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Thursday December 14, 8:39 PM

Soccer: Ronaldinho turns on style as Barcelona beat Club America 4-0

(Kyodo) _ Some touches of class from Ronaldinho, including a neatly-taken second-half goal, gave Barcelona an emphatic 4-0 victory over Mexico's Club America on Thursday to set up a showdown with Internacional of Brazil in the World Club Cup final.

In the pouring rain at Yokohama International Stadium, the star-studded European champions went on the offensive from the start and were nearly punished in the sixth minute went a raking through ball put Claudio Lopez clear in the box. The Argentine striker went down under a challenge from Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes, but appeals for a penalty were waved away.

But on a slippery pitch that made control difficult, the Catalans gradually began to dominate. Ronaldinho had a close shot deflected over the bar in the eighth minute, though nothing came of the corner, and two minutes later Deco found space but blasted over from 25 meters.

The breakthrough came just one minute later when the Portuguese midfielder played the ball forward to his Brazilian teammate, who brilliantly backheeled it for the advancing Iniesta to spread wide to Eidur Gudjohnsen, and the Iceland striker swept it sweetly past Guillermo Ochoa in the Club America goal.

The Central American champions struggled to find a rhythm but nearly hit back in the 22nd minute when Jose Antonio Castro rifled a long free kick over the wall, forcing Valdes into a fine diving save.

Italian defender Gianluca Zambrotta drove a long range effort wide in the 25th as the rain continued to make purchase difficult, but Barcelona doubled their lead five minutes later when Rafael Marquez rose to meet a Deco corner and head past the stranded Ochoa.

The Mexican keeper pulled off a good close-range save from Ronaldinho early in the second half, as Club America tried to work their way back into the game, claiming more possession and taking more time on the ball. But with Deco proving a handful and Ronaldinho's fancy footwork a constant threat, the outcome of the game rarely looked in doubt.

And in the 65th minute the Brazilian maestro put the game beyond reach and gave the Japanese media the moment they had been waiting for, curling the ball into the top of the net from just inside the box after Ochoa had parried a fierce shot from French forward Ludovic Giuly.

Mexican veteran midfielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco hit a long shot straight into Valdes' arms and Raul Alvin Mendoza had a close drive superbly tipped round the post by the Barca keeper, but otherwise the Central Americans had little to show for their hard work in the second half.

Deco then crowned a fine individual performance in the 85th minute when he drilled home an unstoppable shot from Ronaldinho's layoff from the edge of the box to make it a four-goal victory -- and it could have been five had Ronaldinho's cheeky chip in the dying seconds not bounced off the bar.

"We've come here to win this tournament, so tonight's victory is important for us," said Deco. "The Brazilian league is very tough, so we know we'll be facing a strong team in the final. But we intend to win the title."

Barcelona will play the South American champions, who beat Africa's top side Al Ahly 2-1 in Tokyo on Wednesday, in the final in Yokohama on Sunday.

Brazil's Sao Paulo beat Liverpool last year to win the first edition of the revamped tournament, which features the top club teams from soccer's six continental confederations.

 


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