I haven’t been watching football for all that long and there’s no way I’d even count myself a ‘football’ fan like my brothers, cousins, uncles and other friends. But what Rose and I witnessed last night/early morning was nothing short of stupendous and shocking. Yes, I’m talking about the unbelievable loss that Brazil suffered against Germany, 7-1! Let me repeat, 7 freaking goals to Germany and 1 to Brazil. When Brazil scored that one goal, my friend and I (both ardent German supporters) cheered like mad and applauded – I felt like we had to, we needed to.
When Germany scored the first goal, we were over the moon. Then came the second that ensured that Miroslav Klose has become the FIFA record holder for most World Cup goals scored ever (breaking Ronaldo’s old record of 15). Then the 3rd goal came and before we could recover from the joy, the 4th and 5th followed which was then followed by silence….we’re Germany fans but we were stunned silent. Then my heart broke when I saw the young Brazilian boy crying into his Coco-Cola cup. After that, I felt like telepathically telling Germany ‘Ok, mercy now’.
We stopped paying attention, to tell the truth. It didn’t feel like we were watching a World Cup semi-finals match. Everyone spoke about how Brazil has never lost on home turf and how Germany was seeking revenge for the last time they lost to Brazil etc. etc. But no one, I mean no one, saw this as the possible outcome ever. At one point, Mesut Ozil almost scored the 7th or 8th goal but missed….a little later the commentator noted how most likely the German players had lost the will to score! I mean, how often does a commentator get to make that comment in that context?
The Brazilian defence completely collapsed! A day or two before the match, Rose had asked me what I felt about the possible outcome for the Brazil vs. Germany match. I told her that I was worried (I’m always worried when Germany plays that too against a team like Brazil) but at the same time I was counting on the fact that Brazil didn’t have Neymar AND they did not have their captain. I told her, not having their captain and losing Neymar I hoped would give the German side the psychological edge. Who knew? It’s so scary when teams are formed around one to two star players, reminiscent of Christiano Ronaldo and his Portugal side, Lionel Messi and Argentina, Neymar and Brazil etc. Every team player has to be aware, star or no star, that they each have a role to play and a star player cannot possibly win a match alone.
The German performance has filled me with enough palpitations to last me a lifetime – when Rose and I would pray for rain so that it’s cool enough for them to play, or when they’re lucky enough to get evening matches, or when despite lumbering around and looking beleaguered that they just hang on till the whistle blows. In the Brazil match, I fully agreed with the commentator, if it was cricket at least you have the option to ‘declare‘ if you know you’re going to lose. Sadly, no such option available in football or for Brazil last night. That did not take anything away from the German performance. EVERY single match that Germany has played leading up to their spot in the finals has been harder and harder than the last. It’s like endurance and strength training, the more you put your body through, bit by bit, the stronger it becomes. I feel like Germany has gotten stronger since starting their World Cup campaign. I do hope that 2014 is the year we see Germany win.
As for how the Dutch and the Argentinians are going to face-0ff, we’re well aware that Argentina are the crowd favourite but they should not slack off against the Dutch side. May the best team for 2014 win. And once again, CONGRATULATIONS TO MIROSLAV KLOSE!!!!!
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