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Notebook Brazilian loss began early
CALI, Colombia (AP) -- Brazil began to lose its game against Honduras even before it began. The altitude, the fans and the expulsion of their coach all worked against Brazil, which lost 2-0 to the Hondurans in a quarterfinal match Monday in Manizales. The decision of coach Luiz Felipe Scolari to stay in Cali until just before the match turned local fans against Brazil. Scolari said he wanted to protect his players from possible ill effects from the altitude in Manizales, some 8,250 feet (2,500 meters) above sea level. But the altitude didn't seem to bother the Hondurans, who got to Manizales on Friday and won over residents with a series of contributions to local charities. The Brazilians also may have missed Scolari himself. The coach was expelled in Brazil's previous match against Paraguay and was suspended for the quarterfinals. Pinch meFor Hondurans, beating Brazil seemed almost too good to be true. "It's not a dream. We beat Brazil!" read a banner headline in the Honduran daily La Prensa. "Honduras makes history in Colombia," said El Heraldo. The Hondurans' 2-0 win on Monday night was their first ever against Brazil and touched off massive street celebrations in cities across the country. "Night of carnival ... and madness. Honduras among the four best on the continent," said the daily Tiempo. For Brazilians, the result was a nightmare. "The squad shames Brazil," ran a headline in the Sao Paulo daily Jornal da Tarde. "That's all we needed," said O Globo of Rio de Janeiro. Magic momentAfter a poor season, Colombian striker Victor Aristizabal is savoring his moment in the sun. Aristizabal was the nation's hero on Monday, when he scored two goals to lead his team over Peru 3-0 and into the semifinals of the Copa America. The goals, his fourth and fifth of the tournament, left him tied for high-scoring honors with Paulo Wanchope of Costa Rica, which already was eliminated. "I'm living a magic moment," the striker said. Aristizabal had been under fire from fans and the press for his thin output for his Deportivo club of Cali in the local championship. Northern neighborsThe Copa America used to be just for South Americans. Now, neighbors from the North are moving in. Mexico and Honduras, from the CONCACAF confederation of North and Central America and the Caribbean, are a step away from the tournament finals. Mexico faces Uruguay in a semifinal match on Wednesday, while Honduras meets Colombia on Thursday. Mexico first came to the Copa America in 1993, when the tournament was opened to CONCACAF teams. Since then, the team has reached the semifinals in four of five tournaments. For Honduras, this is the first Copa America. A last-minute replacement for Argentina, the Hondurans have become the sensation of the tournament with victories over Bolivia, Uruguay and Brazil. Whistle blownIn an unusually sharp rebuke, a top South American soccer official said a Colombian referee made "big mistakes" in the Copa America. Eugenio Figueredo, vice president of the South American Soccer Confederation, told reporters in Uruguay that Oscar Ruiz had refereed poorly in Uruguay's 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Costa Rica. "He made big mistakes and will pay for them," Figueredo said. After Costa Rican goalie Erick Lonnis appeared to punch Uruguay's Carlos Morales, Ruiz merely warned him with a yellow card. "He cannot make the mistakes he made, because his position was perfect," Figueredo said. "It wasn't rough play, it was a punch, and he had to expel him." Figueredo also criticized Ruiz for not whistling a foul on striker Paulo Wanchope, who pushed a Uruguayan defender on his scoring run. "This player committed two fouls, first with his leg and then pushing," Figueredo said. "Even the president of the Refereeing Committee saw it." Ruiz isn't expected to referee in the final matches of the tournament.
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