Barça claim as world's best

It was the moment when reality bit contemporary Brazilian football on the backside. Barcelona's 4-0 win over Santos -- I dread to think how many the Blaugrana could have scored -- did not only win the Club World Cup. It was also the moment when not even the most fervent Brazilian nationalist could doubt that the mantle has changed hands. Once Brazil was the spiritual home of the beautiful game. Beyond all question, that honor has crossed the Atlantic to Catalonia.

The Club World Cup final was never truly a matter of being Lionel Messi against Neymar. Before the game, Barcelona's Cesc Fabregas revealed how the Spanish champions would protect themselves against Neymar -- ensuring that, as in all its games, the opposition hardly has possession of the ball. True to his word, Barcelona went out and imposed its collective philosophy on the game, something to which Santos had no answer.

If in Neymar the South American champions could count on their own version of Messi, Santos had no one of the quality of a Xavi or an Andres Iniesta. This is no coincidence. First in football comes the idea. And the dominant strain in Brazilian football over recent years has been thinking on the following lines: The physical development of the game and the reduction of space on the field mean that the central midfielders should be 6-foot, and that if the move contains seven or more passes, the chances of a goal are reduced.

In this context, it is no surprise that Brazil has not been producing Xavis and Iniestas. It has not been looking for them. It has been searching for big, defensively inclined central midfielders to block the middle of the field (think Gilberto Silva) and flying athletic attacking fullbacks to launch counterattacks down the flanks.

The high priest of this kind of thinking is Santos coach Muricy Ramalho, who guided Sao Paulo to three straight Brazilian championships (2006-08) and led Fluminense to the title last year. His teams have traditionally been based on counterattacks and set pieces. "If you want to see a spectacle," he likes to say, "then go to the theater."

Or go to watch his team surgically taken apart by Barcelona. Xavi, Iniesta and Fabregas ran midfield rings around Santos, toying with the Brazilian side as if in a training exercise. The first half was every bit as one-sided as Barcelona's midweek stroll against Asian champion Al Sadd -- with the difference that the size of its ambition and the scale of its dreams left Santos looking sadder. Pep Guardiola's men proved, as they do week after week, that Brazilian football needs to have a rethink. Especially at this moment, when money is abundant.

In recent years, the South American champions have won the Copa Libertadores in the middle of the year and arrived weakened at the Club World Cup because key players had been sold leading up to the year-end competition. This was not the case of Santos. In comparison with the team that beat Penarol of Uruguay in June, the side arguably arrived in Japan stronger. Neymar has been retained, striker Borges and midfielders Henrique and Ibson acquired.

Sunday's match was not decided by a financial imbalance. It was the imposition of one footballing philosophy over another, a victory for the skillful little guys with the low center of gravity, a triumph for the spectacle and self-expression of the pass-and-move approach -- a win like many that South American football has enjoyed in its glorious history.

Source: ESPN Soccer

Santos 0-4 Barcelona

Pep Guardiola's men crowned world champions after goals from Messi, Xavi and Cesc clinch comprehensive triumph

The Argentine hit twice against the beleaguered Brazilians, while his team-mates were also on target in a game the Blaugrana controlled from start to finish

An imperious Barcelona were crowned Club World Cup champions in style in Yokohama, adding the world title to their Spanish and European honours as they cruised to a 4-0 victory over Santos. 

Lionel Messi opened the scoring for the Catalans, before Xavi and Cesc Fabregas added their names to the score sheet in a completely one-sided first half. Santos showed more after the break, but never looked likely to make their way back into a game they surrendered in the first 45 minutes. Messi put the icing on the cake with a late strike, to put the result beyond any doubt.

The opening exchanges of the match passed in a predictable fashion. Santos started with a five man defence and the intention of not conceding an early goal, and their deep back line allowed Barcelona to dominate possession. The Brazilians looked strong, however, and Barca were allowed limited glimpses of goalkeeper Rafael in the first 15 minutes. 

The shot-stopper showed his talents though with an impressive double save. Lionel Messi was the first to unlock the Santos defence with a typical mazy run, and his long-range shot was parried by Rafael who was quickly up to deny Thiago with the rebound. Ganso, meanwhile, had an early effort for the Peixe, but his left-foot effort from outside the box fizzed wide of Victor Valdes' left post. 

It was to be the Catalans who took the lead, however, as Messi once more showed why he is considered the best player on the planet. The Argentine picked up a wonderful ball from Xavi and delicately flicked the ball over Rafael's head, and Bruno Rodrigo's despairing dive could not deny a beautifully worked opener for the Blaugrana.

After just 22 minutes, the score was 2-0. Santos failed to cut out a cross-field ball, and Xavi found it all too easy to storm through the middle and slide the ball past the keeper. Borges then called Valdes into action with a decent effort on the right, but it could so easily have been three within the first half-hour if Fabregas' close-range shot had not found the post. 

Minutes before the half-time break, Barcelona gave another demonstration of their complete control. Dani Alves' cross was palmed by Rafael and the ball pinged across the box, before Fabregas stepped up to fire home and notch the side's third of a one-sided 45 minutes.

The second period was not even one minute old before Barca threatened a fourth. An awful mistake by Edu Dracena led to Messi charging into the area, and the Argentine laid off to Fabregas who was denied by a fingertip save from Rafael. Neymar then showed the first signs of attacking danger; a header floated over the crossbar, before a decent run ended in his shot being saved by the impeccable Valdes. 

Santos showed more in the second half, taking advantage of an opponent who had slowed down from an impressive showing early on to enjoy a little more possession. An intricate exchange between Neymar and Ganso was a highlight for the Brazilians, but there was no sign that Barca's imposing three goal lead was in danger as they cruised towards the Club World Cup title.

There was to be a final flourish for Barcelona. Messi was played in by Dani Alves free on the edge of the box, and the Ballon D'Or winner skipped past Rafael to slide the ball home and extend the scoreline to 4-0 with less than 10 minutes remaining. 

Josep Guardiola's side lift their second Club World Cup title, after the 2009 triumph over Argentine side Estudiantes. They also secured a quintuple for 2011, adding the trophy to Champions League, La Liga, European Super Cup and Supercopa triumphs over the course of the year.

Pep Guardiola's triumphant side completely outclassed Santos in Yokohama and ran out 4-0 winners thanks to a brace from Lionel Messi and further efforts from Xavi and Cesc Fabregas

Source: goal.com