Another comment on Brazil

The 1-7 debacle of Brazil against Germany will be discussed in and out for a long time. I still find it hard to believe: yes, Brazil were looking weak; yes, Brazil have not played beautiful football for many years; yes, many teams have done more to develop the game for a long time; yes, Germany are strong...

But all these things do not explain the pounding they received.

The legendary Zico made a strong comment on the match: http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/jul/09/brazil-germany-zico

Implicit in this is a certain arrogance by Brazilians, but also the immense pressure they put the players under. Players who play for great clubs in the best leagues, but who were drugged with the adrenaline of nationalism and expectations, and could not focus on what they were there for.

In 1974 Brazil lost to the Netherlands and concluded that they needed to change their game, make it more "European", physical and result-oriented. This did lead to results. But the problem is that the 1994 and 2002 World Cup titles led Brazil to forget their footballing roots. Their identity should not just be about winning, but also about playing with the beauty and joy that Brazilians have in life.

Other great football powers have a clear idea of what they are and what they want to be. Brazil has lost that.

On and off the pitch Brazil is changing. It is such a wonderful country with such wonderful people, and I think they will find their way back, even though it will take some soul-searching and link back to their roots, just like Zico says in the article.

Forca Brazil!