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Horror of Marcanazo revisited
The horror of Marcanazo which occurred in 1950 (or probably worse) was revisited last night when Germany thrashed Brazil 7-1 in the 1st semi-final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and ended Brazil’s 39-year long winning run at home. Twenty-five minutes into the game and with a score-line of five goals to nothing, the Germans made sure that Brazilian grand dreams of lifting their sixth World Cup title are postponed till 2018 when Football’s biggest spectacle would travel to Russia.
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Last night’s match began on an emotive note as the stadium echoed with the singing of Brazil’s national anthem wherein David Luiz and goalkeeper Julio Cesar could be seen holding fallen hero Neymar’s jersey in a rare show of respect. The symbolism of that action meant that the Brazilians would give in everything they had to fulfil the dream of the injured superstar who suffered from a vertebrae fracture in the match against Colombia, but what unleashed next was something next to being unbelievable.
After having humiliated Brazil at home, the Germans are headed into their 8th World Cup final looking to end a drought of 24 years and win their fourth World Cup title but what about the Samba boys? Where will they be heading after having witnessed one of the worst ever routs in football history? Of course, the home side will take to the field yet again in this World Cup to participate in the 3rd – 4th place playoff but the larger question amounts to how will the Luis Felipe Scolari side recuperate after having crumbled under the immense pressure put on it by millions of its fans across the world?
Germany shedding ‘chokers’ tag
In this regard, there is no better inspiration for the Brazilians than the Germans themselves. While Germany continue to be the most consistent side in World Cups since 2002, they have also repeatedly failed at converting golden opportunities into fond memories as they have faltered either before reaching the finish line (2006 & 2010 World Cup Semi-finalists) or have failed to cross the last hurdle (2002 World Cup Finalists). Similar has been the performance of the Germans in the previous two Euros in 2008 and 2012 wherein they were beaten by Spain and Italy in the finals and semi-finals, respectively. Yet the Germans refused to give up and kept trying to make it happen and today, they are inches away from being recognised as the World Champions.
If there is one thing which the Brazilians could learn from Germany then that definitely has to be resilience. Not only do the Brazilians have to exhibit resilience while rebuilding their team for 2018 World Cup, they also have to be equally resilient or probably more when they will play for the last time in this World Cup.
The Germans did not lose heart after semi-final losses in the previous two World Cups, they rather came back strong to outperform Portugal and Uruguay to become the Bronze-medal winners. It is here where the Brazilians are to imitate the Bavarians. Joachim Loew’s detractors kept criticizing him for not having ever won a title for the Germans but the patience and trust which was laid on him has enabled Jurgen Klinsmann’s assistant to give German football some of its most memorable moments. Brazil too needs to be patient in this testing hour and refrain from singling out individuals as the drubbing of last night was a collective failure and not something which could be rectified by sacking the coach or a few players.
Where do Brazil go from here?
Brazil as a football crazy nation produces talent in large numbers and no soccer expert would ever dispute that. Considering this inherent strength of the Samba nation, the Brazilians should attempt to radically transform the manner in which they play football very much on the lines of the Germans who have gone on to become one of the most attacking sides in world football contrary to their traditional reputation of being able defenders.
In the process, Germany has handed humiliating defeats to soccer superpowers like Argentina and England, both of whom conceded four goals each in their knock-out matches against Germany in 2010 FIFA World Cup. This World Cup has only seen the extension of the list of casualties of German aggression as both Portugal and Brazil were defeated by a handsome margin by the Germans. Can Brazil also transform their brand of football to such a dramatic extent that ruthlessness becomes their USP? Only time will answer that question but as of now, the bigger question is will reunified Germany be able to win its 1st World Cup title?
