MEDIA RELEASE
BRAZIL VICTORIOUS OVER ARGENTINA IN CUP FINAL OF KL WORLD 5s
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| Juan Martin Gramuglia or Falcao in action. |
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.
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| The victorious Brazilian team celebrates after their win over Argentina in the final |
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.”
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| The Brazilian celebrates |
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.
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| Brazilian fans in the stand |
“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 (3rd Feb, 2008)
| Bowl Final: England vs China | (3-5) |
| Plate Final: Holland vs Iran | (1-2) |
| Final: Argentina vs Brazil | (0-4) |
CURRENT STANDINGS
| Group A | |||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | PTS | |
| ARGENTINA | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 5 | 10 |
| AUSTRALIA | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 5 | 10 |
| MALAYSIA | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 18 | 6 |
| INDONESIA | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 3 |
| ENGLAND | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 31 | 0 |
| Group B | |||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | PTS | |
| BRAZIL | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 12 |
| IRAN | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 6 |
| THAILAND | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 3 |
| HOLLAND | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 4 |
| CHINA | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 0 |
About the KL World 5's
The KL World 5's takes place between 29th January and 3rd February 2008 at Stadium Negara, Malaysia's first indoor stadium and a national heritage building. The event will be telecasted to over 310 million viewers across Asia on STAR Sports with over 100 hours of coverage, comprising 30 telecast hours, including 20 hours of live programming - translating into extensive media exposure for Malaysia.
The KL World 5's will have a total purse of US$150,000, and feature 10 teams in this prestigious tournament. The event is expected to draw futsal fans from Malaysia and the region with the pedigree of the international teams such as Brazil, Argentina, Holland and England will join the likes of Asian champion Iran, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and hosts Malaysia in action.
ESPN STAR Sports and the Ministry of Youth and Sports have a rich tradition of partnerships stemming from a multi-year strategic alliance signed in October 2005 to raise participation and interest in sport in Malaysia.
For more information, please visit www.klworld5s.com
About ESPN STAR Sports
ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world's leading cable and satellite broadcasters. As Asia's definitive and complete sports broadcaster and content provider, ESPN STAR Sports combines the strengths and resources of its ultimate parent companies – Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.) and News Corporation Limited (STAR) – to deliver a diverse array of international and regional sports to viewers via its encrypted pay and free-to-air services.
ESPN STAR Sports showcases an unparalleled variety of premier live sports from around the globe 24 hours a day to a cumulative reach of more than 310 million viewers in Asia. ESPN STAR Sports has 17 networks covering 24 countries, each localised to deliver differentiated world-class premier sports programming to Asian viewers. This includes ESPN Asia, ESPN China, ESPN Hong Kong, ESPN India, ESPN Malaysia, ESPN Philippines, ESPN Singapore, ESPN Taiwan, MBC-ESPN (Korea), STAR Sports Asia, STAR Sports Hong Kong, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Malaysia, STAR Sports Singapore, STAR Sports Southeast Asia, STAR Sports Taiwan, and STAR Cricket.
On the ground, the ESPN STAR Sports Event Management Group manages and promotes premier sporting events around Asia. ESPN STAR Sports aims to reach consumers at any time, any place and through all new media platforms, both internet and mobile. The multi-lingual, online platforms, espnstar.com, espnstar.com.cn and espnstar.com.tw and footballcrazy.tv interact with millions of users providing them with in-depth sports news, results and competitions. Developed for the sports fan that is constantly on the move, mobileESPN and STAR Sports Mobile delivers differentiated mobile content targeted at its various audiences. mobileESPN enables the serious sports fan to follow their favourite sports more closely than ever before with a combination of specially produced video news clips, in-depth news coverage and analysis. STAR Sports Mobile aims to provide interactive and entertaining opportunities to engage with sports, delivering exclusive video excerpts from leading football clubs Arsenal and Liverpool as well as highlights from STAR Sports original programmes covering opinions, instructional tips and the latest online game reviews.
For more information, please contact:
Abdul Rahman (Twenty Four Seven Sdn Bhd)
Tel: 012-6637454
abdulrahman@media247.com.my
Elgen Kua (ESPN STAR Sports)
DID: +65 6216 6034
kuae@espnstar.com