Maracaibo, Venezuela – Brazil stunned favored Argentina 3-0 Sunday to win its second straight Copa America title.
Julio Baptista scored in the fourth minute, Argentina’s Roberto Ayala accidentally knocked the ball into his own net in the 40th while trying to clear a cross and Dani Alves got the final goal in the 69th as the Brazilians won the South American championship for the eighth time.
Brazil beat Argentina 4-2 on penalty kicks after a 2-2 tie to win the 2004 final in Lima, Peru.
The Brazilians have won four of the past five Copa titles – the exception was when Colombia won at home in 2001 – and eight in all. Argentina has won the Copa America a record 14 times, but its most recent championship was in 1993.
While Argentina brought its top players and appeared unstoppable throughout most of the tournament, Brazil was missing stars such as Kaka and Ronaldinho. The Brazilians edged Uruguay on penalty kicks in the semifinals after a 2-2 tie.
Baptista put Brazil ahead on its first foray forward, taking the ball just inside the penalty area and spinning it into the far side of the goal past surprised goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri.
It was the 10th meeting between the teams in the final, but Brazil won for only the second time.
