Barbadians got a taste of Brazilian flavour when their famous South American rivals inflicted an 8-0 beating in Under-20 play in the inaugural “Os Barbados” Youth International Football Tournament at the National Stadium, on Monday night.
Brazilian Under-20 team Cruzeiro Esporte Clube delivered a commanding performance that set the stage for the week-long tournament, which is the brainchild of long-standing coach Dexter Marshall and Dexter’s Brazilian Football Academy Of Excellence.
Barbados matched their Brazilian counterparts in the first 25 minutes but a lapse in concentration by custodian Kevin Barton gifted Cruzeiro the opening goal in the 26th minute.
He played the ball just outside the penalty area to the feet of Lynneeker Albuquerque, who finished spectacularly in the bottom far corner to the approval of the small Brazilian fan club.
Barbados found it quite tough to establish a pattern, as they hastily relieved themselves of possession without pressure on most occasions. However, their will to retrieve possession must be commended, as they hassled their opponents and forced them into making some errors.
Barton redeemed himself for his earlier mistake with a series of fine saves which helped to keep his team in the game. Albuquerque was a constant menace for the Barbados defence, preferring the left side of attack. His pace, skill and trickery were too much for the Barbados defenders.
Albuquerque doubled his and the team’s tally in the 43rd minute with another simple finish. Barton came up with another fine save but as luck would have it, the ball rebounded into the path of Albuquerque who easily finished from close range.
The second half was all Cruzeiro as the Samba boys banged in six goals in 45 minutes of play.
Four minutes after the break, Alisson Castro netted the first of his three goals. Fine combination play in midfield resulted with Castro easily slotting home into the far post away from the arms of the diving Barton.
In the 56th minute, lanky centre-back Wallace Dos Santos powerfully met an in swinging corner from the right, and headed the ball through a crowd of Barbados defenders.
In the 60th minute Vinicius Araujo registered his name on the score sheet in fine fashion.
A well weighted pass by Bruno Almeida through the centre of the Barbados defence, released Araujo one-on-one with Barton, who was easily outplayed and the Brazilian to score into an empty goal.
Castro scored his second goal in the 73rd and third in the 85th with a fine piece of individual skill, dribbling his way into the box past a host of Bajan defenders and then sliding the ball under the body of the advancing Barton.
Substitute Junior Ferreira got in on the act in the 76th minute, unleashing a thunderbolt right-foot shot from just on the edge of the area, leaving everyone on the pitch stunned.
The opening ceremony was witnessed by Barbados Football Association president Ronald Jones and general secretary David Hinds, sponsors, parents, football lovers and local players plus the Brazilian contingent consisting of players and technical staff from Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, America Miniero, and Atletico Paranaense.
After the parade of teams and formalities, it was down to business.
The tournament continues daily from 9 a.m. until 3:50 p.m. and later in the evening from 6:30 p.m. until 9:45 p.m. at the National Stadium.