Belo Horizonte: One of the interesting things about this World Cup is how little love there appears to be for Brazil outside their own country.
Normally the men in yellow are everyone's favourite second team, if not their outright preference.
Brazil
is a by-word for football flair, flamboyance and excitement. For
players of individual skill and amazing audacity, men capable of doing
things on a pitch that others can usually only dream about.
That's why the football they play is so often referred to as ''Jogo Bonito" - the beautiful game.
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But
it seems that the rest of the world has, if not fallen out of love with
the Selecao, then at least dampened their ardour as they have battled
and scrapped their way to the last four.
There
is wild adulation at home of course, with millions thronging the
streets to watch and exult in their team's triumph and to party on
through the night when they win. But that is only to be expected.
And
there is global sorrow at the plight of superstar Neymar, the poster
boy of this tournament, whose crippling back injury sustained in a
volcanic quarter-final contest with Colombia means that the Barcelona
youngster is out of the World Cup.
No-one
likes to see the stars, the skilful players, kicked out of the game, so
Neymar's injury has brought Brazil a sort of sympathy that it has
hitherto lacked.
But
why does it feel this way? Why has Brazil, so often the darling of the
world game, suddenly lost much of its lustre? Why is the world so
largely underwhelmed by this iteration of the Selecao?
This Brazil, Neymar aside, is hardly crammed with stars.
Its
tactical style is a far cry from the Brazilian teams of yore, those who
won hearts and minds - and so often World Cups - with dazzling football
which set a new benchmark for the game to aspire to.
It's a physical, pressing, hard working team, relying more on graft than guile, heart than art.
Flair
players like Oscar have been disappointing, target man Fred has become
an international figure of fun, and most people are scratching their
heads wondering how midfield enforcer Fernandinho has not collected more
cards than he has - or even stayed on the pitch on occasions.
It
has been over reliant on Neymar making things happen in the final third
of the pitch, ridden its luck - particularly in that thrilling knockout
game against Chile when it won on penalties - and been dependent on
central defenders scoring goals from set pieces to take it through the
knockout stages so far.
That
is not to sneer at its achievement. Making a World Cup semi-final is a
huge achievement, even if you have the advantage of playing at home,
which is sometimes a double-edged sword.
The
pressure on these players is immense every time they step on to the
pitch so to achieve results in this environment is a tribute to their
mental strength and their ability to rise to the challenge.
And
to give them their due their high energy, high pressure game was seen
at its best in the first half against Colombia where they led at the
interval and had their finishing been sharper they could have had more.
Perhaps
that in many ways Brazil is now trapped in the shadows of its own
football history and anything that falls short of the magical eras of
the past is marked down.
Maybe
it's just because this team simply can't compare with the likes of the
Ronaldo, Ronaldhinho, Rivaldo side that won in Korea/Japan, or the
wonderful team of 1982 (that of Zico, Junior, Socrates, Falcao et al
that somehow didn't triumph) or the great side of 1970, the team of
Pele, Tostao, Gerson, Jairzihno, Rivelino and Carlos Alberto, perhaps
the best ever.
But
it's the way that this Brazil goes about its work that seems to rankle
most neutrals or those looking to have their ideals about the game
restored.
Yes,
other teams play a high energy game. Other teams are not afraid to use
rough house tactics, intimidate opponents, dish out tough tackles and
rely on set pieces with defenders scoring vital goals.
But they are not Brazil.
When
Uruguay plays tough, bangs it long to Luis Suarez, sits back and
defends to grab a result or relies on a centre back to score a crucial
goal, then people say fine, that's Uruguay, don't they do really well
for such a small country.
When
England runs into blind alleys and out of inspiration people just sigh
and say ''that's England''. When Italy combine malice and magnificence
in equal parts (think of Materazzi and Pirlo in the same World Cup
winning side in 2006) people shrug, smile slyly and say ''that's the
Azzuri".
When
you are Brazil, a nation of 200 million people, a country that has won
five World Cups playing some of the most scintillating football that the
world has seen, the expectations are higher.
For the professionals of course winning is all that matters.
And
for the fans too, so no Brazilians will be complaining if they maintain
this style and end up taking the title in Rio next weekend against
either Argentina or The Netherlands.
But
the rest of the world may not be that keen to join in the celebrations.
Perhaps like Brazil, we are all also victims of our football past and
are forever trapped in viewing any Selecao XI through the prism of a
football history and culture of a very different kind, one when the term
Jogo Bonito truly did apply. A time a long while ago, where different
standards, values and expectations held sway.
If
Brazil can beat Germany without the injured Neymar and their suspended
captain, Thiago Silva, then they will have achieved more than many now
believe possible, and a sixth World Cup in Rio will be a distinct
possibility. But its a big if....
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