**Official 2014 FIFA World Cup Thread**

[EbylHusker]

I've watched middle school soccer games with better defensive performances than that of Brazil in this game. That's how bad it was. Unbelievable.

[sd'sker]

if i was brazil, i would just cancel the rest of the world cup.

[Excel]

You as big as brazil homie.

[knapplc]

As corrupt as FIFA has been shown to be, one has to wonder if the fix was in on this match. Most lopsided semifinals loss in World Cup history. Think about it.

[Excel]

What? No.

[deedsker]

That is called "no Thiago Silva" defense.

[hskrfan4life]

As corrupt as FIFA has been shown to be, one has to wonder if the fix was in on this match. Most lopsided semifinals loss in World Cup history. Think about it.

It could be possible. I mean Neymar was ruled out as well as Silva, so why not try to make money and throw the game.

[EbylHusker]

That is called "no Thiago Silva" defense.

 

Silva would not have made much of a difference.

[NUance]

[It'sNotAFakeID]

 

That is called "no Thiago Silva" defense.

 

Silva would not have made much of a difference.

 

 

Luiz and Marcelo, the players who align to Silva's left and right respectively looked completely lost with Dante in between them. Silva would have made a noticeable difference.

[EbylHusker]

No, not at all. Nobody would have made any real difference. The entire defense and midfield were attrocious. These are professional soccer players, and not just that, but top tier ones. Silva is not some kind of miracle glue that holds a defense together, where if he's not there, all of a sudden they forget how to play. That concept is just laughable, and I feel sorry for anyone that believes it.

 

Yes, forget how to play, that's how bad it was. It was not just organizational problems for Brazil, but so much more.

[It'sNotAFakeID]

No, not at all. Nobody would have made any real difference. The entire defense and midfield were attrocious. These are professional soccer players, and not just that, but top tier ones. Silva is not some kind of miracle glue that holds a defense together, where if he's not there, all of a sudden they forget how to play. That concept is just laughable, and I feel sorry for anyone that believes it.

 

Yes, forget how to play, that's how bad it was. It was not just organizational problems for Brazil, but so much more.

 

I guess it all comes down to what you want to attribute the result to. There was obviously a lack of communication between the midfielders and the defenders and the defenders and the defenders. I think that was pretty critical considering Germany's 4 goals were, in my opinion, a result of poor communication and positioning. Silva wouldn't have had any of that.

 

Brazil would've lost...but 7-1? No, no way.

[EbylHusker]

I attribute the result to the players simply caving under the enormous pressure they've been facing all through the runup to the WC and in the tournament itself. No single player can account, or even come close, for the complete and utter breakdown Brazil's defense and midfield had. Nobody.

 

While there was lack of communication, that is symptom of the larger problem they were having, not the missing player. That lack of communication would have been there whether Silva was playing or not. He might not have "been having any of it," but he would have been screaming and directing with no result.

 

We saw Brazilian defenders and midfield revert to pre-high school levels of technique and soccer IQ. That is not a f'ing communications problem. They were not closing down, being physical, marking runners, recognizing runners, giving anywhere close to 100% effort, clearing properly, returning from the midfield properly, clearing their lines, etc. Do I need to go on, because I could, for an entire page.

 

It was an absolute shambles, and easily the most shocking thing I have ever seen in soccer in all my decades of watching. Without a doubt, nothing comes close, and I doubt anything will ever clome close. Silva did not play in all of Brazil's games over the last year, and was subbed out once, I think, and the defense didn't suddenly become what we saw against Germany. If he was so important, they would have. Don't forget, Germany was not doing anything special, they just played solid soccer. Any team, ANY TEAM, in this WC would have beaten Brazil yesterday.

[It'sNotAFakeID]

You'll agree with me when I say that international friendlies are much different than the real thing. Remember, Brazil didn't have to qualify for this World Cup. They weren't as battle tested as some other teams were and maybe that hurt them a little bit against Germany.

 

I'm not disagreeing with anything you're saying, just trying to boil into one overarching category. Communication might not have been the best word. Chemistry probably works better. Brazil was missing a spark yesterday, and you could tell that right after Germany scored that it was going to be a long and potentially disastrous game for them. Had Bernard scored after Germany scored a second time, the game might have been completely different.

Perhaps the loss of Neymar was more inconspicuously important than we think.

[EbylHusker]

It doesn't matter that they were international friendlies. The defense and midfield did not ever just collapse without Silva around. Collapse - not show a dip in efficiency, communication, chemistry, or anything else, but all out collapse. That is what we witnessed from top tier, professional soccer players.

 

The loss of the players was important, Neymar especially, but only in that it further exposed the issue with Brazil as a team. They relied far too much on emotion and belief, and not enough on being technical and their abilities. And that is from the pressure put on them, especially since they won the Confederations Cup. With the loss of Neymar, you saw them rallying around him, holding his jersey, the crowd constantly chanting for him, etc. All evidence of a team, and a nation of fans really, fanatically centered on the wrong aspect of a soccer team.

 

So when you had that enormous pressure combined with playing from pure emotion, rather than a certain technical aloofness, you get the recipe for a disaster like we saw. It had nothing to do with Silva or Neymar (mostly Neymar) not being there, their absence just further exposed the real problem through player and fan actions. Silva's presence would not have suddenly seen the defense and midfield gel together or avoid utter collapse. It's like saying someone could hold a bursting dam together just by standing in front of it and putting his hands on the cracks.