Germany May Be Too Much For Brazil

When two World Futbol Powerhouses take the stage at any competition, it’s definitely must see TV. And the match between Germany and Brazil in the semi-final of World Cup 2014 will be no different. Two countries that have won multiple titles in the sport’s biggest competition will always draw hundreds of millions of viewers world-wide and will have everyone on the edge of their seat. Well, that’s usually the case. This time around, the world may not be so lucky. Germany and Brazil on namesake alone is supposed to be epic, but unfortunately this semi-final match may have disaster written all over it already.

Brazil Is In A World Of Trouble…

The Brazilian National Team have World-Class players up and down their starting 11. Most of them if not all of them play for huge European teams, and all of them have a special talent that has propelled them to the legendary yellow shirt of the Samba Boys. And no two Samba Boys are better than Thiago Silva and Neymar. Silva may possibly be the best Centre Back in the entire world, and Neymar Jr. is one of the best young talents on the planet as well as the most important player in Brazil. As long as those two are on the pitch, Brazil always has a chance. Unfortunately for the entire nation of Brazil, neither player will be available for the game against Germany. Silva picked up and absolutely silly yellow card against the Colombians that will keep him out the semi- final.

Silva knew he couldn’t pick up another yellow and yet he decided to run into the Colombian keeper anyway and pick up the suspension. The immediate reaction of Brazil Head coach Luiz Felipe-Scolari told us he knew Silva just made the task that much harder for the Brazilians if they advanced. Well the Brazilians advanced, so now there’s no Silva to deputize with David Luiz in the middle. The reason Silva is such a good defender is because he relies on instinct and precision. He rarely makes stupid plays defensively and he sees what an opposing player is going to do even before that player knows he’s going to do it.

And this is why the partnership between Silva and Luiz works. Luiz is all energy and talent. Luiz makes mistakes but his immense talent and speed and ‘no fear’ attitude makes up for anything he lacks in defensive prowess. Now the Brazilians will have to rely on back up CB Dante. Dante is a very good defender in his own right as anyone can see from watching him in the Bundesliga with his club Bayern Munich. Anyone that can make Bayern’s starting 11 has to be considered a class player. He will have to come in and try to slow the German attack that will include many of his club mates. Dante is not in the same class as Silva but he is a more than suitable replacement. 

The other Brazilian body blow is Neymar…both literally and figuratively. Neymar took a shot to the back during the quarterfinal win from Colombia’s Juan Camillo Zuniga that has now put him out for the match against Germany and likely the entire tournament. Silva may have a decent replacement in Dante, but there is no decent replacement for Neymar. The Forwards for Brazil have been awful this tournament. Fred and Jo have done nothing to warrant being in the squad other than the fact they’re Brazilian, and now everyone else is going to have to step up immensely in Neymar’s absence.

Oscar came out the gates blazing in the open match but since then has disappeared. Hulk who is immensely talented has also been lacking in this tournament by missing easy chances and carelessly giving away possessions and making poor choices on the pitch. Neymar’s 4 goals have helped the side immensely, and the other intangibles he brings to the team are the reason Neymar is considered the best Brazilian player on Earth. But with his absence, coupled with that of Silva, the Brazilians are in serious trouble. Scolari is going to have to use every piece of managerial experience and savvy he has to muster up something special. The Brazilians have not looked great this tournament and there are some that believe had the tournament been elsewhere then the Brazilians would have already been sent home. Make of that what you will. But this will be an uphill battle like they’ve never faced. And the Germans are waiting.

Zee Germans Are Coming…And They Mean Business…

Germany was my pick to win the entire tournament and there were plenty of reasons why. They have a stacked squad full of World Class players, experience from having been to a semi-final in 2010 with basically the same squad, and a highly experienced master motivator coach in Joachim Loew. There have been points in the World Cup where the Germans haven’t looked like the unbeatable force I thought they would be. The Americans gave them a decent go and tactically the German machine has looked bored and out of sync. That is until Loew stopped experimenting with his lineup and went back to what made the Germans great; Philipp Lahm at Right Back, Sami Khedira in his holding Midfield role, and Miraslov Klose up-front.

Lowe went back to that lineup against the French in the Quarterfinals and the game was business as usual for the Germans. Lahm did not miss a beat, Khedira was calm and controlling the tempo in front of the German back four, and Klose was his usual lively self in his lone striker role. The German midfield and defense stifled virtually everything the French tried to do and you could argue that the French have a better squad than the Brazilians. Not a good omen for Brazil. The French couldn’t break down the disciplined Germans especially with captain Lahm marshaling his defense, and this was a French team with Antoine Griezmann and Karim Benzema up front and Paul Pogba performing in his usual box-to-box role.

The frightening part of the German performance was at no point did they even get out of second gear. I’m not sure if that’s more on the French not having much fight (which is disturbing if true) or that the Germans were just so precise in everything they did the French were unable to implement Didier Deschamps game plan. Either way the Germans seem to be back to their lofty heights and hitting their strides just when the Brazilians are at their lowest point. 

Anything can happen and maybe the 12^th man being the crowd behind them, Brazil can shock the world and upset the Germans. It would be a remarkable story to lose your two best players but still overcome a healthy and in-form German squad. I am hoping the match is competitive and the Brazilians leave it all on the line. Brazil has their backs against the walls and is facing their toughest opponents yet. Let’s see if the boys from Brazil have a little Samba magic left in them. The World will be watching and hoping so.

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