Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports
FIFA’s Confederations Cup fulfilled all expectations over the past month. From start to finish, we witnessed some fine football and exciting games.
It is a tournament that is widely seen as a bit of a gimmick and unnecessary — which I can agree with, as well as its use as a test for the host nation. I, and I am sure many others, believed that it would be just that, with nothing notable or of any real worth on show. However on this occasion, I was quite surprised at how enjoyable the tournament was.
The collection of Brazil, Spain, Italy and Uruguay definitely lead to some impressive and World Class displays of quality, but it still wasn’t what I expected. The Brazilian public obviously had a lot of understandable issues surrounding the tournament but I feel their undeniable love for the game itself had a large influence in the competitive nature and demeanor of all the participating nations in the Tournament, for what is otherwise seen as a meaningless trophy.
From the loud vocal support of their own victorious side to the backing of Tahiti, who had little to no hope, Brazilian’s took the Confederations Cup in a passionate style within the Stadiums. Being the hosts of the World Cup is certainly not something they agree with, given the financial stains on the nation; but you can be sure they’ll make the most of the games once it’s under way.
On the pitch themselves, the quality of football was the thing that really surprised me. Spain was at their untouchable best right up until Brazil halted their dominance in the final game. I wasn’t expecting to see the competing nations be quite so impressive; I thought we’d see second-string teams. But we were treated to sheer class, from Shinji Kagawa to the new boy wonder, Neymar. Thank you Brazil, it was good fun — see you next year. I can’t wait.
Stowe Gregory is an English featured Soccer and Sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him or tweet on Twitter @stowegregory. Or add to circles on Google +
