Brazil 2014 World Cup Latest: Brazil's Obituary

The Brazil national football team, also known as A Selecao was a 91 year old soccer power that died on July 12, 2014. They leave behind 20 straight appearances in the World Cup, five World Cup championships, and a 40 year home winning streak that ended in embarrassing fashion last Tuesday evening against Germany.

If you’re about to throw away your Brazilian flag or Neymar jersey, we don’t blame you. Surrendering ten goals in two games on your home turf with over 60,000 people cheering for you each time is humiliating to say the least. Before you throw away your flag, consider the words inscribed on its blue disc “Ordem E Progresso” (“Order and Progress”) ask yourself if a 12 year World Cup championship drought is “progress.” Ask your fellow countryman if giving up five goals in a span of eighteen minutes to Die Mannschaft is “order”. Then ask yourself if this month long journey for Brazil has felt more like a dream or a nightmare.

We were blessed to learn many valuable lessons from Brazil during their 91 years as the world’s leading soccer nation: This team is a long way away from the golden days of Pele and Ronaldo. $85 million dollars is about $84 million dollars too much to pay for the defensive services of David Luiz. When in doubt, thank the refs or the woodwork. Neymar’s back is brittle and finally, you can have as much energy, samba skills and support of the country as you want, but it does not equate to skills on the pitch.

In their World Cup lifetime, Brazil gave us many great moments. Who can forgot the young Pele setting the world on fire in the 1958 World Cup when Brazil hoisted their first trophy with a 5-2 win over Sweden or the 1960s, when the name “Garrincha” was synonymous with greatness. And above them all, was the 2002 World Cup Final where led by Ronaldo’s tournament high 8 goals, A Selecao defeated Germany in a final for the ages, 2-0.

Brazil is survived now by a penalty kick win against their neighbor Chile, (a game arguably Chile should have won), a bad offsides call against Colombia that narrowly allowed Brazil to escape the quarterfinals, the worst loss in their country’s history at the hands of Germany 7-1, and finally a 3-0 demolition by the Dutch who eliminated the Brazilians four years ago, and easily could have won this game by five goals or more.

Alas, the World Cup favorite just one month ago, started this tournament off with a bang when Neymar scored two goals in their opener, but went out with a little more than a whimper as their star sat on the bench covering his eyes as she could not stand to watch the Netherlands slice through his team’s defense like butter on their way to the bronze medal victory.

Fans showered their team with tears and boos throughout the past two matches, and now leave with desolation, disappointment and disbelief. The German massacre and Dutch disaster will go down in the history books as a historic shame for the soccer nation. People will be angry for years to come, never able to forget the way their team performed under the pressure of playing on their home soil.

People believed in a Brazilian World Cup. They waited 64 years for the opportunity to showcase their talents for the world, to unveil their new team that was supposed to rival that of the golden era. $15 billion dollars was spent on stadiums, infrastructure, telecommunications and security. Citizens revolted as they believed the money could have been spent elsewhere in places that the country needed it like education, schools, and the growing problem of poverty. Eight people died in stadium construction accidents and two more last week when a bridge collapsed in Belo Horizonte.

A Brazil championship would have made all of it worth it, all of the money, all of the sacrifice, all of the pain and suffering of a nation. One team could have absolved it all. But it all was destroyed in 90 minutes last Tuesday, not even the chance to salvage third place could be secured by the hosts. Perhaps the chants heard around Copacabana as fans viewed the match today say it best as their cries could be heard on streets miles away, “Brazil is dead!” they cried, “Brazil is dead.”