Jun 8, 2013; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta (6) during the second half of a friendly against Haiti at Sun Life Stadium. Spain won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
The Brazilian side thrashed the Spanish side in the Confederations Cup final. There was some criticism during the game of the referees being particularly harder on the Spanish team.
For instance, when Neymar scored and ran to the stands to celebrate Lambeau Field style the commentators pointed out that it should’ve been a yellow card but it was overlooked.
“There were many interruptions,” Iniesta said, via FOX Soccer. “We knew that that might happen, but the referee has to draw the line. We were up against a very strong side that did everything better than us and paid a lot of attention to the small details. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, so we just have to accept it.
“They were better than us, we tried to get back into the game but it wasn’t to be. We have to congratulate the champions and try to do things as best as possible from now on.”
His teammate Xavi Alonso was less critical and put the blame squarely on the shoulders of the Spanish side.
“Nothing went our way, everything went against us, we didn’t got into the game at any moment,” he said. “Their goal after two minutes made things very difficult for us and benefited the way Brazil play. They played on the counter-attack, we weren’t able to dominate them, as we normally do to opponents, and we ended up paying for it. They were more intense, had more rhythm, pressed harder, they were just better.
“We didn’t give the same image of ourselves in other games and that’s what we’ll remember. We are upset, it was a special day, we really fancied ourselves to win and we wanted to put in a good performance, but in the end we just didn’t turn up.”