Rio de Janeiro: Brazil went into mourning after learning the news that Neymar wouldn’t be available for the remainder of the World Cup. There was a sense of the groom falling sick moments ahead of tying the knot.Television presenters who normally gesticulate wildly and laugh non-stop appeared numb on Friday night while discussing the fallout of Neymar’s absence.
The injury hasn’t only hurt the player; it has wounded the whole nation. And, the World Cup will not be the same again for Brazilians. Neymar, the heir apparent to Pele as both played for the same club (Santos), is the darling of the masses and his absence would be felt across the country of 200 million people.Brazil’s win over Colombia in the quarter-final was achieved at a great cost because captain Thiago Silva picked up a yellow card during the match, his second of the tournament, that will see him suspended for the semi-final. Few Brazilian fans would remember the Pyrrhic victory now as the Selecao have lost two vital members ahead of the Germany match.
Germany will be formidable opponents for Brazil even with Neymar and Silva. In the absence of the hosts’ most effective forward and key defender, the Germans would be prohibitive favourites to go through to the final. Luis Felipe Scolari has the unenviable task of motivating his team who are demoralised now.It would be interesting to watch how the Brazilian team, who had already been panned by former players for being too emotional, respond to the crisis.
Neymar is irreplaceable in the playing XI and Scolari doesn’t have a player who has half the talent of his talisman. Forward Fred is going through a wretched tournament and he has become the butt of jokes of many foreigners for his bumbling ways. Oscar and Hulk, the wide players of Scolari, are struggling for form, even though the latter showed some improvement against Colombia.
Brazil don’t have firepower in the creative department as Scolari has packed his 23-member squad with defensive midfielders. Jo is the only notable forward on the bench and he’s not brimming with confidence either.The coach had pinned his hopes entirely on Neymar and the player also rose to the occasion brilliantly to put Brazil two steps away from their sixth world crown. Now the hexa dream lies in tatters as Brazil are counting the cost of relying on one player.
While misfortune combined with Colombian player Juan Zuinga’s reckless tackle caused Neymar’s injury, there was no excuse for the silly yellow card Silva received for barging into Colombia’s goalkeeper David Ospina when he was about to take a free kick. The captain has let his country down through his stupidity.Can Brazil pull it off against Germany? As always, it’s highly improbable even though it’s not impossible. Either way, you will probably see plenty of tears on the pitch of Belo Horizonte on Tuesday.
