Tuesday, July 8, 2014
BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil — The fireworks began at dawn. All around this city, loud pops and bangs rang out as men and women and children dressed in yellow set off flares and beeped car horns. It was supposed to be a magical day. The Brazilian national soccer team, playing at home, was one game away from a World Cup final.
No one could have guessed the tears would come before halftime. No one could have imagined there would be flags burning in the streets before dinner. Certainly no one could have envisioned that Brazilian fans, watching their team play in a semifinal, would ever consider leaving the stadium long before the end of the game.
interactiveinteractiveIt all happened. The 2014 World Cup, first plagued by questions about financing and protests and infrastructure and construction, then buoyed by scads of goals and dramatic finishes and a contagious spirit of exuberance and joy from the locals, will ultimately be remembered for this: the home team, on the precipice of glory, being throttled like an overmatched junior varsity squad who somehow stumbled into the wrong game.
The Germans were merciless, playing with grace and unity and a raw power that saw them rip open the Brazilian defense as if it were a can of soup. Thomas Müller opened the scoring in the 11th minute, blasting home a corner kick from just six yards out. Miroslav Klose followed about 10 minutes later, knocking in a rebound to record his 16th career World Cup goal and become the tournament’s all-time leading scorer.
By then, the mood at the Estadio Mineirao had deflated, but the fans had no idea what was yet to come. In the next six minutes, Germany scored three more goals — a stretch roughly equivalent to a boxer landing three uppercuts in a row in the first round — which ended the match before a half hour had even been played.
The second half — yes, they played the second half — was more of the same. Andre Schurrle scored two more goals for Germany. Brazil kicked the ball around as if in a stupor. Fans poured out of the stadium in agony. Reports came from Sao Paulo of residents already burning Brazilian flags in the street.
Oscar, a Brazilian midfielder, did manage to score for the home team in the final minutes, but there was little excitement. By then, reality had set in: Brazil will leave this tournament having never played a game at the famed Estadio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro. The final is there on Sunday, but it will be Germany facing the Netherlands or Argentina, not the home team.
Brazil will play in Brasilia on Saturday instead, facing the loser of the other semifinal in the third-place match. It is hard to imagine that there will be fireworks going off for that one.
Source: NY Times