There were eight teams participating in this Confederations Cup, divided into two groups.
Group A consisted of Argentina, Germany, Australia, and Tunisia.
Group B featured Brazil, Japan, Mexico, and Greece.
The format was simple.
Each team played the other three sides in its group once, with the top two advancing to the semi-finals.
Every team in the tournament was either a continental champion, the reigning world champion, or the host nation, which was one of the biggest reasons the competition had attracted so much attention.
Among the eight teams, hosts Germany qualified automatically as the nation staging the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
But as one of the traditional giants of world football, nobody was going to question Germany’s strength.
Among the remaining seven teams, Brazil entered as both the reigning World Cup champions and Copa América holders.
Their squad was packed with stars, and they were naturally regarded as one of the main favourites to win the tournament.
Greece were the reigning European champions after their stunning triumph at UEFA Euro 2004, so they couldn’t be underestimated either.
Japan, meanwhile, had won the 2004 AFC Asian Cup and were one of the strongest sides in Asia.
Tunisia, Mexico, and Australia had also qualified as champions of the Africa Cup of Nations, CONCACAF Gold Cup, and OFC Nations Cup respectively.
Even Argentina, who entered as runners-up in the 2004 Copa América because Brazil had already qualified as world champions, were one of South America’s traditional powerhouses.
Calling this Confederations Cup a clash of champions wasn’t an exaggeration.
Since Brazil’s opening match wasn’t until June 16, after arriving in Leipzig, Carlos Alberto Parreira didn’t put the players through anything too demanding.
The squad only completed some light routine training to maintain sharpness while waiting for the group stage to begin.
During that period, the opening matches in Group A were completed.
Argentina defeated Tunisia 2-1 to get off to a winning start.
Hosts Germany, meanwhile, were dragged into a seven-goal thriller against Australia, eventually winning 4-3.
With those matches finished, Brazil’s team bus slowly entered the Zentralstadion in Leipzig amid the cheers of the supporters.
At the same time, the other Group B match between Japan and Mexico had already kicked off earlier at the AWD-Arena in Hanover.
Inside the dressing room, Kaka listened carefully as Carlos Alberto Parreira delivered his final tactical instructions.
At the same time, he adjusted his shin guards, pulled his sleeves into a comfortable position, and then followed his teammates toward the tunnel.
…
June 16.
Zentralstadion, Leipzig.
Brazil vs Greece.
Kick-off.
Brazil lined up in a 4-2-2-2 formation.
Goalkeeper: Dida
Defenders: Cicinho, Lúcio, Roque Júnior, Gilberto
Midfielders: Emerson, Zé Roberto, Kaka, Ronaldinho
Forwards: Robinho, Adriano
Carlos Alberto Parreira had kept his pre-match promise of fielding his strongest available lineup.
Brazil’s four attacking stars, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Adriano, and Robinho, all started.
Their opponents, Greece, adopted a far more cautious setup.
Goalkeeper: Antonios Nikopolidis
Defenders included Giourkas Seitaridis, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, and Ioannis Goumas, with the midfield anchored by players such as Angelos Basinas and captain Theodoros Zagorakis.
Further forward were Stelios Giannakopoulos, Giorgos Karagounis, and Kostas Katsouranis, while Angelos Charisteas and Zisis Vryzas provided the main attacking threat.
Compared with Brazil’s galaxy of superstars, Greece’s lineup looked far less glamorous.
There were no global icons on the level of Ronaldinho, Kaka, or Adriano.
But that didn’t mean they were weak.
Most of their starters played important roles for strong European clubs, and this was the same core group that had shocked the continent by winning Euro 2004.
The so-called Greek miracle hadn’t happened by accident.
Still, compared with Brazil, where almost every player was a star, the difference in name recognition was enormous.
You could hear it the moment the two teams walked onto the pitch.
…
Beep!
The referee blew his whistle.
The roar of more than 40,000 supporters instantly swept through the stadium.
Robinho tapped the ball back from kick-off, and it quickly reached Ronaldinho.
Adriano and Robinho immediately surged forward.
Brazil’s entire formation followed with them, pressing toward Greece from the opening seconds.
Kaka, Ronaldinho, Emerson, and Zé Roberto exchanged passes through midfield, steadily pushing the team higher up the pitch.
But Greece had clearly prepared thoroughly for Brazil’s attack.
Their defensive block stayed compact.
Their shape barely moved.
And from the very beginning, their resistance was extremely stubborn.
Robinho and Adriano kept making runs and dragging defenders around, but neither of them was able to create a real opening early on.
Brazil weren’t particularly worried.
The difference in quality between the two teams was obvious enough.
As long as they kept following the tactical plan and stayed patient, chances would come sooner or later.
Bang!
Kaka played a quick one-touch pass into Ronaldinho and immediately surged forward.
Ronaldinho returned it first time.
Kaka knocked it back again.
The two exchanged a rapid series of passes and sliced straight through Greece’s midfield line.
“Kaka, Ronaldinho, beautiful combination play…
Kaka again…
through ball!”
“Oh!”
A sudden pass split two Greek defenders and found Adriano perfectly.
But Greece’s defensive recovery was extremely quick.
The instant Adriano tried to bring the ball under control, a defender slid in and knocked it away before he could turn.
Possession changed hands.
With Ronaldo Nazário absent from this Confederations Cup, Adriano had become Brazil’s undisputed starting centre-forward, and he was clearly desperate to make the most of the opportunity.
The moment he lost the ball, he immediately pressed the defender.
Unfortunately, with Adriano built like a brown bear, the challenge sent the Greek player crashing to the ground.
The referee blew for a foul.
Adriano spat onto the grass in irritation.
Now it was Greece’s turn to attack.
But Brazil’s pressing from the front made them reluctant to commit too many players forward.
After circulating the ball through midfield a few times, they lost possession to Emerson.
Brazil had it again.
“Emerson wins it back.”
“From what we’ve seen so far, Brazil have put Greece under enormous pressure, but the European champions were clearly well prepared for this match.”
“Their defensive shape has remained very compact, and Brazil haven’t created many truly dangerous shots yet.”
“Yes.
Without Ronaldo, Brazil perhaps lack a little of that devastating edge in the final third.
Oh, Ronaldinho goes backwards again.
Brazil will have to rebuild the attack.”
“Kaka hasn’t really shown much either.”
“Perhaps the Champions League final took more out of him than expected.
He’s been unusually quiet going forward today.
Wait…
Kaka’s starting to move up now.
The pass is coming…”
“What?”
“Kaka?!”
The match had been rather dull, and the commentators had been calmly analysing the play.
Then one of them suddenly shot upright.
A cutback from Robinho near the byline had been intercepted, and the Greek defender hoofed the ball clear.
After bouncing around midfield, possession eventually returned to Brazil.
Twenty-three minutes had passed.
To most people in the stadium, this looked like yet another attack that would go nowhere.
Even the commentators thought so.
But when the ball reached Kaka, who had been holding himself back for more than twenty minutes after finally mastering his new weapon…
He couldn’t resist anymore.
Showing off was the driving force of human progress!
He’d just pushed his Dribbling rating all the way to 95.
How could he possibly not show it off?
Seeing Ronaldinho receive the ball, Kaka raised one hand and pointed ahead.
Then those long legs began to move.
He accelerated straight into the attacking third.
After Brazil’s heavy pressure during the opening stages, their tempo had gradually dropped.
The Greek midfield had only just begun to relax when Kaka suddenly flashed past them from behind.
Ronaldinho saw the run instantly.
The pass arrived exactly where it needed to.
The ball rolled perfectly into Kaka’s stride.
Without slowing down, he lifted his right foot and gently touched it with the outside of his boot.
The ball slipped straight through the legs of the approaching Greek defender.
At the same moment, Kaka exploded past him with one enormous stride and continued carrying the ball forward.
Seeing the danger, Adriano immediately pulled toward the right, dragging defenders with him.
Robinho moved left at the same time, taking another defender away.
But Greece had packed five men across the back, and with midfielders retreating to help, there were suddenly seven defenders between Kaka and the goal.
He had only just beaten the first man when Giorgos Karagounis and Sotirios Kyrgiakos closed him down.
Kyrgiakos immediately leaned into Kaka’s shoulder.
Obviously, Greece had studied him thoroughly.
Everyone knew the first rule of defending Kaka: Do not let him build up speed.
Kyrgiakos’s physical pressure did indeed slow him down.
The moment his momentum dropped, Karagounis and Traianos Dellas closed in as well.
A three-man trap.
Ronaldinho, who had been moving forward to support, gradually slowed.
He knew Kaka’s game better than most.
Against three defenders in such a tight space, his first instinct was that possession was probably gone.
Even Adriano and Robinho, who had been stretching the defence, eased their runs.
Then, in the next instant, everyone’s eyes widened.
Just as Karagounis stepped in to poke the ball away, Kaka’s feet suddenly moved.
Quick.
Ridiculously quick.
He rolled the ball around his body in one smooth motion, making it seem as though the ball had somehow grown a mind of its own.
At the same time, he leaned backward into Karagounis.
The force of the contact made the Greek midfielder stumble.
And with that single movement…
The ball slipped straight through his legs.
Dellas charged across at full speed.
Kaka dropped his shoulder and flicked the ball sharply, selling the feint completely.
The defender’s centre of gravity shifted.
That was all Kaka needed.
He nudged the ball forward with the tip of his boot, then drove his shoulder through the narrowing gap.
Brute force.
Technique.
Both at once.
He burst between the two defenders.
The ball bounced up just outside the penalty area.
Kaka glanced quickly toward goal.
One step with his left foot.
His body leaned sharply to the side.
His right leg drew back.
Then he smashed his instep through the bouncing ball with everything he had.
The force of the strike almost lifted his whole body off the ground.
BOOM!
The shot exploded off his foot and flew straight toward goal.
Behind him, Karagounis desperately launched into a sliding challenge.
Too late.
He only managed to sweep Kaka’s legs out from under him after the shot had already gone.
As Kaka fell toward the turf, Karagounis could only turn his head helplessly and stare toward the goalpost.