The World Cup was treated to its final, just two games too early. For drama and intensity, the spectacle of the Netherlands stunning and bullying Brazil will be hard to outdo at this tournament.
The five-time champions are such soccer giants that there is always an earthquake-like thump when they are brought to their knees. Yet, this time, their 2-1 loss didn’t feel like a massive shock.
Kaka and his amigos mistakenly thought they could lift the heavy gold statue without showing up in South Africa with the beautiful game that made Pele and his teammates world-famous.
PHOTO: AFP
Coach Dunga gambled that merely winning would be enough to assuage the critics on the beaches and farms, in the cities and shantytowns back home who worried that Brazil’s traditions of entertaining, dancing soccer were being betrayed.
Dunga was right. Had Brazil won, the manner of it wouldn’t have mattered, but losing wasn’t part of the deal. In the end, the manner of Brazil’s play was far more important than Dunga made out. In kidding themselves that efficient, often unglamorous, percentage soccer would take them to the July 11 showpiece match, the Brazilians forgot to light up and really spark in South Africa. They were definitely good, but not Brazilian brilliant, and that was their undoing. They let Argentina claim the crown as kings of attacking, inventive soccer. As a result, Diego Maradona is looking like an increasingly good bet to win the World Cup both as a player and coach.
Dunga blamed a poor second-half against the Dutch, but that was only half the story.
In five World Cup games, Brazilian beauty came only in flashes and it wasn’t enough. Maicon’s oooh-aaah! strike in the first match against the North Koreans, squeezed between the keeper and his post from the tightest of angles, was, in fact, a mirage, because it misleadingly suggested that Brazil would be both flashy and victorious. With hindsight, the 55 minutes it took Brazil to break open the Korean defense should have set alarm bells ringing.
Luis Fabiano’s illegally handled second goal took some of the shine off Brazil’s 3-1 defeat of Ivory Coast. A goalless draw with Portugal was not only boring, but again showed that Brazil couldn’t call up goals at will. Only half an hour into the round of 16 elimination game against Chile did Brazil finally turn it on.
Never mind, we told ourselves, this is Brazil. They’ll find a higher gear when they need it.
Well, they needed it against the Netherlands, but instead, they lost their heads. Turns out that Brazilians get hot, bothered and lose their focus when niggled by the likes of Mark van Bommel, who was a real bully in the Dutch midfield, and Arjen Robben, who did not score, but made a real pest of himself with his light-footed runs.
A turning point was Felipe Melo’s stupid hot-headed stamp on Robben’s thigh. It got him sent off with 20 minutes left, scuttling Brazil’s chances of recovering from its 2-1 goal deficit.
Also vital was Maarten Stekelenburg’s astounding save of Kaka’s shot on 31 minutes. Had it gone in, it would have been curtains for the Netherlands, giving Brazil a 2-0 lead.
The lead-up — Robinho wriggling past two defenders, passing to Luis Fabiano, his subsequent backheel to Kaka — was the most delightful piece of Brazilian play at this World Cup. Had Brazil done that more often, Brazil would still be here, not making excuses.
“I just called home and my son was crying,” Felipe Melo said after the match. “I have to apologize.”
However, the fault was collective not individual, and it didn’t help Brazil that Kaka was not at his best in South Africa. Like other stars of world soccer — think Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney or Samuel Eto’o — he failed to live up to his billing.
Like his team.
BUMRAH WATCH: Captain Jasprit Bumrah left the SCG for scans for back spasms and although he returned to the ground, there was no word on if he would play Rishabh Pant’s blistering counterattack yesterday capped a chaotic second day of the fifth and final Test between Australia and India, with 15 wickets falling and the star bowler of the series leaving the Sydney Cricket Ground with an ambulance escort. Yet the Border-Gavaskar trophy still remains very much in the balance as India reached 141-6, holding a 145-run lead over Australia with three days remaining. “Low-scoring games like this, it just heightens the pressure within it, so long way still to go,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said. “There’s gonna be plenty of cricket, so we’ll see what happens.” Australia were bowled out for
Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek yesterday beat Elena Rybakina in straight sets to take Poland into the final of the mixed-teams United Cup with victory over Kazakhstan. Last year’s runners-up face the US today for the title in Sydney after they beat the Czech Republic in the other semi-final. “This win makes me really proud,” Swiatek said after seeing off Rybakina 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to give Poland an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie. It was a statement of intent from the world number two with the first major of the year to start on Jan. 12. “It is perfect preparation for the
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Jiang Xinyu of China yesterday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, while Naomi Osaka retired from the women’s singles final with an abdominal injury. Second seeds Wu and Jiang defeated Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US 6-3, 6-4 on ASB Tennis Centre’s Stadium Court in 1 hour, 5 minutes. The WTA 250 victory was 25-year-old Wu’s second WTA Tour title, after winning the 2023 Hua Hin Championships in Thailand with Taiwanese partner Chan Hao-ching. Later that year, Wu and Taiwan’s Hsu Yu-hsiou won the mixed doubles gold at the World
SHORT-HANDED: Reigning champions the Boston Celtics were without stars Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, but they still downed the Timberwolves Oklahoma City on Thursday stretched the NBA’s best winning streak to 13 games with a home victory, while reigning champions the Boston Celtics held on for a last-shot triumph at Minnesota. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had game highs of 29 points and eight assists to spark the Thunder over the Los Angeles Clippers 116-98, improving the Western Conference leaders to 28-5. The Thunder’s winning streak is the longest since the team relocated from Seattle after the 2007-2008 season. “It’s just being present, going day by day, working on ourselves, and I think we’re doing a good job on that,” said Isaiah Hartenstein, who added 11
RSS