And, trust me, even that one goal in the final (i.e., 90th) minute of the match had more to do with Germany taking pity on Brazil than with Brazil salvaging some measure of national pride.
Meanwhile, Brazilians in the stands being overcome with inconsolable grief gave the impression these devout Christians were witnessing the crucifixion of their Christ the Redeemer. Come to think of it, soccer is such a religion in Brazil that, according to a report yesterday by ESPN FC Global, the president of the Brazilian Football Federation, José Maria Marin, actually warned this spring that:
If we lose, then we all go to hell.
But I know God will forgive the players this loss, even if their fellow Brazilians won’t:
Germany poured in the goals Tuesday to hand Brazil its heaviest World Cup loss ever with an astounding 7-1 rout in the semifinals that stunned the host nation…
This matched their biggest ever margin of defeat in any competition, equaling a 6-0 loss to Uruguay in 1920 in the South American championship, the predecessor of the Copa America.
‘We wanted to make the people happy … unfortunately we couldn’t,’ Brazil defender David Luiz said. ‘We apologize to all Brazilians.’
(The Associated Press, July 8, 2014)
As it happens, I was having my usual, match-long, WhatsApp chat with an old friend in South Africa. And we both sensed after Germany scored its first goal just 12 minutes in – as this screenshot of our chat shows (at 4:12 my time in DC, 22:12 her time in Cape Town with my entries on the left) – that Brazil was in for an historic thumping.
Mind you, Brazil did not have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning this semifinal match without its two best players in the line up: team captain Thiago Silva had to sit out a one-game suspension for committing his second yellow-card foul of this World Cup during Friday’s quarterfinal match; and team superstar Neymar suffered a fractured vertebrae during this same match, which sidelined him for the remainder of the tournament. But, to appreciate how important Thiago and Neymar are to this team, just imagine the Miami Heat without Dwyane Wade and LeBron James….
In any event, I had no emotional or financial interest in the outcome of this game. Nigeria was my pick to win it all. But after it was kicked out in the second round, I shifted my allegiance to Argentina.
If Argentina loses to the Netherlands in their semifinal match today, however, I fear having two European teams in the final will only add regional insult to the national humiliation Brazil is suffering.
Which obliges me to note that, echoing the dire warning the president of the Brazilian Football Federation sounded, I too am on record expressing grave concern if Brazil failed to win it all:
I’m convinced that, just as it was in South Africa, jingoistic pride in Brazil will make all other issues seem utterly irrelevant once matches begin. More to the point, I’m confidant that Brazil will host a great tournament and that all fans (local and foreign) will be able to enjoy the matches in a relatively safe and festive environment, especially given that, just as I predicted, it has become, for all intents and purposes, a police state.
Except that all bets are off, and God help the government, if heavily favored Brazil fails to win this World Cup.
(“The World Cup – Brazil,” The iPINIONS Journal, June 12, 2014)
Granted, being able to blame this loss on the absence of their two best players from the line up should quell the general impulse to riot. And I was somewhat heartened to see the triumphant German slayers consoling their Brazilian victims after the match. Because I’m sure the sportsmanship players demonstrated on the pitch set the tone for the way their fans behaved later on the street.
I remain all too mindful, however, that this truly shocking, humiliating and frustrating loss could still unleash more of the street protests that defined life in Brazil before match play began….
So here’s to the spirit of sportsmanship among players and wholesome revelry among fans continuing through to Sunday’s final match and the crowning of the 2014 World Cup champions: Argentina?
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