Soccer-Copa-Brazil the masters even without Ronaldinho and Kaka

By Brian Homewood

MARACAIBO, Venezuela, July 16 (Reuters) - Ronaldinho and Kaka preferred to go on holiday rather than play at the Copa America, yet the Brazilian pair's absence was barely missed in a memorable, goal-packed tournament.

Although primarily a baseball country, Venezuela's superb state-of-the-art stadiums were packed for nearly every match and FIFA president Sepp Blatter praised the superb organisation when he came for the final on Sunday.

The fans that flooded through the gates were rewarded with attacking football and some great moments, including Nery Castillo's sublime first goal for Mexico against Brazil and Lionel Messi's superlative effort for Argentina against the Mexicans -- a contender for goal of this, or any other year.

The 26 games produced 86 goals, culminating in Brazil's 3-0 win over Argentina in Sunday's final, and, except for a spell at the end of the group stage, there was rarely a dull moment.

It was a refreshing contrast to last year's World Cup when South America's interest ended in the quarter-finals.

The Copa America has struggled to be taken seriously recently, often when the competition was sandwiched between the region's marathon World Cup qualifying competition.

This year's tournament, however, provided the region's teams with their first chance for a competitive match since the World Cup or, in the case of the teams which did not go to Germany, since October 2005.