Efficiency, not beauty mattered

The Brazilians came without all of their first-choice players, notably Ronaldinho and Kaka, who asked to be excused after the club season.

But few seemed to miss the Brazilian superstars in a tournament that produced 3.3 goals a game and delighted capacity crowds at Venezuela8217;s sold-out stadiums, specially built or refurbished at a cost of 1 billion to mark the country8217;s first staging of the 91-year-old tournament.

Argentina provided the most dramatic moments until stumbling against Brazil thanks to world-class goals by Lionel Messi and inspired performances by Juan Roman Riquelme and Carlos Tevez.

Yet it still wasn8217;t enough to end 14 years of frustration. 8220;This wasn8217;t the final we expected,8221; said Roberto Ayala, whose own-goal in the 40th minute crushed Argentina8217;s resolve before halftime.

Brazil8217;s title8212;their fourth in the past five tournaments8212;was a victory for efficiency over beauty. Manager Dunga was harshly criticised in Brazil for abandoning the traditional, jogo bonito style preferred by the team8217;s fans.

Even against Argentina, Brazil rarely impressed collectively, relying on a counterattack strategy.

Real Madrid striker Robinho and Julio 8220;the beast8221; Baptista, however, drew praise for their individual play. 8220;Lots of people criticised our team, but we8217;re the champions,8221; said Robinho, the tournament8217;s top scorer.

Fulfilling nearly everybody8217;s prediction for the final, Brazil and Argentina once more validated themselves as a tier above the rest of South America.

Uruguay, however, have established themselves ahead of the rest of the pack. Cristian Rodriguez, a 21-year-old attacking midfielder for Paris St. Germain, dominated in helping the 14-time champion reach the semi-finals for the fourth consecutive time.

They faltered at the very end, losing on penalties to Brazil in the semi-finals and then collapsing against Mexico 3-1 in the third-place game.

Mexico8217;s finish should help consolidate the tenure of manager Hugo Sanchez, who fielded a new lineup devoid of many of the players who appeared under predecessor Ricardo La Volpe in the 2006 World Cup.

The tournament8217;s biggest disappointment was Colombia, who arrived touted as title contenders but returned after three games and with manager Jorge Luis Pinto8217;s future in doubt after the 8220;cafeteros8221; allowed a tournament-high nine goals in the first round.

Brazil8217;s 6-1 blowout of Chile in the quarter finals has forced the resignation of Nelson Acosta as manager. But the bigger blow to the team8217;s future came when after the team returned home and the Chilean federation suspended captain Jorge Valdivia and five others for a drunken rampage.

Hosts Venezuela made history at the tournament in more ways than one. Venezuela won just their second match and first since their 1967 debut, 2-0 against Peru, on their way to the quarter finals.