Football's coming home, is it Brazil’s turn once again?

Anything less than the title would be a lost cause for the home team

It’s once again that time of the year when every football fan eagerly flips the pages of the calendar to reach the month of June and witness the biggest footballing carnival on the earth. With the FIFA World Cup hitting the Samba nation once again, the carnival is expected to get even bigger and crazier.

On the pitch, the host nation might have answered few key questions with an emphatic win over world champions Spain, in what is considered the dress rehearsal for the big event — the Confederations Cup, but what lies ahead is the real challenge!

‘Can the five-time world champions bring out a team worthy of a World Cup win at home? Can Brazil’s decision to ignore the ‘never-go-back’ policy and re-hire the man who delivered their last world title in 2002, prove lucky for them? Will the Samba Boys win with style rather than functionality? are a few questions, which over the past one year, the team has managed to answer with an unyielding YES, but every football fan knows that the job is only half done for the five time world champions, who last lifted the cup eleven years ago.

As Brazil readies itself for the 2014 football extravaganza, their form at the Confederations Cup is certainly a curtain raiser, revealing what fans can expect from them in the next few months, despite the fact that they lost Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa to Spain’s ranks.

Luiz Felipe Scolari, the man who gave the host their fifth world Cup in 2002 said earlier this month that he is happy to know his team’s strength ahead of unveiling his squad on May 7. “I am still observing the players, but this is my team,” he said after his side defeated a capable Chilean team in a Toronto friendly. “I think we have a great chance. We shall be competing at home and we have a great team, excellent players and our home fans behind us,” said the man at the helm of affairs for Brazil.

Even the legendary Pele seems to have given his seal of approval, having voiced doubts when Scolari replaced Mano Menezes a year ago. “I think we have what it takes to be the champions. With Felipao, the team has improved,” said the Brazilian. With their latest rise above the ranks of the current World Champions, Brazil has proved that no team can hog the limelight for a long time. One could now say that the South-American country has created a platform for 2014, and they can finally search a way to erase the memory of the 1950 World Cup when they ended loosing to neighbour Uruguay in the finals.

Can he be the next ‘Pele’, only time can tell

Nevertheless, will the new-old helmsman Scolari, really prove to be the man with the golden touch? Though one has to wait till July 13 for the final answer, fans certainly can’t deny that Scolari’s effort at galvanising the team has expanded and earned Brazil many fans. The recent 3-0 triumph over Spain, and with the latest sensation Neymar living up to the hype of being called the ‘next Pele’, has introduced a feel-good factor to a tournament hit by countrywide protests.

However, the idea of hosting the World Cup in Brazil has not gone down well with Brazilians. Streets protests against government corruption, and the large sum spent on staging top sports events has now marked Brazil’s everyday life. While the World Cup is set to cost $11bn to the Brazilian government, the 2016 Summer Olympics will cost a massive $15bn. Although the country will get upgraded transport and communications infrastructure, the swanky new stadiums are expected to be deserted once the tournament concludes, as places like Manaus, Natal and even the capital, Brasilia lack a top football team, who can take the stadium on lease from the government.

Can Brazil put up a top show in 2014 — both on and off the pitch, only time can tell, but an exciting footballing carnival is promised to be the offering this June when the world will descend to the Samba nation to witness top footballers across the globe ply their to bring glory to their country. — With inputs from AFP

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