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| (Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) |
Wow. Didn't see that one coming.
Germany not only beat Brazil, but they absolutely clobbered them. Watching this as a neutral, it was a complete joy to watch. However, it was also depressing to watch.
It was a joy to watch, because seeing Brazil get routed in their own stadium, in their own country, and in front of their own fans, left me with an internal happiness. There are two thoughts I have in terms of why this result was internally happy to me. First off, it shuts up the stupidness from people claiming that FIFA is intentionally trying to get Brazil into the World Cup final by making sure referees treat the Brazilian players with leniency. The second thought is that this result shuts up the astronomical amount of bandwagoners who call themselves Brazil fans despite not having any sort of cultural connection or roots in the country. Seeing the sad faces and tweets from the bandwagoners put a smile on my face. On the other hand, watching Brazil lose in the way that they did was also a shocking scene. Seeing the malaise in the stadium and in the country grow with every German goal was depressing.
For the match itself, it started with end-to-end plays from both sides, and I was thinking that both teams could have the ability to score multiple goals in this match. But after Thomas Mueller scored on a set piece due to poor marking from Brazil, Brazil just collapsed. This match had the worst Brazilian defending I had ever seen in all my years of watching the Brazilian national team. I didn't think the absence of Thiago Silva would make much of a difference, but the leadership was completely missing. David Luiz, Dante, Maicon, Luiz Gustavo, Fernandinho, and Paulinho were all atrocious. Every time Brazil went forward, Germany dispossessed them and immediately went on the counter against the shambolic back line of Brazil. Klose got the second goal (which makes him the top scorer in World Cup history, beating Ronaldo, which is funny). Kroos got the third and fourth goals. Khedira added a fifth. Schurrle scored the sixth and seventh goals. It was a complete demolition, and every time Brazil managed to get a shot on Germany, Manuel Neuer was always there to stop them. Yeah, Oscar scored a consolation goal late, but the damage was already done.
With Brazil's unbeatable passion for football, and the manner of how they lost the semi-final, the hope is that there isn't any significant crowd trouble and that the authorities exert the appropriate force to stop potential violence. If there ever was a time to protest, not just the Brazilian national team, but the state of the country in general, right after the match would be the best time. Another thing I want to mention, and this might be a bit hyperbolic, but there were a few players for Brazil who were awful this tournament, and I hope that they aren't targeted by any Brazilians who have a vendetta against them. There's no tolerance for an "Andres Escobar" incident, but in a football mad country like Brazil, anything is possible.
So, Germany are now into the World Cup final and will play either Argentina or the Netherlands. As for Brazil, how can they possibly recover from this? This result is going to be etched into the minds of the Brazilian players. I don't have much of an idea how they can recover, but the players need to do what they do best and what they love the most, and that is to play football. Take out the frustrations on the third place match, and then go to your club teams and play the season of your lives.
Today was historical, and this match will be remembered for the ages.
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