The Mauling of Brazil

It has been a bit since I last posted. Truthfully, I had just forgotten to write but if I had I would have said that biggest concern for Brazil was not the loss of Neymar but the loss of Thiago Silva. His second yellow card was so stupid, he ran into the goalie during his free kick, and could have been avoided. Silva is the rock of this defense and that can be clearly seen in this mauling being handed to the Brazilians. This game is so painful to watch and frankly embarrassing that is has spurred me to blog about it during halftime. Where has Brazil's defense been? Dante is a good alternative to Silva and plays for German champions Bayern giving him great experience on the world stage. It looks like Germany is not even trying after the first goal. 5 goals in 18 minutes is a ridiculous statistic in a World Cup Semi Final.

Brazil's performance is similar to Spain's defeat to Netherlands earlier in the group stages but is actually a lot worse. Brazil have made it to the semifinals in their home country with the support of the entire country. It is no secret that I have thought that Brazil's performance has been lack luster and suspect thus far but it was the home court advantage that made them so successful. That is why this mauling is so sad. I always thought Brazil was going to loose to Germany but not in such a sad and pathetic manner as this. I know the game is far from over but I honestly don't see Brazil coming back from a five goal deficit. However, I do hope and pray that they at least score some goals so to as not disappoint their entire country and save themselves from being burned in effigy.

The last major tragedy for Brazil was their loss to Uruguay in the 1950 World Cup in Brazil when the goalie Barbosa let in the game loosing goal. After that point Barbosa was vilified in Brazil and ended up dying poor and alone. Brazilians still talk about the loss and still hate the guy. I hope that this does not happen to any of these players and more importantly to the coach Scolari.

Let's see what 45 minutes will bring...

World Cup Hiatus

I know, I know it has been a bit since I have last posted but if you know me at all this would not surprise you. In my defense, I have taken a break in solidarity with the two day break we have been forced to take. I am so excited for tomorrow's games and am not surprised that the US soccer team will not be part of the line up in the coming days. Much has been said about the US's loss to Belgium, I mean look at the 100 of memes devoted to Howard's heroics. I am not going to focus much on the US and will just say that I am not surprised that we lost to Belgium. It was miraculous that the US made it out of the group of death and speaks to the growth of the program but I think many can agree that their quality of play was severely lacking(Mostly that we hardly had the ball during our games). To need your goal keeper to make a record amount of saves in a World Cup speaks to the lack of quality throughout the rest of the field. The benefit of the US's showing in the World Cup was the interest it created in American's watching soccer. I believe (haha) that this is one of the biggest achievements of Jurgen Klinsmann's tenure as coach. Now when I tell people that I can't go somewhere because I am watching soccer maybe they will understand and even share my passion for soccer.

Tomorrow's France vs. Germany game should be entertaining. The German's were not very convincing in their late win against Algeria. They did not look like the machine we are used to and a lot of that can be attributed to their incredibly slow defense. Why Lowe is using four natural center backs to occupy defense makes no sense to me. The purpose of a right and left back is to have another attacking option and lengthen the width of attack on the field. The simplest solution would to use Lahm as a right back, the position he has played for most of his career except for this past year. It should be interesting to see how this defense stands up against the speedy French attack. I'm pretty sure Mertesacker is going to stomp on Valbuena in annoyance (Mertesacker is 6'6 and Valbuena is 5'4, an entertaining match up.) If you are to believe reports it could be that the German lineup will drastically change since seven players have the flu... but who exactly is sick is on lockdown. Germany should pray for a speedy recovery.

The biggest potential news that can occur tomorrow... Brazil loosing. I honestly think that this is a possibility. Colombia have played incredibly well, so much so that I am beginning to believe that they will win this World Cup. Home support cannot save a Brazilian team whose defense has looked suspect and whose attack has lacked its usual Brazilian flare and creativity. James has a great chance of becoming Public Enemy Number One in Brazil after knocking out the Selecao.