Doha: A Diego Forlan hat-trick helped the South American Panthers beat Northern Bears 5-3 in the FIFA Legends Cup final. Cafu, Javier Zanetti, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldinho were also part of the squad that overcame the likes of Jorge Campos, Alexi Lalas, Heather O’Reilly and Kristine Lilly.
The eight teams – African Lions, Northern Bears, East Tigers, Arab Falcons, European Wolves, South American Panthers, European Dragons and South American Eagles – were split into two groups of four, with the top two from each qualifying for the semi-finals.
The Eagles thrashed the Bears 8-3 to reach the final, but the Panthers required penalties to get past the Falcons after a 3-3 draw.
In the final, however, the Panthers turned it on, with goals from Zanetti, Kaka and Forlan (two) having them 4-1 up. Luis Hernandes, Carlos Marchena and O’Reilly did get it back to 4-3, but Forlan’s third of the game made sure of the result. FIFA
