Football's eventual victor is inactive uncovering clip to cod caller titles. Dani Alves is an Olympic champion astatine 38.
Draped successful the Brazilian flag, the skipper cherished the 43rd winners' medal of a vocation that shows nary motion of winding down.
All that's missing from the acceptable of large honours aft this 2-1 triumph implicit Spain — secured successful other clip by Malcom — is World Cup glory.
Don't constitute disconnected the game's astir decorated subordinate trying to marque it to Qatar adjacent year. He's keen.
"I'm a dreamer, a tiny dreamer, and much than a dreamer, idiosyncratic who executes their dreams," Alves said. "The astir important happening is to fight, and that's what I cognize what to do. I person the thrust of a 23-year-old. I inactive privation to bash large things successful football."
The close backmost was determined to travel to the Tokyo Games aft not being portion of the 2016 Olympic golden connected location ungraded successful Rio de Janeiro.
"I fought to beryllium successful 3 Olympic Games," helium said. "I americium grateful to each the radical who worked with me, that believed successful me, and I privation them to cognize that each the hard enactment has paid off."
He managed to play each of Brazil's six games successful Japan — 600 minutes successful 16 days.
"This is simply a imagination coming true, to beryllium connected the apical of the Olympic podium," helium said. "No substance however overmuch past you have, however overmuch acquisition you have. I came present for the archetypal clip and to travel backmost with the biggest prize ... I americium mislaid for words."
It was Alves who acceptable up the opener, keeping live Claudinho's transverse and hooking the shot backmost into the country for Matheus Cunha to onslaught into first-half stoppage time.
"My skipper Dani, he's unbelievable, helium helps everyone," Cunha said. "I deliberation this feeling, helium comes to the radical and the feeling goes up."
He was 1 of lone 3 permitted overage players successful a youthful squad that idolized him increasing up arsenic helium collected trophies astatine Juventus, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
"You cognize the quality successful property is simply a small spot (big)," the 22-year-old Cunha said. "I'm similar a small lad erstwhile I saw Barcelona, the Brazil nationalist team, and present we were together, we instrumentality 1 golden medal for Brazil."
They had to enactment for it against a Spain broadside featuring six players coming consecutive from the tally to the European Championship.
Spain tied it successful the 61st infinitesimal erstwhile Mikel Oyarzabal volleyed successful from Carlos Soler's cross. Spain deed the crossbar doubly precocious successful regularisation clip — from Oscar Gil and Bryan Gil.
The inability to find the people meant Spain ended up with metallic — and nary repetition of the 1992 Barcelona Games golden — aft Malcom's victor successful the 108th minute.
The forward, who came disconnected the seat for other time, held disconnected Jesus Vallejo earlier racing guardant and seeing his changeable from a choky space deflect disconnected goalkeeper Unai Simon's near footwear and alert into the net.
The extremity secured different rubric for Brazil successful Yokohama, 19 years aft winning the World Cup. Unlike successful 2002, due to the fact that of the pandemic determination were nary fans allowed successful the stadium 45 minutes from Tokyo. That was a tourney excessively aboriginal for Alves, who was lone conscionable starting his career.
Now playing backmost location for São Paulo, the two-time Copa America victor wasn't portion of the Brazil squad that mislaid the last to Argentina 4 weeks ago.
Neymar, whose punishment clinched the 2016 Olympic title, couldn't get an exemption from Paris Saint-Germain to bash double-duty this summer. Richarlison managed to from Everton and scored a tournament-leading 5 goals successful Japan.
"See this, Neymar? I didn't consciousness the pressure, I took the No. 10 garment and was the apical goal-scorer of the tournament," helium said. "Now you volition person to listen!"
Even FIFA, connected its Twitter feed, called Richarlison's workload "insane" — highlighting his 20 games successful nether 3 months successful 4 competitions connected 3 continents, covering the extremity of the Premier League play with Everton and World Cup qualifying with Brazil earlier the Copa America.
"All the sacrifice astatine the club, successful the trainings, each (painkilling) injection I took to beryllium capable to play was worthy it," Richarlison said. "I americium going to marque a tattoo to observe this achievement."
For a regular dose of the champion of the breaking quality and exclusive contented from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
English (US) ·