Brazil’s humiliating defeat to Germany is the true definition of a bad day at the office. I cannot think of anything worse than losing 7-1 in front of 200 million home fans. I’m still in shock like many who watched that semi-final but then again, I think we saw this coming. Compared to previous squads, the current team is so average and beyond Neymar, their ‘poster boy’ (a reference I’m glad I won’t have to hear anymore), the team really had nothing else. They looked like lost sheep and are lucky to even have got this far. Their weakest link was the Manager, Felipe Scolari. Sometimes, you need to seek counsel and take criticism in stride. Scolari’s problem is that he wants to have his way with everything. This is not club football and even with that, you have to make decisions that will best help the team, not your ego. This is the perfect example of what happens when people think they are too good. Don’t get me wrong. It’s good to be confident and have not just self belief but believe in the impossible, after all, it is said ‘faith moves mountains’, but at the end of the day, you have to follow that up with action. You cannot show up for an interview thinking a glossy CV is all you need. You must answer any questions put to you to prove you’re the best person for the job. More than that, you need to perform when you finally get it or else, another round of interviews will be conducted for a better candidate. Unfortunately, many of us relax once we sign the contract. I didn’t really see a hunger to fight back in the 30 minutes that Brazil conceded those speedy goals. Not to kick them when they’re down but perhaps the likes of David Luiz, Fred and Marcelo should have played with as much passion as they belted out the National Anthem. Scolari should have quit while he was still ahead. He must have thought that because he won the cup in 2002, he would do it again. After Tuesday’s thrashing, nobody is going to remember that just 12 years ago, he helped Brazil to their 5th win. Some of the young fans we saw crying weren’t even born then. Now all he will be remembered for is ending Brazil’s glorious 39 year unbeaten run on home soil. Who knows how far Brazil would have gone if Scolari hadn’t left out experienced players like Kaka and Ronaldinho? Talk now is how Brazil can come back from this. I think the best way is to not to host the Olympics in 2016 and instead use the money to lure some quality players from other nations. Germany has way too many good players so in the spirit of fair play, the two countries can do a swap, sort of like a student exchange for the good of the game. You think I’m nuts? Diego Costa changed his nationality. Unfortunately for him, Spain didn’t do well either.
