in one of other heaviest defeat ever in the world cup. Apart from the captain Thiago Silva none of the other players showed enough commitment in the defensive front. While Germany massacred them David Luiz who scored a stunning free kick against Colombia was no were to be seen in Brazil’s penalty box. Scolari might have now understood why the Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho wasn’t interested playing Luiz in backline in Premier League.
There was also enough dependence on their superstar Neymar. He was expected to carry the burden of expectations and his performances throughout the tournament showed he cared. But the back injury sustained against Colombia effectively ended his campaign and largely affected the team. And in Neymar’s absence surprisingly like Fred, Hulk, Oscar couldn’t inspire the team and flopped most part of the tournament.
Scolari need to be blamed for lack of ideas when they faced Germany. In the absence of Neymar and suspended Thiago Silva everybody expected Brazil to play with a strategy against a team that enjoys playing attacking football. But the Portugese didn’t make any changes and Germans exploited each and every loophole in Brazil’s defence.
So close yet so far for Dutch
If there was one team that was peaked well ahead of the rest teams in the World cup it was Holland. They thrashed Spain in their opening game and went on to win the remaining group games. It was to everyone surprise that they progressed with ease from a group that was potentially the trickiest of the tournament.
But by quarter-finals Sneijder magic passes from central midfield and Robben’s deadly runs where all went missing. Van Persie who was suffering from a stomach injury failed to convert the chances that came his way.
Injures to Van Persie and De Jong on the crucial junctures of the knock out stages might have had their impact. The Manchester United striker who scored three goals in the group stages had to wait till the third place ply-offs to add to his tally. Sneijder who might have played his last world cup couldn’t inspire the team and so as Robben who couldn’t score a single goal after the first round and did more harm to his reputation as a ‘diver’.
But Louis Van Gaal deserves credit for his tactical brilliance throughout in the tournament. When they were trailing 1-0 against he kept on shifting his formations and in the end resulted in Dutch winning the match in the last minute. While making a goalkeeper substitution just before the penalty shootout against Costa Rica was another bold and brilliant move from the Dutchman.
A Spanish debacle
Before the world cup kicked-off what were the odds that defending champions Espana will be crashing out in the group stages? Vicente Del Bosque’s boys went home after just grabbing just three points in their pocket. Xavi, Iniesta, Alonso, Busquets, Silva and even in the bench they had players with whom they could still have formed a ‘B’ team. How could they concede five goals against a team like who didn’t even made into last eight of 2012 European Championship?
There were signs of detoritation in the 2013 Confderations cup. Spain reached the finals but only to be outsmarted by the hosts Brazil in the final. They lost 3-0 and the possession based football or the tiki-taka style wasn’t effective. Over the last few years teams have been adopting fast paced counter attacking style of football where goals are scored within three or four passes. Real Madrid showed how to dominate teams
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