Throughout the tournament, their game was based on tireless marking and hassling of the opposition in mid-field and systematic fouling when necessary to halt their opponents' attacks.

The Brazilians committed 13 fouls in the first half of Sunday's 3-0 final win over Uruguay and nearly twice as many as Mexico in last Wednesday's semi-final win.

Having won the war of attrition in mid-field, Brazil were able to kill off their opponents with the brilliance of players such as Ronaldo and Rivaldo, who finished as joint top-scorers with five goals each.

``There are four keys words. Unity, discipline, work and professionalism,'' said Luxemburgo, who took less than a year in charge of the team to win his first major title.

Ronaldo, who will be rested for the Confederations' Cup which starts in one week's time in Mexico, was also able tocelebrate the end of an injury-plagued year.

``After a year of suffering, indecision, uncertainty and treatment, this is a very important moment and I'm very happy,'' he said.

``It has been a very difficult year and to be able to run and not feel any pain has been wonderful, this has been one of the most important moments of my career.''

Despite winning all six of their matches, Brazil were rarely a pleasure to watch except for the second half of the final, when they finally began to play without inhibition.

For a few moments, they even appeared to by enjoying themselves.

Opponents Uruguay saw their luck run out at the end of a Copa America which began brightly but faded with two dismal semifinals and an embarrassingly one-sided final.

Uruguay arrived without top players Paolo Montero, Alvaro Recoba and Gustavo Poyet, and their young side won only one game in normal time en route to the final.

Having qualified from the first round as one of the best first-placed teams, they drew both theirquarter-final and semifinal matches before going on to win on penalties.

The Copa America seemed to have used up its drama ration the previous Sunday.

The biggest talking point remained Argentine striker Martin Palermo, who remarkably missed three penalties in a 3-0 first round defeat by Colombia.

The Boca Juniors marksman left Paraguay with three goals but is unlikely to keep his place once the likes of Gabriel Batistuta and Hernan Crespo, who like the Uruguayan stars were rested for the tournament after a long season in Europe, return for the World Cup qualifiers which start in March.

Colombia, coached by former chemical engineer Javier Alvarez, played brilliantly until the quarter-finals when they fell victims to Chile's only inspiring performance of the competition in a 3-2 defeat.

The Colombians unveiled a new generation of talented players, including 16-year-old Jhonnier Montano, but once again doubts were raised over their ability to win when it mattered.

Alvarez was a story apart,repeatedly warning that Colombia would thrash opponents who defended badly and claiming that he helped goalkeeper Miguel Calero save one of Palermo's penalites by transmitting ``positive thoughts'' from the bench.

Chile, like Uruguay, scraped through the first round as one of the best third-placed teams. Striker Ivan Zamorano scored three goals and then hinted he might not play for his country again.

His partner Marcelo Salas had a nightmare tournament, failing to score and missing two matches after being sent off against Venezuela.

Local interest died with Paraguay's quarter-final exit at the hands of Uruguay's penalty shootout specialists and off the field the hosts were left with a row between the government's sports council, who threatened to investigate why so many match tickets ended up in the hands of touts, and the football association.

The latter warned that any government interference could result in Paraguay being suspended by Fifa.

World Cup captain and goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert,meanwhile, refused to play in protest at the amount of money his country spent on organising the competition.

Mexico, who like Japan were invited to take part as guests, were also left with scores to settle. After Raul Lara and Paulo Cesar Chavez were banned for six months for failing a doping test, the entire squad threatened to boycott the Confederations' Cup, which their country is hosting, in protest.

For minnows Venezuela, it was the same old story, however.

An unprecedented five-match unbeaten run in friendlies prompted striker Daniel Noriega to claim: ``Venezuela are no longer the ugly ducklings of South America football.''

They were hammered 7-0 by Brazil in their opening match and returned to Caracas with three straight defeats and a goals against tally of 13.