“I certainly didn’t envisage or want to write the following angry, sad and blunt blog post. I’m not entirely sure that everything has sunk in yet to be quite honest.”

As a Scot, it always makes sense to pick a go to team when it comes to World Cups, especially in this era when Scotland simply don’t qualify for the bigger tournaments. My go to team? Well it’s Brazil.

I love they yellow jerseys, the flair, the samba beat and the smiles. Last night all they had was the yellow shirts. I don’t think a game/performance has affected me as much as Brazil’s yesterday. They were humiliated, they self destructed and were a complete and utter shambles. I don’t know why I hated watching the Brazilians being dismantled so much but I did. Maybe it’s because I adored everything about Brazil for so long.

The most passion we saw from ‘A Selecao’ came during the national anthem. Symbolically Julio Cesar and David Luiz held up Neymar’s shirt before the game, but that empty yellow shirt still had more soul in it than any of the players that would go on and ‘play’ for the next ninety minutes.

Brazil were also missing their captain Thiago Silva. The armband was handed to David Luiz and the only captain he resembled was that of one deserting a sinking ship at sea. He was bullied at the corner that led to the first goal and he gave goalscorer Thomas Muller all the time and space needed to score a tap in after just eleven minutes! The defender then made mistake after mistake. Missing the ball completely, making dodgy pass-backs and going into challenges as if he was a piece of melting butter! He was full of apologies and tears at the end but the twenty-seven year old was committed enough on the pitch. Good luck to PSG who now need to console their new £50m signing and get his career back on track. I don’t think his mental scar will leave him easily. His smile could be forever broken.

Quite a few of these players may never get the chance to represent their nation again after this tournament. Julio Cesar, Jo, Maicon, Dani Alves, Dante and Fernandinho will struggle to be selected again, if the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) decide to do a complete overhaul. Hulk, Marcelo and Paulinho will also struggle to get the fans back onside after their horrific showings too.

I do have sympathy for the players. The pressure on them was extraordinary. Last night it all just became too much and they went into free-fall. But that doesn’t excuse the lack of desire, creativity or the complete and utter disregard to do the basics. Their style last night resembled that of a game in the park between the worst lot of three year olds taking on ten year olds.

Make no mistake this game was a catastrophe for the host nation. That loss was by far the heaviest defeat in the country’s World Cup history.

Luis Felipe Scolari will have to come out and take a lot of responsibility for this dramatic ending. At the moment he has stated it was just terrible luck and that the team ‘blanked out’. Listen it goes deeper than that. Brazil were decent at this tournament but they were far from special and they certainly showed no flair, skills or excitement (expect for Neymar in spells). The squad was full of average players. How Hulk and Fred got so much game time is beyond me. They showed little in terms of creative spark, willing smart runs or even goals. The pool relied far too heavily on Neymar and Thiago Silva.

Make no mistake the Germans were superb and humbled their foes. They were clinical, had great work ethic and a desire that outshone their rivals tenfold. At times I was was screaming at my TV set begging that Germany showed some mercy. But alas the Brazilian’s didn’t deserve any merciful act as they continued to flood forward, hit hopeful yet hopeless shots and miss easy passes in their own half. They were almost goading the German side to score more and more.

Congrats to Miroslav Klose who is now the World Cups best ever marksmen, poetically beating Ronaldo’s record against Brazil.

This Brazil team are far from being an inexperienced bunch. Seven of the players that played last night have Champions League winners medals in their trophy cabinets. The coach won the World Cup back in 2002. The average age for this squad was twenty-eight, not thirty-three or twenty-one. Yet they still crumbled when they needed their experience most.

The fact is Brazil have flattered to deceive for quite some time now and have lived off past glories for far too long now. To be honest it helped them with their quarter final victory over Colombia. But that illusion will have been totally shattered now. The nation need to rebuild and get back to their own style of football.

It took twenty-four years between Brazil’s 1970 World Cup win and their 1994 triumph. It’s now been twelve years since their last victory at the world’s grandest stage. At this rate it seems kind to suggest that they’ll win the golden trophy again in the next twelve years.

God knows how a real Brazilian fan feels today if I am this upset and angry! At least with Scotland the expectation is no longer there.

The South Americans need to forget about their past triumphs and rebuild now for a better future.

Posted on July 9th, 2014 by scott
Filed under: Article, World Cup