He was a pale shadow of the crowd-pleasing showman widely recognised as the heir to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the greatest player in the world.
Argentina will return to Olympic football next year after sealing victory in the South American under-20 qualifying tournament in Uruguay on Saturday.
David Coulthard grabbed second place for McLaren, ahead of Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso in the two Renaults.
Neymar lived up to expectations as he showed his class on his Ligue 1 debut on Sunday, scoring one and setting up another goal in Paris St Germain's 3-0 win at En Avant Guingamp.
Egypt's crucial performer has been battling against time to be fit for the Group A encounter since hurting ligaments in an awkward fall in the early stages of last month's Champions League final.
Williams's Formula One championship challenge is on after they ousted McLaren as Ferrari's closest rivals.
Second-seed Lleyton Hewitt moved into the quarter-finals of the Washington Open with a routine 6-3 6-2 win over Colombian Alejandro Falla on Wednesday.
The six-times world champion was 0.362 of a second quicker than Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya's Williams.
Montoya was black-flagged after 57 of the 73 laps and retired in the pits while third.
The Colombian will race for McLaren in 2005 after completing his contract with Williams.
Federico Montoya will drive for the Berlin-based Muecke team in the German Formula BMW series next year.
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Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has ended speculation regarding the future of Colombian international James Rodriguez by confirming the 25-year-old winger will remain at the club.
The Scot is looking for a drive after McLaren signed Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya from Williams for 2005.
The German won a wet and wild US Grand Prix while Colombian rival Juan Pablo Montoya's title hopes were blown away.
Ferrari's Michael Schumacher can win a record sixth Formula One championship at Indianapolis on Sunday if circumstances go his way.
The defending F1 champion expects the title to be decided by a last-race duel between himself and the Colombian.
Chris Froome remains in contention for a fourth Tour de France title after Team Sky put the pressure on their rivals with a perfectly executed plan in Friday's 13th stage, won on Bastille Day by France's Warren Barguil.
The German world champion now has 82 points to second-placed Montoya's 79.
Ferrari's ace is resigned to the idea of his younger brother helping the Colombian become world champion at his expense.
The 41-year-old has made 640 appearances in Serie A, within striking distance of the 647-game record of AC Milan defender Paolo Maldini. Buffon began his career at Parma before moving to the Turin club in 2001.
James Rodriguez curled home a superb free kick to cap Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Inter Milan in a friendly in Guangzhou on Monday.
A Colombian doctor who treated controversial Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona for weight loss last year was nabbed at an international airport on Wednesday with nearly 2 kilos of cocaine packed in his bags, police said.
The Colombian had a blistering late lap to outpace his German team mate at Williams Ralf Schumacher.
Chief Williams engineer Sam Michael said it was clear the team had some catching up to do but it was not all doom and gloom.
British journeyman Stephen Cummings earned South African team MTN-Qhubeka a landmark victory on Mandela Day when he spoiled a French party to take a surprise win in the 14th stage of the Tour de France on Saturday.
Ralf Schumacher won the French GP as his team celebrated their second one-two finish in the space of a week.
It was the second win of Montoya's 41 race career and the first of the season for BMW-powered Williams
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