Back in Time is ED’s newspaper type column that reports an incident from the past as though it has happened just yesterday. It allows the reader to re-live it several years later, on the date it had occurred.
For this incident, we go back in time to 2014.
Brazil, July 8, 2014: Disbelief. That was the emotion running across the Mineirao Stadium, and most probably all across the world as football fans everywhere saw Germany thrash Brazil 7-1 at their own home.
Pre-Match Form and Expectations:
Coming into the game, neither team had given a performance worthy of their stature, struggling to show their brilliance. For pundits, it was supposed to be a close game. Brazil had the home advantage, but Germany had the stronger team on paper since Neymar had injured his back in the quarters against Colombia.
The Mineirao Football Massacre:
The German demolition started in the 23rd minute. In the space of 10 minutes, Germany pumped in 4 goals, going from 1-0 to 5-0. The Brazilian defense, if anything, seemed to be made up of amateurs.
The crowd, raucous in its support for the home team, fell silent immediately. The image of a man -sobbing as he cradled a replica of the world cup trophy – epitomized the nation’s sentiments as a whole. The shock was palpable. The silence was haunting.
The defense was unable to maintain its line against wave after wave of the German attack. Neymar and his inspiring effect on the team were sorely missed as David Luiz (acting as captain) failed to keep his team organized.
The match will not be remembered for Germany’s goal-scoring abilities. It will be remembered for the way the Brazilian team just gave way to a fluid, efficient gameplay by the Germans.
Is this the end of an era of dominance for Brazilian football? Let’s hope not. But the fallout of this game will surely take a lot of reparations to amend for.
Post-Scriptum:
Luiz Felipe Scolari handed in his resignation soon after the match ended. But 2 years on, Brazilian football still remains in shambles. Their performance in Copa America 2015 and Copa America Centenario has been uninspiring. It does not look like they have learned from their mistakes, and it does not seem that they would learn soon.
Brazilian football had an element of fearlessness in it. It had an element of fun. Looking at them play, one could confidently say that they loved their game.
That is absent now. And it will take a lot of retrospection for Brazil to play its “beautiful game” again.
Upsets have been there at the recent Euro 2016 too. You would like to read this:
