Barcelona FC managed to win their 11th Supercopa De Espana - beating Atletico Madrid in a scoreless match that ended 0-0. The game had everything to offer but goals. Lionel Messi missed what should have been an easy penalty kick for the world class player. Plenty of penalty cards (yellow and red) were handed out by the referees.

The takeaway from this match is that Neymar is still trying to find his place in the Barcelona offensive. The 21yr old Brazilian has been making great effort to show his amazing skills but has not been able to prove himself as of yet.

Brazil is a country with a rich soccer (futebol) history. All you have to say is the name Pele. Hosting the Confederations Cup and World Cup next year has greater significance for Brazil then what happens on the field. The vibrant country has a lot to prove to itself and the world. It wants to be seen as a player on the world stage, not just on the soccer field. Staggering poverty and crime are just a few of the obstacles that Brazil has to overcome but Brazilians are always optimistic about their future, both on and off the field.


The crowd at Maracana Stadium was noisy, hoping for and maybe even
anticipating a triumph by Brazil. The Selecao rewarded the fans with a
comprehensive victory over the best national team of the 21st century,
an ego-boosting 3-0 smothering of world champion Spain in the Confederations
Cup final on Sunday night.

Nice, yes.

But Brazil is focusing on the really big prize: the 2014 World Cup that it hosts
next year.


"We know that the tournament that we will be playing next year will be a lot
more difficult," Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said. "Now we have more
confidence. That's what we needed."

In the stadium that will host the 2014 World Cup final next July 14, Fred put
Brazil ahead in the second minute, Neymar doubled the lead in the 44th with his
fourth goal of the tournament and Fred added his fifth in the 47th. While there
was a crowd of 73,000 in the renovated stadium, outside protesters clashed with
riot police on the final night of the two-week prep tournament.


"Brazil has shown to the world that this is the Brazilian national team and
that we must be respected," said 21-year-old Neymar, awarded the Golden Ball as
the tournament's top player. "I think that today we had a great victory against
the best team of the world, with some of the best players in the world."


In a matchup of new and old powers, the five-time world champion defeated the
reigning world and European champion and ended Spain's 29-game, three-year
winning streak in competitive matches. Spain lost a competitive game by three
goals for the first time since a 3-0 defeat at Wales in a World Cup qualifier in
April 1985.


"We are happy with what we have done over the last few years," Spain coach
Vicente Del Bosque said. "But one loss — you have to look at it, but not
overreact to it. We are not content with the loss. But when a team is superior,
you have to accept it. It was a deserved defeat."


Brazil won its third straight Confederations Cup, and is unbeaten in 57
consecutive home competitive matches since 1975. Yet, no reigning
Confed Cup winner has gone on to capture the following year's World
Cup.


Spain, which had not lost a competitive game since its 2010 World Cup opener
against Switzerland, had a miserable night. Sergio Ramos sent a penalty kick
wide in the 55th and defender Gerard Pique was ejected by Dutch referee Bjorn
Kuipers with a straight red card for fouling Neymar in the 68th.


"The first minutes and the last minutes of the halves are critical," Spanish
defender Cesar Azpilicueta said. "And they scored their three goals at the
beginning and ends of the halves, which is the worst time. Those are the most
demoralizing moments."


Eliminated in the quarterfinals of the last two World Cups, the Selecao
entered the tournament having not played a competitive match since the 2011 Copa
America. Brazil had slipped to 22nd in the FIFA rankings, between Ghana and
Mali.


Spain, ranked first for the past 20 months, is the most accomplished national
team of recent decades, winning its first World Cup in 2010 between titles in
the 2008 and 2012 European Championships.


But in the stadium where 170,000-plus watched Brazil lose to Uruguay in the
last game of the 1950 World Cup, Brazil dominated La Furia Roja.


"The champion is back," the crowd chanted.


It also didn't take long before the fans — in a sea of yellow jerseys --
started teasing the Spaniards, chanting "Wanna play, wanna play!? Brazil will
teach you."


Spain had been unbeaten in 26 matches overall, including friendlies, since a
1-0 loss to England in London in 2011 and had outscored opponents 69-11 in
competitive matches since the loss to Switzerland in South Africa.


But Spain had not played Brazil since a 1999 exhibition, and they hadn't met
in a competitive match since the Selecao's 1-0 win in the first round of the
1986 World Cup in Mexico.


"We knew we were going to encounter a physical game with lots of fouling,"
Spanish midfielder Andres Iniesta said. "We lost to a very strong team, and the
small details let us down."


Fred opened the scoring after a cross into the area by Hulk in the second
minute. The ball bounced off Neymar near the far post and Fred, who had fallen
while trying to reach for the cross, shot with his right foot while still on the
ground.


Brazil added to the lead after Neymar exchanged passes with Oscar and then
sent a powerful left-footed shot over goalkeeper Iker Casillas.


Fred got the final goal from just inside the area, sending a low shot to the
far corner. Hulk started the move with a pass to Neymar, but the striker let it
go as Fred came running behind him.


Spain was awarded the penalty kick after Marcelo fouled Jesus Navas inside
the area. Ramos, who skied a penalty kick for Real Madrid against Bayern Munich
in the 2012 Champions League semifinals, sent this one wide.


Spain's best chance before the penalty came with Pedro Rodriguez in the 41st,
when he entered the area clear from defenders on a breakaway. His low shot beat
goalkeeper Julio Cesar, but David Luiz came rushing in and slid in front of the
goal line just in time to deflect the ball over the crossbar.

There were protests outside the stadium during the match, with police using
rubber bullets and tear gas to keep demonstrators from getting too close. A wave
of anti-government protests has swept across Brazil in recent weeks, and many
affected the Confederations Cup host cities as demonstrators complained of the
costs of hosting the World Cup.


On the field, it was a heated match from the start, with players from both
teams pushing and shoving each other a few times. Even the substitutes got into
a shouting match.


"We played a very good match," Scolari said. "It allows us to have a better
idea about the path ahead of us."

Lionel Messi is eagerly anticipating teaming up with Neymar next season and hopes the former Santos star can replicate his Brazil form at Barcelona.

The 21-year-old has been in fine form at the Confederations Cup, netting three goals
and setting up two more to lead Brazil to the final of the competition, and Messi hopes there's more to come from his new teammate at the club level.
The Argentinian Star recently visited Senegal on a Humanitarian mission to promote an anti-malaria campaign that is close to his heart.


"Neymar really is a great player and I have no doubt that he will contribute a lot," the Argentine was quoted as saying by Sport. "I hope that he can keep up his current form at Brazil with Barcelona in the new season."

The prolific attacker then went on to discuss the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti as Real Madrid coach and thinks the Santiago Bernabeu side will be back challenging for the Liga title again in 2013-14.

"Barcelona's goal will again be to fight for all trophies. We will have to compete against a great team, though. It will not be easy because Madrid have some great players," Messi said. "They already had a good coach before and have now found another great one."

Messi also had his say on Pep Guardiola's move to Bayern and believes that the former Barca boss will make the Champions League winners even stronger.

"Bayern were already a great team before Pep's arrival," Messi stated. "They won it all last season and have some fine players. The arrival of Guardiola will only make them stronger."

Guardiola started preseason with Bayern earlier this week.