16/06/2005
Brazil and Robinho dazzle to ease past Greece

World Cup holders Brazil outclassed European champions Greece to win 3-0 in the Confederations Cup with the rising star of world football, Robinho, among the scorers.

The Brazilians' first match in this tournament had been eagerly awaited and they did not disappoint as they pulled a poor Greek side apart with skill and flair.

Adriano smashed a shot from the corner of the penalty area past the dive of Greek goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis to open the scoring in the 41st minute.

Then 21-year-old Robinho slotted in the ball from Gilberto's low cross in the first minute of the second half.

It was the first of what will surely be many goals in Europe for the striker rumoured to be moving from Santos to Real Madrid in Spain.

Lyon midfielder Juninho Pernambucano, a second-half substitute, lifted a free kick over the Greek wall for the third goal in the 81st minute to claim his first goal for Brazil.

Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira was delighted with his team's start in the eight-nation competition.

"They found so many ways to win the game, the balance was just right today.

"We had so many chances and we attacked in the Brazilian way with lots of interchanging of passes and movement.

"I am very happy. This is not the World Cup, but as we arrived at the stadium today I felt the environment of the World Cup and it is important for the players to experience that."

He described Robinho as "a treasure" and said he should be in contention for a place in the World Cup squad.

Greece's German coach Otto Rehhagel was gracious in defeat.

"Brazil were clearly the better team, but we already knew that before the match.

"The problem with our team is that when we have even a few injuries the team is not at its best and to beat Brazil you need to be perfect."

Greece's best chance came on the stroke of half-time when Angelos Charisteas shot wide from a cross by Giourkas Seitaridis.

The game ended as a contest after the second goal, although Ronaldinho managed to find a hole in the defensive wall from a free-kick but the Greek keeper was alert.

Their job done, Ronaldinho and Adriano were among a host of players substituted as the game entered the final 20 minutes.

In a rare Greek attack, Konstantinos Katsouranis drove a shot narrowly off target.

A sellout 42,500 crowd in the impressive Zentralstadion saw Greece almost stun Brazil in the second minute when Sotirios Kyrgiakos' header flew over the crossbar.

Brazil struck back when Adriano was played in by Emerson but he pulled his shot well wide.

As the South Americans began to string passes together, Adriano pulled back a pass for the unmarked Kaka to tap in but Theo Zagorakis cleared.

With Robinho settling into his game, his first shot of the night was well-saved by Nikopolidis, but minutes later he danced delightfully past his marker only to produce a weak finish.

Then he gathered a probing pass from Ronaldinho and curled a shot narrowly past the post.

As Brazilian pressure began to tell, Kaka's shot from outside the area forced Nikopolidis to dive low to save but he could do nothing about Adriano's thunderbolt.

The other Group B match of the night produced a 2-1 win for Mexico over Japan in Hannover.

Brazil face Mexico in their next game on Sunday, when Greece take on Japan.

17.06.2005 21:12 +0400
AFP