Brazil Battered, Nation Shamed

Samson goes to the barbers.

Whenever a team concedes four goals in six minutes it invariably spells out a performance which is beyond bad. Only a completely shambolic outfit, where players and management are both bereft of concentration and competitiveness, could slump to such a shocking capitulation. 1-7 the scoreboard said. Few believed it.

On July 8th 2014 the Brazilian dream died, nay was obliterated, in the most cruel and gruesome fashion imaginable. Germany, that most ruthless of international predators, happily picked away at the rotting carcass of a bald Samson. They were just as brilliant as their opponents were awful. The Deutsch, even in such seismic victory, never dropped their supreme level of professionalism. On the other hand, the Selecao's arrogance showed no abating until the ninety minutes were finished and the expected public riot did not materialise.

This morning David Luiz said he was sorry. That apology, however, does not fit with his swashbuckling modus operandi during the game. His ramshackle runs forward were full of stupidity whilst his determination to return to his position in defence was plain negligible. Like nearly every other player in the team, Luiz played for himself and nobody else - showing all the behavioural attributes of a nine year old participating in a match for his school team. One sleepless night is too soon, I believe, to make the transition from man-child to responsible and remorseful citizen. For £50 million PSG have bought themselves a brilliantly gifted idiot.

So what if Brazil were missing Neymar and Thiago Silva? This was a World Cup semi-final, not some summer testimonial. They could have at least kept their shape, marked each black and red shirt and passed the ball with the smallest modicum of composure. It was a performance so at odds with the 5-times World Champions history that it brought the entire population's reputation into disrepute. How could a team of professional players give up before a ball had even been kicked? It seems the entire squad was intimidated into despair by its own perceived deficiencies. The Germans simply had to turn up and do their jobs the way they'd been drilled.

I wonder what Pele, Zico, Romario and Ronaldo thought as they witnessed their country's humiliation? Today Brazil mourns the loss of its most treasured national love. It lies solemnly by Garrincha's tomb.

Of course, the team in yellow and blue has been in continuous decline for the last 12 years. Everyone deceived themselves by saying that this Brazil team could actually win the Jules Rimet trophy. Hope was built on the platform of Confederations Cup victory last year, where Neymar dazzled every spectator and stamped his reputation on the world's memory. But let us remind ourselves that in order to win that showpiece competition, Brazil only had to overcome Italy and Spain, both of whom were eliminated in the group stages of this year's cup with equally impotent displays.

When was the last time the South American giant produced a player of Rivaldo's calibre? Looking around last night's starting 11, I could not even find a playmaker in the mould of Kaka. Kaka! Even at his peak he was not in the same league as Ronaldo and, so I've been told, the midfield of 1970 and 1982.

Seeing Fred wear the famous number 9 shirt is enough to bring any football puritan to tears. I can't remember him having a single touch of the ball whilst his teammates slouched like petulant children. His overall movement was slower than a beached whale. Few players have ever looked further out of their depth.

Oscar, Willian, Hulk: all are good players but none have been consistent star performers. They cannot carry the mantle their predecessors lay down in tournaments gone by. What happened to the famous South American production line? Trying to find any signs of flair was like searching a 'Where's Wally?' book.

Brazil needs a reformation in its football system. Get rid of the overpaid has-beens from the domestic league (e.g. Ronaldinho) and focus on producing new talent and embedding them in competitive seasons. The way Socrates and his peers were discovered and nurtured needs to be replicated again. Currently, it is like the post-Roman world, where the academic knowledge of antiquity has largely been lost. For every home fan in Belo Horizonte yesterday evening, the shadow of the dark ages was unmistakably present. A Renaissance is urgently required to revive Brazil's chances of future success.

Hopefully this catastrophic landmark defeat will create the spark of radical reform. Now is the time to halt the decline or, heaven forbid, the Selecao could become as bad as England. Brazil have reinvented their style before, notably after the shame of losing the 1950 World Cup final in the Maracana stadium, but the task 64 years later is a much greater challenge.