Neymar strikes but Santos wobble

Peter STEBBINGS

Santos coach Muricy Ramalho admitted his side will need to keep the ball and defend far better if they are to win the Club World Cup, where they are likely to face Barcelona in the final.

A Neymar curler after just 19 minutes put the South American champions on their way against Japanese side Kashiwa Reysol, Santos running out 3-1 winners, but that failed to hide glaring deficiencies in their performance.

Ramalho, who cut a grumpy figure at the post-match press conference Wednesday, said: “Barcelona are a possession football team.

I don’t think any team can do a better job than keeping the ball than Barcelona.

Effective

“But today we were effective in attack and were able to score, and that’s important.”

He also acknowledged that his defence was shaky at times against the J-League champions, especially in the second-half, when substitute Masakatsu Sawa hit a post and blazed the ball over from under the Santos crossbar.

“There were some difficulties in defence,” said Ramalho. “Usually that’s not the case in Brazil for us, but tonight the defence was not functioning.”

He soon however grew impatient at reporters’ questions over his back line at the annual tournament of continental champions.

Defending

“When we are defending but not attacking we are criticised, but when we attack we are criticised for not defending,” he said, claiming Neymar’s goal was nothing unusual for the 19-year-old talisman.

The in-demand forward showed why he is the most coveted player outside Europe when he turned his man, dummied inside and unleashed an unstoppable curling left-footed shot that nestled in the top corner at Toyota Stadium.

Five minutes later his prolific forward partner Borges did his best to grab the headlines, getting away from his marker and smashing the ball, again from outside the box, into the top of the opposite corner of Takanori Sugeno’s goal.

Brilliant

The game appeared over but the home side, who had their own brilliant Brazilian in coach Nelsinho, a former Santos player and coach, refused to lie down and enjoyed the better of the rest of the half.

They turned possession into a goal on 54 minutes when defender Hiroki Sakai - rumoured to be a target for Santos - headed in from a corner, only for Danilo’s free-kick to restore the two-goal lead for the boys from Brazil.

It was a cushion they turned out to need, as Kashiwa then peppered the Santos goal, but wasteful finishing, particularly by Sawa, ensured the visitors were spared any further embarrassment. European champions Barcelona face Al Sadd of Qatar later Thursday in the second semi-final, in a match the Catalans will be fully expected to win - and win handsomely. AFP