The Brazilian national futbol team was without their best player due to injury, and their captain due to being suspended. Still, nobody could have foreseen what would happen to them in their World Cup semi-final match against Germany.
7-1? Nobody scores seven goals in soccer, from little kids, to preps, to college, to pros. And certainly not at the elite level of the World Cup. But it happened.
This went beyond a rout. It was a beatdown, a blow-out, a slaughter. What comes after slaughter? Beats me, but whatever it is, it was that too. Brutal.
On a bit of a lighter note, the Brazilians have long been known for their futbollers' going by a single name. In years past they featured such greats as Pele and Ronaldo. Nobody seemed to know their last names and nobody cared. For the record, Pele's real name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento. How that got shortened to Pele is a very good question. The Brazilians once even featured a Socrates on their team. Socrates? Holy hemlock. Really? They had another great player that went by the name of Kaka. The possible origin of that name tempts a devious mind, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to go there. One never knows when God, sometimes known as an editor, might be checking out their stuff.
Indeed, this year, the Brazilians had a Hulk, a Fred, and an Oscar starting for their soccer team. It is unknown whether they are related to, or descendants of, Mr. Hogan, Mr. Flintstone, and that grouchy muppet, respectively.
Yet given the trouncing their national team just took, things are not good in Brazil right now, and might get a lot worse in the days to come.
Consider that thousands, if not millions of the natives were already quite restless. Prior to the World Cup starting in their country, hordes of common folks were protesting across the nation because their government was spending billions preparing for the Cup and upcoming 2016 summer Olympics they will also host, while a large percentage of their citizens continue to remain impoverished.
Had Brazil won the World Cup, all such differences would have likely been put aside -- at least for a little while. In soccer crazy Brazil, the celebration would have been incredible. Americans still fondly remember the "Miracle On Ice", when a conglomeration of their college kids improbably defeated the might Soviet Red Army team during the semi-finals of the 1980 Olympics. The red, white, and blue was everywhere in the USA. National pride ruled. Democrats and Republicans even, gasp, hugged each other. Yet all that would have paled in comparison to the ultimate ecstasy Brazilians would have experienced had their soccer team gone on to be crowned champions of the quadrennial world futbol tournament, particularly winning it in their own country.
But as we all now know, it didn't go down that way. Instead, the Brazilian team was humiliated at home by the Germans with the whole world watching. 7-1? Wow. Quite the drubbing.
What will happen next in Brazil after such a crushing defeat, as the populace turns their thoughts away from futbol and get back to the realities of every day life remains to be seen.
But there's a very good chance it won't be a pretty sight. Yes, they still have to play a "consolation" match against the loser of the Argentina/Netherlands game, but in Brazil, the difference between coming in 3rd or 4th in futbol is totally irrelevant. It would be like an American "dream team" losing in the basketball semis of the Olympics. Anything short of the gold would be deemed a colossal failure.
Such are the expectations of the Brazilians in soccer. And considering their other societal issues, their dream team being humbled the way they were likely won't sit very well with the masses.
Here's wishing them all the best, but methinks dark days, and nights, might be heading their way -- and that right soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment