANEIRO, 27 July 2007 - The best of American football lies south of the Equator. At least, that’s what has been shown in the XV Pan American Games, with the achievements of Brazil (women’s) and Ecuador (men’s), in the finals that were played on July 26 and 27. The matches that ensured the gold medals took place in Maracanã, one of the icons of world football. In the women’s gold medal match, around 70 thousand people crowded the stadium, a unique celebration for the home crowd. Without the participation of the hosts in the men’s gold medal the attendance was not so big, even though there was a great deal of joy and enthusiasm – especially because the Brazilian supporters decided to cheer for the Jamaican team, searching for a small revenge against Ecuador, since they were responsible for disqualifying the Brazilian team from the competition.The Brazilian women’s campaign was flawless. Under the leadership of Martha, considered the best female player in the world, the Brazilians won the 6 matches they played, scoring 33 goals and suffering none. Marta was the competition striker, scoring 12 goals (2 against the USA in the finals, won 5 - 0). In the bronze medal match, Canada beat Mexico 2 -1. Right after the final match, Martha was invited to leave her footprints in Maracanã’s Hall of Fame of – where other idols such as Pelé, Rivelino, and Romário are already immortalized.The USA, which won the silver medal, were represented by their U-20 team and achieved a beautiful result.In the men’s competition, Conmebol had decided their affiliates should take part in the competition with their U-20 teams. However, due the coincidence with dates of the world championship of the category, which took place in Canada, some countries (Brazil and Argentina, for example) ended up calling players from the U-17 team.Thus, Brazil, which might have been considered one of the biggest favorites, even for playing at home, was disqualified during the initial round of the competition – and precisely by Ecuador, which was champion, winning their first football gold medal in the history of Pan American Games, beating Jamaica by 2 x 1, after having started the match loosing by 1 x 0. In the bronze medal match, Mexico beat Bolivia by 1 x 0, achieving their fifth consecutive medal in Pan American Games. BRAZIL’S CAMPAIGN7 x 0 Canada5 x 0 Jamaica10 x 0 Ecuador4 x 0 Uruguay2 x 0 Mexico5 x 0 USACompetition striker: Marta (Bra), with 12 goalsFinal results – women’s footballGold BrazilSilver USABronze Canada4th Mexico, 5th Argentina, 6th Jamaica, 7th Equator, 8th Panama, 9th Uruguay, 10th ParaguayEQUADOR’S CAMPAIGN4 x 2 Brazil3 x 2 Honduras1 x 1 Costa Rica1 x 0 Bolivia2 x 1 JamaicaCompetition strikers: Daley (Jam) and Esqueda (Mex), with 4 goals eachFinal results – men’s footballGold EquatorSilver JamaicaBronze Mexico4th Bolivia, 5th Brazil, 6th Colombia, 7th Honduras and the USA, 9th Argentina, 10th Costa Rica, 11th Haiti, 12th Venezuela |
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