Facing a two-goal deficit at half time in the final of the Confederations Cup against the US, Brazilian players knew that they had to find something special if they wanted to maintain a proud tradition.

Going into Sunday's final at the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, the Selecao had managed to win all but two of the nine finals they had played on the world stage.

World Cup victories in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002 and Confederations Cup titles in 1997 and 2005 stood against a sole World Cup final defeat against France in 1998 and a defeat against Mexico in the 1999 Confederations Cup.

On Sunday, goals by Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan had given the US a two-goal lead and the Selecao seemed in danger of losing a second Confederations Cup final.

In a remarkable turn-around a brace by Luis Fabiano and a late goal by captain Lucio gave the South Americans the victory that had seemed so far away at half-time.

For Bayern Munich defender Lucio, there was nothing surprising that they managed to come back.

"Even if we believe in ourselves, our players are not arrogant and they are very humble. At the same time there is a big fighting spirit in the team and it is this mix of humbleness and fighting spirit that makes Brazil win most finals," he said.

Gilberto Silva, who plays for Greek side Panathinaikos, said: "If you win any competition with your country, it is something very special. We know how hard we had to work to win the game and that made it even more special. It is something that we will never forget."

Reserve goalkeeper Gomes said that the Brazilian performance in the second half had shown that they were a great side.

"We proved in the second half that we are the best. I think we showed that we are the best. There were other good teams in the competition, but Brazil played their best game today," he saide.

The Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper said that he thought the present Brazilian squad was possibly even stronger than the 2005 squad, which crushed arch-rivals Argentina
4-1 in the Confederations Cup final.

"This a stronger unit of players than the 2005 team. This group has played together for a long time and that makes us a very strong team.

"We showed a lot of character to come from behind in the competition to win. That shows that the players are willing to fight for one another," he said.

But Gomes also said the latest title didn't automatically make them the overwhelming favourite for the World Cup.

"I do not think we will be the only favourites for the World Cup, first we have to qualify," he said.

Superstar Kaka, who won the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament, as well as the player of the match for the final, said that the side was a terrific collective.

"It is most important to win as a collective and whatever I won, I won because of the team. If we were not such a good collective, I would not have been voted as the best player."

Kaka said that in order to avoid a repeat from the last Confed Cup, when the side won, but then crashed out in the World Cup quarter-finals a year later, the side had to follow a few steps.

"Firstly, we have to qualify for the finals. We need to do that in our last few games. And once we have actually qualified, we must avoid any unnecessary euphoria,"" said Kaka.

"What we did here was very good, very calm, whenever the players are able to train together for an extend period the results are always good and I hope we can do that before the World Cup also."

Kaka also said he did not want to speak about his new club Real Madrid before being officially presented there on Tuesday in a move from Real Madrid.

"But I can say that I have managed to win my first title as a Real Madrid player and I hope that many more will follow."

With a good mix of humbleness, humility and aggression, Kaka and his Brazilian team-mates are bound to pick up a few more titles.