Disappointing Brazil

Alongside Germany, Brazil has been touted as one of the favourites for the title. And in the first part of the match against Switzerland they looked like possible champions. Right until Coutinho scored his fantastic goal, Brazil were by far the better team. But it seemed as if the goal was the end for them. They took down the pace, pulled back, and let Switzerland slowly enter the match, instead of attacking to get a second goal.
When the game seemed at its slowest, Switzerland equalized after a corner kick. Surely Steven Zuber seemed to push Miranda before scoring, and surely the Brazilians might have had a penalty denied. But this was not why they did not win. Switzerland were cynical, organized and physical. As the match progressed they did some tasteless free kicks and continuously stopped the game. Brazil were slightly unlucky not to score in the end, but one did leave with the impression that Brazil was unable to put on a higher gear when things seemed to go against them. Their reaction was petulant frustration, which the Swiss were good at pushing.
A future World Champion is tested when things go against them. In this regard, Brazil did not succeed today, but hopefully it may be that this meager 1-1 against Switzerland may represent a wake-up call for the great Brazilians.

From Liverpool to Barcelona

What had been spoken about for so long has happened: Philippe Coutinho has changed from Liverpool to Barcelona for a record transfer fee (only Neymar's was larger). Coutinho had found his place at Liverpool, contributing to their improving performances. Any person should understand that he will go to a club where he will surely win titles, besides playing alongside some of the best players in the world. I hope that he will grow with the experience, but when such a fee is paid expectations are not only that he will grow, but also that he will immediately contribute to make the team better. And here I have my doubts that Coutinho was worth such a fee.

Two winning teams

Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund are both teams I really like without being a fan; they have fantastic fans, a great history, and play great football.
So I had big expectations to tonight's Europa League Quarterfinal second leg in Liverpool, and these expectations were lived up to in excess.
In an incredible atmosphere both teams played fantastic football (although one cynic may criticize their defenses for giving too much space) and gave any fan of good football an unforgettable experience. It all seemed over when Dortmund went ahead 0-2, and then 1-3 at the start of the second half. But never underestimate Liverpool, who must be World Champions in Memorable Comebacks (remember against Alaves in 2001 and against AC Milan in 2005...?): first Coutinho scored 2-3, then Mamadou Sakho made it 3-3, and in the 91st minute Dejan Lovren scored the 4-3 winner (even though Dortmund even managed a good chance for 4-4 in the last minute).
One can only feel sorry for Borussia Dortmund, but there are indeed matches with two winners, and this was certainly one of them.
Liverpool is now in the semifinal of the Europa League.