There seems to be a consensus that Brazil are every football fan’s second team and that we would all be happy if they won their home World Cup. That’s wrong.
Brazil were everyone’s second team because they used to play exciting, attacking football with a side full of flair players. But the 2014 version is a pragmatic, defensive team grinding out results in a way that Jose Mourinho would love.
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Now that they have lost their one world-class player to injury, they will get even less easy on the eye.
They are very strong defensively, set up not to concede, with two defensive midfielders sitting in front of the back four. But they are carrying two players – Hulk and Fred – who are highly ineffective, and they now are without Neymar, too. They are just not great to watch.
In the quarter-final against Colombia, there were a tournament-high 54 fouls. Brazil, and Fernandinho in particular, targeted their opponent’s star man, James Rodriguez, in brutal fashion.
There was irony in the way matchwinner David Luiz held Rodriguez’s hand to the air after the game, coaxing fans to applaud the Colombian after spending 90 minutes trying to hack him out of the game.
This is a Brazil side who are throwing the beautiful game out the window and are happy to win ugly. The have received the joint-most yellow cards (10, with Costa Rica), committed the most fouls (96) and had to make the most tackles (117).
Football, of course, isn’t about the “best” team winning all the time. That’s the beauty – any team is capable of finding a way to win.
But find a fan outside Greece who enjoyed watching that team win 1-0, 1-0, 1-0 on their way to triumph at Euro 2014. They won the final with their only shot on goal.
Brazil aren’t quite that bad, and if they did win this tournament, it would be a fair achievement given the amount of average forward players they possess.
But it would also feel shallow. I want the world champions to at least feel like one of the best sides in the tournament. They should have played some of the best football and scored some of the best goals. Fans should have enjoyed watching them.
They should have avoided resorting to ruthless tactics, relying on referees. They should have some of the most appealing players to watch in their side. And they shouldn’t field players like Hulk.
Brazil had refereeing help against Croatia and Colombia and they relied on penalties against a Chile side who should have beaten them. They have been lucky.
The upsets we’ve seen at Brazil 2014 were all well and good, but now that we are at the nitty gritty end of the tournament, it’s time for deserved winners to emerge.
That team are Germany. They haven’t always been brilliant, but they have played the best football.
Look at their statistics. They have completed 2,938 passes, 500 more than the second-best, Argentina. Their pass completion rate of 82 per cent is equalled only by Spain, who played two fewer games.
Germany have given us everything this tournament – a 4-0 thumping of contenders, a 2-2 thriller, a 1-0 win that could have been 5-0 and an extra-time triumph that demonstrated their fitness and determination. Only one game – the 1-0 quarter-final win over France – was tough to watch.
Compare Germany’s players to those of Brazil’s: Toni Kroos, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mesut Ozil, or Ramires, Luis Gustavo and Hulk.
If you made a composite XI out of the two teams, how many Brazil players would you choose? Thiago Silva, Marcelo, Oscar ... maybe David Luiz.
And there you go. Germany have the better players, they play more attractive football, they haven’t hacked a player out of the game and they deserve to make the final.
twoods@thenational.ae
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