SADLY EVER AFTER...
If they had won
their sixth World Cup title, then the whole nation needless to say, would’ve been
engulfed and enveloped in a euphoric “feel-good” aura…at least for some time.
Perhaps for a long time, even.
The struggles and protests
may well have been forgotten. But as images of fans burning not just
expensive-ass Nike branded replica Selecao shirts but their national flag as
well flooded TV screens and the worldwide web after that semi-final loss against Germany, you couldn’t help but wonder
if it was all worth it for the ordinary Brazilian.
Ordem e Progresso indeed.
This was meant to be “football coming home”. Its
REAL home, that is. The one nation that is synonymous with football was getting
the much-deserved chance to host the World Cup again and to show the whole
world how the game is played. And show how to throw a party carnaval-style to boot. They had even
recruited the manager of their last World Cup triumph: “Big Phil” Scolari. This
was supposed to be an easy win like the Confederations Cup so that Brazilians
could live happily ever after…
But as it sometimes
is in life outside football, things did not go according to script. The Germans
had simply not read the memo. Either that or the football gods, perhaps
conspiring with the giant Christ the Redeemer statue, had had some few surprises
up their collective sleeves for the O Selecao. They had dealt the
Pentacampeones a cruel twist on the wheel of fate. Think along the lines of the
plot of the movie Lucky Number Sleven.
And seven it was. Unlucky seven.
The Germans were
not exactly outer-worldly per se but they were clinical finishers on the night
and that’s all that matters. Even more praise-worthy is that they quite refused
to sit back after going a goal up against the home nation with only eleven
minutes played.
Seven goals against
Brazil - mighty BRAZIL - with or without Neymar da Silva Jr and Thiago Silva is
no mean accomplishment. Four goals in an unbelievable 6 first half minutes set
the tone for the host nation’s worst drubbing since records began and by the
time the ball entered Julio Caesar’s goal for the 7th time, the
crowd were on their feet applauding.
The ovation was for
the conquerors. Fans watching on TV could barely believe their eyes. Then when German possession was
cheered by shouts of ole, ole by the super-partisan spectators in Belo
Horizonte, people could barely believe their ears.
Perhaps even more
striking than a smiling, unperturbed Bastian Schweisteinger before kick-off,
was Manuel Neuer angrily berating his defenders after Oscar’s consolation goal
in injury time. He expressed more disappointment at conceding 1 than (the admittedly
cool) Julio Cesar did swallowing 7. That summed it all up.
All of a sudden, fans
who had until then hidden behind Neymar cut-out masks, reached for their dusty
placards.
All of a sudden Paulo Ito’s artwork of a young starving
Brazilian boy having no food on his plate but a football, became even more
relevant.
All of a sudden,
optimistic Brazilians were coming to terms with the fact that this sporting disaster
had cost them $11B. Even worst, lives had been lost putting the show together.
To be fair though,
all rumours of incomplete infrastructure turned out to be largely unfounded.
(Just like talk of robberies, snake and scorpion invasions at 2010 World Cup in
South Africa turned out to be pure dead dog doo doo).
Only Big Phil
Scolari’s “7 Steps to Heaven” was uncompleted. It was 7 goals to hell in the
end.
All hopes of a
consolation was lost when The Netherlands beat the Brazilians in the 3rd/4th
place play-off. They had shipped 10 goals in just 2 games. Their worst
defensive record ever; one of only 3 nations to concede more than 12 goals in a
single World Cup with a defensive unit that had names like Dani Alves, Maicon,
David Luiz,Thiago Silva, Dante,Marcelo, Maxwell and Julio Cesar.
Ultimately, it was
arguably the best World Cup ever. At least in the eyes of the majority. The
amazing spectacle was thoroughly enjoyed everywhere in the world…except Brazil. The world did not want the games to end, Brazil wish the games had not started in the first bloody place. Perhaps, Marcelo’s own goal opening the tournament should have sounded alarm
bells or maybe not.
Like Pele said
Brazil will have another crack at in 2018. But sadly, that’s another chapter…
Interesting...
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