FIFA14 Day 22 Report: My hands are trembling as I try to make sense of this... It was expected... a Brazilian Samba to the death with the German Eagles eking out a hard fought scrappy win... but it was incredibly more easier than that.. Julio Cesar knew he was going to be exposed without Silva in front of him... but unprecedented takes on a whole new meaning... will be used in hushed tones of awe and reverence in the context of a clinical, ruthless and gut-wrenching German execution of the de-fanged Brazilian XI. In a sense, the sociologist in me reckons that its poetic justice. That a World Cup built on the tears and pain of the poor and destitute would showcase the biggest rout of the much vaunted home team. Anyway, back to the game, Brazil vs Germany - 1st Semifinal - 7-1: Even Neymar couldnt have saved Brazil! Moments before Tuesday’s semi-final with Germany kicked off, Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari hugged his opposite number Joachim Low and handed him a presentation bag containing a small present. Unfortunately for Scolari and his team, the gift-giving would not end there. Brazilian superstar Neymar sat out with injury as his team were humiliated 7-1 by Germany, a record national defeat as they bowed out of the finals on home soil in embarrassing fashion. During Joachim Lows eight-year tenure as head coach, Germany have won games in every manner. On Tuesday, the Nationalmannschaft reached a new level, something unprecedented in their history under Low or in general. In fact, the manner in which they blitzed Brazil for five goals within the opening 26 minutes of their World Cup semifinal was unprecedented in the history of the tournament. Much can be said for how poor and utterly flat-footed Brazil were. Much can and will be said about how the hosts sorely missed Neymar and Thiago Silva. And much more can and will be said about how well individuals like Thomas Mueller, Toni Kroos, Mesut Ozil, Miroslav Klose and Sami Khedira played. But the decisive factor in Tuesdays match was the masterful Low. Given the way Germany played, it can so easily be forgotten just how many obstacles the trainer has had to negotiate. The absence of players like Marco Reus, Ilkay Gundogan, Marcel Schmelzer and Sven and Lars Bender would have crippled most national teams. The lack of fitness of Khedira, Bastian Schweinsteiger and recent injuries to Ozil, Manuel Neuer and Philipp Lahm left the trainer with precious few in-form options. Ahead of Tuesdays semifinal, pundits bound speculated how Low would choose his team. Would Andre Schurrle replace Klose in the first XI? Would Christoph Kramer be brought on for Khedira or Schweinsteiger? As it turned out, Low had already found his best starting lineup for the semifinal. It was the very same selection hed made against France. And despite the deafening roar of the capacity crowd at Estadio Mineirao, despite the X-factor that some 200 million Brazilians gave their national team in the form of extra motivation and pure adrenaline, Lows perfectly chosen team utterly obliterated the hosts. Were Khedira and Schweinsteiger unfit? No, their pressing in the opening minutes was heroic, and the Real Madrid man scored and assisted in the first half. Was Howedes lack of pace exposed? Not a chance. Was Ozil a passenger? No, he assisted Khedira and pulled the strings superbly, exposing space in the Brazilian defense with his runs and devastating passes. That Brazil even scored a consolation goal near the end was little more than a further embarrassment, being unable to celebrate or take any joy from the moment. The pre-match talk centered around the absence of Neymar in attack and, through suspension, Thiago Silva in defence—but while the latter could have made a significant difference to the final scoreline, especially with David Luizs inept performance, Neymar would have prevented very little of the massacre occurring. Over the next 90 minutes, in perhaps the most surprising, jaw-dropping result in World Cup history Brazil were demolished 7-1 by a rampant Germany side, as a combination of woeful organisation, shoddy defending, individual mistakes and incisive attacking (the Europeans deserve some credit, after all) sent the tournament hosts out of the competition with their tails firmly between their legs. This was scarcely believable stuff, even as it happened in front of the world’s eyes. To put it in some type of context, this was Brazil’s first competitive defeat on home soil since 1975—a 3-1 loss to Peru that also happened in Belo Horizonte’s Estadio Mineirao. It was the first time they had conceded four goals since a 4-2 loss to Hungary in the 1954 World Cup. It was every bit as harrowing as the Selecao’s most famous home loss, the 1950 World Cup final defeat to Uruguay that now has a brother in the annals of history. The majority of Brazilian citizens are not old enough to remember that “Maracanazo,” of course. But they will not forget this “Mineirazo” as long as they live. “How did this happen?” is the question that will be asked in the days and weeks ahead. The significance of the loss of Neymar and Thiago Silva—one due to the back fracture sustained against Colombia, the other through suspension—was clear, but it does not fully explain the depth of the demolition. Without Neymar, their icon and only true attacking threat for much of the competition, Scolari opted for the diminutive Bernard. But the Shakhtar Donetsk winger is not in the class of his illustrious team-mate and could not cover for the mediocre talent of Fred and Hulk as Neymar had previously manfully achieved. When Brazil went a goal behind in the 11th minute, the panic among players and fans was palpable. Not only were the hosts behind, but it was evident to many that their attacking line, even with the assistance of Oscar (who would eventually get his side’s “consolation” goal), would struggle to fashion the openings required to get an equaliser, let alone a winner. Assuming neither Hulk nor Fred score in the third-place play-off on Saturday, they will leave the tournament with a combined zero assists and one goal—Fred’s tap-in against Cameroon in a game that was arguably already won. After he was substituted in the second half, the striker was booed roundly whenever his face appeared on the ground’s big screen. He was one of the scapegoats, but there were others more to blame for the defeat on this night. Without Thiago Silva, the team’s captain and defensive lynchpin, Brazil looked shorn of discipline, organisation or basic defensive ability at the back. Bayern Munich’s Dante (a player Pep Guardiola seems to need to cajole and organise through every club game) replaced Silva, but it was his usual partner, David Luiz, who took on Silva’s responsibilities as the team’s captain, leader and organiser. Luiz was the hero of the hour as he scored the winner in the quarter-final against Colombia, but without his anchor alongside him in this game he was every bit the player “being controlled by a 10-year-old on a PlayStation,” as former Manchester United defender Gary Neville memorably described him on the half-time show. As frustration grew, some players responded by diving anytime they made their way into the box—cynical attempts to con the referee that reduced the sympathy neutral observers may have been feeling. Germany would ultimately add two further goals from the many chances they had, as substitute Andre Schurrle beat Cesar twice with well-placed strikes. Oscar then belatedly, perhaps undeservedly, scored a well-taken equaliser after breaking in behind the German defence—a turn of events that was greeted with anger by Neuer and boos from a thoroughly disgusted crowd. That crowd had been cheering as Schurrle completed the rout, acknowledging the quality of their victors and, by implication, highlighting the abject performance of their own stars. Without Neymar and Thiago Silva, there had been a certain reduction of expectations in Brazil, a country that had its sights set on winning the competition almost as soon as they were confirmed as hosts. A semi-final exit, without their two main players, would not be a disaster; it could be written off as a reasonable achievement considering the external factors. The manner of the defeat, however, speaks to so much more. It speaks to the lack of overall quality of this Brazil side, as well as their inability to handle the pressure as it continued to rise. It spoke to the incisive attacking brilliance of Germany. But most of all, it spoke to the disastrous efforts of Brazil’s individuals on the night. This was a humiliation. Brazil will not soon forget this, nor will anyone who witnessed it. As the tournament has progressed, Germany have gotten better and better. An out-of-form shell of a team just a few weeks ago, the Nationalmannschaft galloped to the final on Tuesday. Germanys task is not yet done; there is a final to be played on Sunday. But one could only sense just how hungry Lows men were on Tuesday. Whether Argentina or the Netherlands, their opponents will be terrified by what damage Lows Germany are capable of inflicting.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 23:07:45 +0000
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