ERST LESEN! » e dont like to concede 26 points at home.

RIO DE JANEIRO -- The sound was already deafening. You couldnt hear. You couldnt think. Eighty thousand screaming Brazilians was something you felt. But it wasnt good enough. Neymar wanted more. And so the 24-year-old lifted his arms up and down, up and down, begging the sea of yellow to get even louder.A few seconds earlier, he had started this frenzy by magically twisting a free kick into the top corner of the goal to give Brazil a 1-0 lead in its Olympic final against Germany. He thought this was the moment. The iconic image of his country winning its first Olympic gold would be him, following his goal by mimicking Usain Bolts arrow-shooting celebration and then choreographing the fans into a frenzy.He had no idea. This was only the beginning. A little more than two hours later the Brazilian wunderkind would fall to the field in a bed of celebratory tears. He would laugh and dance and cry and take a victory lap on the pristine grass of the hallowed Maracana, the heartbeat of Brazilian soccer. In the fifth round of penalty kicks, his right foot would boot the ball past the German keeper, inciting nationwide celebrations from the Amazon to Sao Paulo and all points in between.I cant begin to describe [my feelings], Neymar said afterward. I have fulfilled my dream and to have fulfilled it in my home country makes me very proud. This is one of the best things that have happened in my life. Thats it. Now the critics will have to [take back their words].The noise when Neymars winning penalty landed in the back of the net could only be described as spine-tingling. It made the raucous celebration after his goal look like polite golf claps. Fans hugged, kissed and danced in the aisles. The party would go on indefinitely, with chants and cheers and a spirited rendition of the Brazilian national anthem during the medal ceremony.This was about far more than the most decorated soccer nation on the planet finally winning the one title that for so long had eluded it. Or doing it on home soil. This was about restoring pride in a country built on a bedrock of soccer. Two years ago, the Selecao were downright humiliated in a 7-1 loss to Germany in the semifinals of the Brazil-hosted World Cup. That 7-1 score became woven into Brazilian culture, used to describe any sort of embarrassing outcome. Then the squad failed to impress at this summers Copa Centenario in the United States. And it is currently sixth in World Cup qualifying in South America. In other words, when the Olympic soccer tournament began, morale was at an all-time low.Neymars right foot changed that. Even though this is an age-restricted tournament whose global popularity doesnt come close to that of the World Cup, the young Brazilians showed their biggest fans its OK to believe again. Its OK to pour everything you have into watching 90-plus minutes of soccer. It will be worth it in the end.Brazilian football is not dead, said coach Rogerio Micale. We have great potential and hope to achieve more great things in the future.The match will also have a profound effect on how Brazilians feel about the Olympics. In many ways, Saturday nights victory was the unofficial closing ceremony. And it couldnt have gone any better for the home team. When the Olympics draw to a close Sunday night, it will bring to a merciful end a nine-year run that saw the country host three major international sporting events: the Pan American Games, the World Cup and the Olympic Games. It hasnt gone seamlessly. And there will without question be a long-term debate about whether or not these Olympics will prove to be a good thing for Brazil.But after the Olympic spotlight spent the last several months talking about Zika, feces-filled water and the escalating violence in Brazils streets, the final memory the Brazilians will have of these games is Olympic gold in the sport that matters most. This is how it long has been in this country: the pride over their international dominance in the sport of soccer helping to make the problems at home a bit more palatable.We knew the huge responsibility on the shoulders of the Olympic team, Micale added. Football is the No. 1 sport in Brazil. But now this phase has passed we can look to the future of Brazilian football more confident and proud.When the tournament began two weeks earlier, this top-of-the-podium outcome couldnt have seemed any more unlikely. Sixteen days ago, the Brazilians opened their Olympic campaign with a scoreless draw against South Africa. In their second match they again failed to score in another tie to the 99th-ranked team in the world, Iraq. Yes, Brazil tied Iraq. On Brazilian soil. But a 4-0 thrashing of Denmark pushed the Brazilians to the medal round, where a 4-0 win over Portugal in the quarterfinals and a 6-0 domination of Honduras in the semis set the stage for Saturday night.From the very beginning, there were nerves in the air and pressure on the shoulders of everyone on the field wearing yellow. It was three nights earlier when a pair of Germans ruined the midnight party on Copacabana Beach, beating Brazilian volleyball stars Agatha and Barbara in straight sets to win gold. This was soccer. As much the fabric of Brazil as samba, Carnival and caipirinhas.When Neymar opened the scoring in the 26th minute, it looked like it would be Brazils night. The Germans hitting the post three times in the first half only further fueled feelings of fate. But in the 58th minute Germany let it be known it had every intention of spoiling the celebration when Maximilian Meyer booted a shot into the back of Brazils net. It was the first goal the Selecao had allowed in the entire Olympic Games.For the remaining hour-plus, Brazil spent most of the time on the attack and the Germans last-ditch defense proved impenetrable. Time and time and time again the Brazilians would create a scoring chance and would either be unable to finish or simply run into a German wall.When the second period of extra time drew to a close, players from both sides fell to the field in pure exhaustion. Neymar was one of them. Through four rounds of penalty kicks both teams couldnt miss. Then Germanys Nils Petersen had his penalty saved by Weverton and the Maracana erupted.Thats when Neymar stepped up. He waited, waited and then waited a bit more. He took two stutter steps. Then buried the ball in the back of the net. Pandemonium.Two weeks earlier, as the team struggled, Brazilian fans were seen crossing out Neymars name on their jerseys to support that of Marta, the most popular female player in the country. Now he was again their hero, receiving without question the loudest approval of the night during the medal ceremony.That is just part of Brazilian culture, the way we are, Micale said. It is always love or hate. We are a nation of extremes. Im just so proud at this moment to be Brazilian.It was a feeling shared with other Brazilians across the globe. A feeling that had been absent for so long that it somehow felt brand new. Green Bay Packers Jerseys . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said. Custom Green Bay Packers Jerseys . 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Brett Favre Jersey . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. All the reaction from around the European Champions Cup Round 2 as Toulon got back to winning ways and Munster remembered Anthony Foley.Sale 5-15 ToulonSale Sharks director of rugby Steve Diamond:?Theyve got three sets of eyes on him (Magnus Lund who was sin-binned for Sale), so whether hes done for no hands or late or whichever, we cant give penalties away like that week in, week out because youre going to get yellow cards. When you go down to 14 men teams can punish you, certainly teams like Toulon.I suppose we could have kicked the penalty in front of the posts but if we could have gone over from one of those drives, it would have been an interesting last 10 minutes. That was our decision, to go for those corners, and probably the right thing to do.Toulon head coach Diego Dominguez:?The difference was our first 20 minutes, we were very strong. That was the difference, he said. Dominguez defended Vermeulen after the skipper saw yellow for tripping Sam James when the fly-half had kicked through. The yellow card (for Duane Vermeulen) was not voluntary. It was a reflex. Not on purpose. It was a yellow card but it wasnt on purpose.Munster 38-17 Glasgow WarriorsMunsters director of rugby Rassie Erasmus:?I feel relieved because of the unknown element about the week. The territory we got into this week and circumstances, different things, I did not know, myself, how we would react, how the players would react, even the referee or the opposition. It was such a weird week which you cant really prepare for. Even with the warm-up I wasnt even sure what we would get out of this.We had a good chat last night and this morning about what we were going to try and achieve, not even result-wise, but more the way we wanted to play. I was expecting that would come through, but not in such a mature way, for the players to do it so quickly after something tragic that happened to Axel (Anthony Foley), so I am relieved.?The tough things are the small things. You get into the bus to the field, Axels seat is there. You get into the changing room, all the little things that remind you. Then you get out to the field and the Munster people, the Irish people, do things that are very personal, with so much emotion and then I wasnt sure how that would impact on everyone, from the opposition to us, so I am relieved the guys handled it like that.Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend: As coaches we obviously focus on the rugby, but we are also part of mentally preparing our players, getting them to believe in themselves and go out there and play. This was different and we were focusing on the rugby side of it. We talked about what we expected today, with the crowd noise, the whole atmosphere. Its the Champions Cup. We know every game is difficult. This was really difficult today. We have missed not picking up any points today and given one of our rivals five points. It will be tough from here.Castres 41-7 NorthamptonNorthampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder:?We got to half-time and, really, it was game over, already. It doesnt mean were out of the Champions Cup. It was a massive disappointment to come here and get nothing, but we won our home game so were still in with a chance. We didnt get on the front foot at all in the first half and the little ball we got, we didnt look after. We didnt get enough numbers to the breakdown; we tried silly offloads which were never on, and they punished us.?We show that against big, physical packs we can compete. Today, we just didnt at all. We were never on the front foot. We were chasing shadows, basically. You dont want to come out to France and give them as much as we did. Once a French team - and Castres are one of the best teams - gets on the front foot, and the suns shining on their backs and the band starts playing, theyre very difficult team to beat.Castres forwards coach Joe El-Abd:?Last week was difficult. We were taught a lesson in how to play European rugby - we werent quite ready for the intensity. But we learned our lessons and have worked hard all week on what we did wrong, and it all clicked this weekend. Last week we forgot that rugby starts with the basics - the maul, the scrum, defence.If you dont get that right, you cant put your game together. The boys put things right today, and they should be happy. But that doesnt mean they can rest on their laurels. Weve got a massive game coming up against Bordeaux. Weve played three away games that are probably the toughest games Ive been involved in, against Clermont, Montpellier and Leinster. Next weekend, were going to come out with all guns blazing.Ulster 18-16 Exeter ChiefsUlster captain Andrew Trimble: It was one of those finishes to a game that was entertaining and I think a lot of supporters got their moneys worth, but it was a little bit too entertaining at the end, we had to dig really deep. That is an Exeter side that is hurting a bit from last weeks result and they came out fighting. The first 15-20 minutes when it was dry we were able to take them through phases and move them about the pitch and keep the tempo up, then it just became a proper old school dog fight out there.Whenever it comes down to that its about who wants it more and who has more character and who is going to be brave enough to stand up and take the game by the scruff of neck, and we had to do that a couple of times. Whenever there is three or four minutes left and you have to get down there we put Jackie in the pocket and he delivered. I am very proud of the performance and there are definitely things to work on.Exeter Head Coach Rob Baxter: We topped the pool last year that was won by a team with 16 points and there are four games left and we have a point. Well keep fighting to the death and the one thing we have learned if you fight to the death you always have an opportunity. Well keep going for it, wrapping up tonight the players are hurting for the right reasons. Last week they were hurting for the wrong reasons because we didnt give ourselves a chance to get into that game and tonight we did.ddddddddddddTo come to Ulster with such a good crowd and atmosphere and to stand and fight and refuse to get bowed, because there were moments when they got some momentum, and refuse to bend and to be within one or two feet of a drop goal going over and us winning what would have been a remarkable game... Im disappointed but for the right reasons and I think we learned a little bit about ourselves tonight.Saracens 44-26 ScarletsSaracens director of rugby Mark McCall: told the Saracens website?I think there were a lot of strong performances, a lot of strong individual performances across the team. Michael Rhodes had a really prominent game today carried really well for us, Mako, Owen Farrell was magnificent for us. Nick Tompkins came in at the eleventh hour...and did a really good job for us as well so some good performances across the team.Were pleased we got the win that we wanted, we got the bonus point that we wanted, did a lot of good things in the game, but also did some not so good things and obviously we dont like to concede 26 points at home. We made some errors along the way and a few more handling errors that we would have liked, but that would be a bit glass half empty because some of the rugby that we produced was really nice.Scarlets captain Ken Owens told the Scarlets website:?Against the best team in Europe I thought we found some space and looked pretty sharp attacking wise. Weve got to learn from this and front up the next couple of weeks. We saw massive character from the boys to keep going. We put them under pressure, we didnt fold at any point during the 80 minutes.Weve got to take heart, weve got a big challenge in those two back-to-back weeks in December (against Toulon). Itll be another huge challenge against a formidable side, if we play a high tempo game and move their big pack around Im sure well get some gains.Montpellier 22-16 LeinsterLeinster head coach Leo Cullen:?For the most part we handled things really well, but then we get a really good turnover and give the ball straight back to them when they score (through Martin). It felt like a really cheap seven points. A couple of minutes later we defend a maul quite well to the sideline, but we defended quite narrow because of some of the threats they have and then Nadolo - it was really strong finish from him, we know the threat he poses.Again the try in the second half (from Nadolo), we do really well to defend the maul, get a scrum from the turnover and we just cough up a cheap one. You have to be able to deal with things like that if you want to progress in this tournament. I thought the lads scrambled their way back into the game. Even after not getting over a couple of times, for Isa to get over at the end was pleasing and Isas smart enough to get a little closer to the posts to make the conversion a bit easier.Montpellier flanker Fulgence Ouedraogo:?The hard work paid off, it was very important for us to win today. The conditions were tough, but we scrummaged and mauled well and took our scoring chances when they came, particularly Nemani (Nadolo). It was frustrating at the end, though, to give away that try. Leinster didnt play well but they ended up leaving here with a losing bonus point. Thats the mark of great teams.Toulouse 20-20 WaspsWasps director of rugby Dai Young: We showed a lot of composure, even when we were under the pump - in the last 20 minutes, we still had our structure and still had our patterns. And we produced opportunities. We produced three or four try-scoring opportunities just by carrying on playing and not getting frustrated.As the game wore on, Toulouse got a bit more tired and a bit more space started to open up for us and we started to play the rugby that we know we can play. In tight games - and these are always going to be tight games - you need a kicker of quality and my moneys on Jimmy when it comes to those big kicks.Leicester 27-17 Racing 92Leicester director of rugby Richard Cockerill:?We know Freddie has got some stardust about him. You take the risk with the intercept, and if it comes off, you are okay. Freddie is a very good footballer and he read it very well. Everything went right for him tonight, and I am delighted for him. Freddie is up for the challenge. If he is in the limelight, he is happy!Those sorts of personalties play in those sorts of positions, and he would have relished having the opportunity to show what he could do. I am delighted with the performance and the result, and to deny them anything out of the game is important. We defended well, and our set-piece was probably the difference.?Zebre 7-52 ConnachtConnacht head coach Pat Lam:?It was a professional performance. We are top of the table now, but theres a long way to go. Obviously it shows how tough our pool is and its going to come down to two of us probably going through. That is the battle. We are sitting in a good place, but we have a tough job in December away to Wasps (who are two points behind) in Coventry.The good thing now is we have two from two, nine points, so we can now park this. We have two big games in the PRO12 starting with Leinster at the RDS before we head into a break. We are starting to get back to where we were at last year, but the maturity of the group is key regardless of their age.Zebre captain George Biagi:?This is the Champions Cup so teams play the best rugby, and today we started really badly. When you start badly, its hard to get some momentum and points on the board. I thought we did well in the first half to concede only two (tries). The red card made life tremulously hard for us, and Connacht have quality and today they showed it. We just did everything wrong today and played into their hands. ' ' '