Germany 7, Brazil: 1. Fly de Plantin. But de Lato.
The last time Brazil lost a World Cup game that badly was in 1934. The last time a team score 5 goals in the first half of World Cup game was on June 19, 1974, when Poland beat Haiti, in Germany, by 7-0.
Again, 64 years later, Brazil, with tears and rage, is living another day of infamy. Where were you on September 11, 2001? Where you when Brazil lost 2-3 its 1982 quarterfinal against Italy? Where were you when Brazil was humiliated, on Brazilian turf, 1-7 by Germany? You will never forget today, it will remain impressed in your psyche for decades. We just lived a historical moment, not any lesser than the Maracanazo of July 16, 1950. After that game the Brazilian team changed its jersey, will they do the same as of Monday?
If defeat has its silver lining, winning may sometimes be detrimental. Many did not want to see Brazil winning the Confederations Cup last year. Brazil did. The immediate effect was to create around the Auriverdes an aura of invincibility for a team that was fundamentally weak. Felipao remained certain until yesterday that his team was going to win the World Cup. But how?
For a team to win the World Cup, it must have six Word Class players #1 or #2 at their position; Brazil have four. For a team to win the World Cup, it needs a skeleton from a single team; Brazil does not have that. For a team to win the World Cup; they need a midfield maestro who "owns" the team (Dunga '74, Rivaldo '02) and a ruthless striker (Romario '74, Ronaldo '02); Brazil has no maestro (Oscar is not one), and Neymar is anything but ruthless; he is more like a Doritos of the fragile type.
Hence, this team was favorite only because it was playing at home, and home happened to be the Land of Football, the patria of Pele, Garrincha, Zagalo, Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho... It was jsut a dream, an unfettered dream.
....................................
The loss of Neymar and Thiago Silva did compound an existing problem. But no two players could have changed the outcome of this quarterfinal against. The writing was on the wall. There was no logical reason to think that Brazil was the best team in the world, it was just an emotional belief.
Going back to the last World Cup in 2010, Brazil was exited by Holland. What happened since then? They lost badly at the Copa America in 2011. They did not even make it the final four in a field of 12. Then they lost the football tournament at the 2012 Olympics, in London. Until then, they had nothing to show except average performances at friendlies, among them losing to Mexico 0-2.
The team could have Improved, but they had no opportunity for self assessment. Being pre-qualified for the World Cup, they were excused from all competitive games, except the four-match run of the Confederations Cup won against a decadent and tired Spanish team. That was an unfortunate happenstance, a fodder for overconfidence...
With four competitive games in two years, eight in four years, the senior team showed up at the World Cup a month ago. They had an disappointing opening against below-par Croatia (3-1), then they almost lost to Mexico that was better than them (0-0). Two weeks ago, they showed off against Cameroon the lowest-ranked team in the tournament (3-1). In the knockout stage, they were practically outplayed and eliminated by Chile, but the cross bar and the post saved them from expulsion. Finally, last Saturday, the only Brazilian team on the field was Colombia. It became clear to everyone that Brazil does not have the baggage of a dominant Champion; they were to entered the semifinals as underdog. Then today, reality came to shine...
...........................
One is to ask how did Brazilian football became so poorly talented that they had to take out-of-form Hulk and Fred to the grandest world stage. It is because Brazilian football is fraught with internal problems. Some people such as Romario have been vocal asking for attention and correction, to no avail. The proverbial Brazilian "don't worry" prevailed.
Now the CBD (Confederacao Brasileira de Desportos) will need to worry. Worry about rampant corruption at all levels. Worry about the Brazilian season that is too long with too long a distance between the cities of competitions. Worry about fatigued players. Worry about loss of Brazilian soccer values (no more jogo bonito). Worry about the decrease in the number of football academies and of coaches for the youth. Worry about who is really in charge of football development and where the buck stops.
.............................
While Brazil is stagnating and losing its values and valuables despite an improved economy, the Europeans have taken over. Spain has grown into a genuine powerhouse by multiplying its number of coaches and its youth academies. France, Belgium, and Switzerland are importing talents from Africa and Asia, instead of losing theirs.
The European Union for Football Association (UEFA) has stipulated fair-play rules for the betterment of the clubs on the continent. The Champions League has become a worldwide household name and a better product than every football trade name, except the World Cup. Brazilian stars, such Falcao (Colombia), da Costa (Spain), dos Santos (Mexico) surprisingly opt for foreign teams over the Brazilian national team. Tonight, God knows how much players such as the above-named would have been useful against the Germans.
...........................
Decimated inside and outside of its borders, with no clear solution in hand, Brazilian football will have to go back to the drawing table. Today's rout has been etched on the wall for no one to see; it was an humiliation waiting to happen. If it had happened last year at the Confederation Cup, Brazil would have patched up its problems and would have won the Cup this year.
It is unfortunate, but not surprising. It is a pity that a 64-year wait and hope was sunk in 18 minutes by the German impeccable war machine. It is unfortunate that the Americas have lost their most charismatic heroes.
But it is not the end of the road, as France and Spain did, a reorganized Brazil will rise from the ashes of its utter humiliation. Its jogo bonito blended, jumbled with the beat of samba will return to the stadia and football will be once again be played like only Brazilian can play it, and win games and cups.
Today's rout is not a Hiroshima, it is not a Nagasaki, it is not even a Waterloo. Today's loss of the Auriverdes is a Pearl Harbor, a day of infamy, and "whoever did that will have to pay for it"...
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eTo-p36e8U[/embed]
Sponsor:
Travel-O-Ganza, Inc, The Travel Club
Visit us at TraveloGanza.com
Did you miss our World Cup Trip?
Would you like to go to Cartagena, Colombia?
(OdlerRobert Jeanlouie, Tuesday, July 8, 2014)
No comments:
Post a Comment