From Heroes To Zero: A Look At Brazil's Journey This World Cup
Brazilians are probably not the happiest bunch right now. But perhaps they can still turn this campaign around.
By Darian Goh — 10 Jul 2014, 12:49 PM — Updated about 10 years ago
Brazil won the right to host the World Cup after 64 long years since they last hosted the tournament in 1950. Many of us were not born yet.
The 1950 FIFA World Cup, held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July, was the fourth FIFA World Cup. It was the first World Cup since 1938, the planned 1942 and 1946 competitions having been canceled owing to World War II.
This would give them the perfect chance to win the title for the sixth time. No other country in the world has won as many times, and what better way than to win another on their home turf.
The 19 World Cup tournaments have been won by eight different national teams. Brazil have won five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. The other World Cup winners are Italy, with four titles; Germany, with three titles; Argentina and inaugural winners Uruguay, with two titles each; and England, France and Spain, with one title each.
Although there were hiccups with construction and street protests staged to question management of funds, Brazil kicked off a grand opening
In the opening game, Brazil managed to secure an opening win against Croatia with Neymar leading the charge
In the next group match, Brazil had a slight hiccup after they drew against Mexico but was quickly forgotten after a resounding win over Cameroon in their final group match. Could this be their year?
Advancing to the knockout stages, Brazil faced Chile, having to rely on lady luck and beating them on penalties. Brazil fans were relieved, shaken and stirred, but doubt was not an option at this point.
In the quarter finals, Brazil beat the Columbians 2-1. It was a bittersweet ending - yes, they were through, but their golden boy Neymar paid a costly price. He was out for good.
Without both Neymar and Thiago Silva, who could Brazil rely on to power through? Fans around the world were devastated but an inspiring message by Neymar encouraged the Brazilians to keep their spirits high
On 8 July 2014, Brazil faced Germany in a must-win semi-final. Brazil walked out to the pitch and brought Neymar's jersey along as they sung the national anthem in full force. This was the perfect script for an inspiring story.
Except no one would have envisioned what was going to happen to Brazil: their dreams of making it to the final evaporated in just 29 minutes as they find themselves 5-0 down as the Germans tore the Brazilians apart.
That moment of calamity zapped the morale out of the Brazilians and they never recovered, eventually losing 7-1 in front of their fans, in front of millions watching on TV worldwide
Brazil fans in the stadium were devastated, shocked, angry, and it showed. The 5-time world champions were humiliated on their home ground.
You could see from the way the Brazil footballers reacted. They knew that they let their country down. David Luiz was seen crying in a post match interview. Other players showed it in their body language.
The Brazilian media did not spare their national team from harsh criticism. "Disgrace of disgraces", "Historic disgrace", said Brazil's most influential newspaper. Who could blame them?
Brazilian newspapers and websites were unanimous yesterday that the national team's 7-1 hammering by Germany in the World Cup semi-final was the greatest shame in the country's illustrious footballing history.
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"Historic disgrace" read the massive headline on the website of the Folha de S Paulo, Brazil's most influential newspaper.
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The globoesporte website, part of the Globo media empire, called the result the "Disgrace of disgraces", in an ironic reference to President Dilma Rousseff's repeated claims – and tweets – that this would be the World Cup of all World Cups.
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To add salt to their fresh wound, Brazilians pray they won't swallow the bitter pill of watching their arch-rivals Argentina win the World Cup in their country
While this may seem like a repeat of the 1950 finals when Uruguay won the World Cup in Brazil, which until today remains a painful memory for many Brazilians...
David Luiz and his team mates hope to redeem themselves when they face Netherlands for a consolatory 3rd or 4th place
