Stuck with white elephant stadiums

Once the World Cup and its traveling circus leaves town, four gleaming stadiums that cost $1.6 billion to build and hosted massive crowds will fall silent as their owners struggle to find a use for them.

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Briefly

SOCCER

Neymar cheering for Messi

Brazilian superstar Neymar said on Thursday he wants Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi to lead Argentina to victory in the World Cup final against Germany.

Seeds of finalists' talent sown years ago

When the 22 players representing Germany and Argentina step out onto the Maracana pitch for Sunday's World Cup final, roughly half will be fulfilling prophecies made in the previous decade.

Latin America rallies around Argentina

With a reputation for arrogance and manufactured European-style grandeur, Argentines have long been the object of scorn and the butt of jokes across Latin America

What they're saying

"Messi's history in the sport is so important; he has won a lot of trophies and I will be cheering for him. He is a friend, he is my teammate and I wish him luck."

Brazilians take another beating

Brazilians might have thought their World Cup nightmare couldn't possibly get any worse - until bitter rival Argentina reached the final in their own backyard on Wednesday.

Romario wants soccer bosses behind bars

Romario, who led Brazil to the 1994 World Cup, said on Wednesday the nation's soccer bosses should serve prison time for the national team's humiliating 7-1 World Cup defeat to Germany.

Kobe approves of Lakers' moves

Kobe Bryant feels great, would welcome Byron Scott as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, would love to play alongside free agent Carmelo Anthony and is pleased with the moves of the team's front office so far.

World's biggest tee party confirmed

History was created at Mission Hills Shenzhen-Dongguan recently when nearly 2,000 golfers took part in the biggest single-day tournament ever held.

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