Neymar in Victoria Falls

The Barcelona maestro is at the Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe/Zambia). He is travelling with his mother, sister and son. He flew in to Mzansi from Las Vegas, USA.

The Brazilian football star, enjoys company and tranquil of a chilled life. It can be termed a surprise visit as once done by Michael Jackson few months before his death and Will Smith earlier in the year.

He spent some time in South Africa's Sun City and viewed wild life.

How Germany put Brazil through a shredder.

In all social networks, there was never a serious opinion about the possibility of Brazil playing on Sunday. Save for the Brazilians themselves, there was nothing championship material about them. Few remained neutral given they had their backs covered by the fans. The ruthless went on to say they have been lucky to be in the semi-final. Their player of the tournament so far has been referred to as Refereedinho. On the lighter side, the German Cut prevailed over Brazilian Hair. German Shepherds became dogs of choice too.

Is it the Samba football is extinct? Many think it never existed. The argument borders around their ability to unearth rough diamonds, often more than one at a time. In this particular case, Neymar’s performance captivated the country and the world and at that tender age, he is a cult hero. The same can be said about the generation of Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Romario and Bebeto. The team operated on individual brilliance without any cutting edge. As many pundits and the expecrts of the game will tell you, there is little any individual genius could have done against Germany.

After a record three title by the 1974 Fifa World Cup, Brazil looked cast with a spell and their drought of the Cup worried professors in many of their universities. Despite the flamboyant characters like Socrates and Zico, the Brazilian hopes crushed from World Cup to World Cup. It became less of a priority to the nation as each coach came in and went. The coaching job of the Celestiao became ordinary and less interesting. After the Italia ’90, Brazil had to look closely at their case and prescribe the best medicine but the problem was the diagnosis.  

It came to an appointment of Carlos Alberto Perreira to make inroads into the thorny issue. Perreira faced the truth head on and became realistic with the situation on the ground. His findings did not seem real to many and he began to lose a few friends straight away. Brazilian football lacked the leadership qualities that Perreira had seem in his days as a physical trainer during the last championship Brazil won in 1970.

Perreira used all resources all coaches used since 1979, especially documentation regarding the play and styles of the national teams. The technical and tactical information compiled by a top coach who was a journalist, included photographs, video and audio files and studied thoroughly. Many coaches prior to that period had done that, but it came to the choice of players and Perreira had to put his balls on the vice. The biggest fallout with the football fathers was Dunga. Dunga had neither style nor flair. No one expected him near the field of play. Carlos Alberto Perreira made him the chief cornerstone of his operation.

All that followed was the beautiful game dubbed a failure and unattractive. Save for the brilliance of Romario and Bebeto, the game played by Perreira’s team went against everything Brazilian. His employers and fans disowned them as they headed to the USA ’94. That unattractive team, as far as the Brazilians were concerned, won the Fifa World Cup 24 years after their 1970 glory during the days of Pele. That team had leaders in Cesar Sampiao, Junior Baiano, Leonardo and Tafarrel among others.

Many forgave Perreira and accepted him as a hero. That moment changed Brazilian football as they began to Europeanise their game. In my class in Brazil, one great player who played the 1958 final with Mario Zagallo and Pele, Sebastao Araujo, addressed the class to sing praises for Perreira. Between that World Cup and the 1970 victory, they had played against European opposition and came unstuck. The players came out of the field complaining, “They can’t let us play, they don’t let us play”. Those aware of the story in Brazil, understood Perreira after the victory, even though they did not agree with him. The man took a huge gamble and risked his job and future and it paid off. That is why he will ever be their greatest coach ever.

Luiz Filipe Scolari romped in Perreira for this reason when the country won the right to host the 2014 Fifa World Cup. Big Phil had the luxury of many players plying their trade in Europe. The team he assembled comprised the talismanic Neymar. The idea of discounting Fabiano and trusting Fred might be inspired by the choice Perreira made with Dunga. Many fail to understand that out of over 16 million registered professionals, Fred and Joe rank the highest. With modern trends in the game, Willian, Paulinho, Ramirez and Fernandinho, one sees a solid midfield shield that can withstand any push in world. The offensive job of Oscar would be obvious to fully complement Neymar’s genius.  

The Brazil defence always looked porous for most of their lives, and that weakness got concealed by the single-handed attacking power of Neymar Jr. It is Joachim Louw looked at that and worked a plan to stop Brazil from playing. The hosts always thought of causing pain in the opposition defence. As soon as questions were asked of his defence, there were no answers. German’s attitude revolved around pushing higher up and playing the game in the defensive half of their opposition. The game being played that high up in the field, a few Brazilians were made redundant as they played the game ahead of the ball.

One thing any team needs is numerical disadvantage, and if you are playing Germany or Italy, your troubles are tripled. The field being over 105 yards long, the Europeans cut that distance by over 50% and already being a man or two and at times even three players over the Brazilians, it turned out to the a training on phases of play in the attacking third. In those circumstances, all players became drawn off positions and German players picked and chose who would score next. Despite the already erratic shape that the team was in, David Luiz and Marcelo tried to go forward, further thinning the already diluted defence. With more men in half the field of play, the quality of attack would tear to shreds any principles of defending.

There was nothing tactical or shrewd about how Brazil had taken to the field in this Fifa World Cup, except that at the start, they showed the will to win more than the fear to lose and they lost badly. Many teams employed interesting playing patterns and substitutions, especially the Dutch, Luis van Gaal with his famous Krul gamble against Costa Rica. It was a decision that could make or break him, not that he needed the making, but it could have backfired badly. In that match, Costa Rica started worse off than Brazil did against Germany. The Ticos reacted and resolved an issue that could have led to a football catastrophe.

German’s Joachim Louw had the gallows ready for him when they played against Portugal. The German schemer toyed around with the team tactics as he deployed Mezuit Ozil in an unfamiliar role. The Germany football think tank watched closely at the crazy idea. His plan was to keep check on Cristaino Ronaldo’s defensive duties. Germany did not want the Real Madrid kingpin to be just focussed on attack, but to have a concern of Ozil. That worked and Germany won. Had he lost, he would have been jobless by now and Brazil would still be in the Fifa World Cup. For a team of Brazil’s stature, there are many things not expected to happen, no matter how wrong the setup. On that night, they did happen to when it mattered most.

Scolari set up a team ready for slaughter and the executioner happened to be clinical and on top of his game. Even in his slumber, he could have lethal, given the naivety of the blindfolded Brazil. At this point, Brazil will have to wait for the next generation of magicians to aid Neymar, and a coach to match. Perreira and Scolari have won their glory and passed their ‘use by’ dates. They are good in what they do and should mentor the young and hungry. If there is one thing to learn from that embarrassment, pass the button for success. Do not fail and be reactionary. Coaches always encourage players to be proactive, and that is one thing the Brazilian contingent did not do; from the appointment of the coaches to the disaster on the night.

Brazil massacred 7-1 by Germany in 2014 Fifa World Cup semis

It was an amazing shapeless team set-up and the uninspiring team performance ever as Brazil started the match with several players ahead of the ball, and the tactics seemed to border around playing the long ball to by-pass the midfield. It seems Fillipe Scolari tried to deal with the absence of Neymar and Thiago Silva by introducing a new playing style. The probable understanding could have been that the firepower of Die Mannschaft engine room could not be overcome by playing through midfield. The other line of thought would include scoring that early goal through those means and then play the beautiful game the Samba way later. It never was.  

Brazil suffered the most humiliating defeat ever by Germany as they suffered an embarrassing 7-1 massacre. The emphatic win proved a ruthless German side fancied themselves to lift the Cup. As much as Brazil defended horribly and despite all that can be said about the absence Thiago Silva. The shape was so bad in the offensive movement that even Neymar could not have kept the team together.

Before the avalanche started, the record world champions looked threatening with all balls falling into the penalty box, but Germany were content to contain the missile launch and mount their own counter attacks. It became obvious that the longer the fans waited for the goals, the more frustrated Brazil grew. The impatience of the hosts led to the indiscipline as the team’s tactical behaviour got deformed by the minute. Dnte and David Luiz were guilty of roaming astray outside the bounderies of central defenders and played too far ahead and too wide of each other. They kept outside between the four upright goal posts, either on the same side or wide. Germany played some part in that as they worked on stretching the pair, as well as working on opening the wing backs and drawing them away from the central defenders.

This task became easy courtesy of the attacking appetite of Maicon and Marcelo. Luiz Gustavo and Ferdinandinho failed to give cover to the erratic pair of Luiz and Dante. They were attracted off position easily and failed to link up efficiently with Oscar and Hulk. With the attacking power of the Germans and a team like Netherlands, the necessity of airtight midfield screening could never be over-emphasised. The midfield needed to be the first layer of obstacles and then each defender behind them would have formed a secondary barrier giving cover to the front shield. The most sensible thing should have been each midfielder having a sweeper, each defender closer to the next behind that line. The funnel shape could easily make entry into the box extremely difficult.

The South Americans conceded a soft corner kick in their forays to get a goal meant to cool the nerves when Germany attacked from the wing. All personnel got sucked into the near post and exposed the second post. David Luiz failed to track Muller as he German striker made a shallow pocket run to the far post. By the time his marker picked him up, Muller had timed the flight of the ball and angled his foot to tap the ball with the inside right part of his boot past Julio Cesar. The yawning gap could have been utilised by a supporting player a few steps further to Thomas Muller.

The Brazilian defence got exposed further when Luiz and Dante found themselves facing their goalkeeper while the second goal was scored. There was some inter-passing on the right and a perfect delivering of the low cross that was cut-back found Klose who took a second bite on the ball to score after a block by Cesar. The ball to the crossing position should have been punched away from traffic, be well-defended, and the cross should have been closed down and denied and that ball to the central position outside the D-zone was better intercepted.  The sequence errors complicated things further as the central defence conceded the goal while facing Julio Cesar.

Similar to the first goal, Cesar needed to command his defenders to watch the blind side and surround himself with quality security. Lack of tactical awareness by Brazil further damaged the campaign when the team shape worsened as the defence sought to make amends by going forward. Regardless of the forward marching of the defenders, Germany had a plan to keep the central defenders apart as well as keeping the wing defenders as far away from the central defenders as possible. Dante and Luiz found themselves on either side of the central channel or on the same channel at the same time. At that level of the game, it is criminal to leave the central channel, with at least one central defender expected to stay between the four upright post at any given time.  

The second goal gave the German attack the impetus to go forward. The quick exchange of passing and clinical finishing characterised a sweeping move that started from the back and flowed to the right. The cross was met the industrious Kroos who tripled the score. Brazil became nervous and gave away the cheapest goal of all. In trying to play themselves out of danger from the back, the ball was lost within metres of Cesar’s goal. The German forwards fore-checked and won the ball high and forced a five versus two, Mezuit Ozil laying the ball to Kroos to score his double. The defence static and ball-watched as the ball came across the box.

The defence was caught flat-footed when they tried to launch an attack from the back through a central position. Hummels picked up the ball, surged forward and eliminated a few Brazilians by a quality pass. The finish was exquisite and goal tally was five in a space of 6 minutes. Brazilian defence was always in sixes and sevens in the box with each wave of attack. There were six defenders and three attackers exposing the goalkeeper.

The loss of the ball in wrong area and then being caught off-guard and being out numbered outlined a disaster recipe Brazil may never make again. The rampant nature of the Europeans took a break as the teams walked into the dressing rooms. The introduction of Ramirez at half-time proved positive as the hosts took the game to the champions-in-waiting. Joachim Louw had a master-stroke in Andre Schurle as the substitute scored twice. He came after Neuer had to pull off stunning acrobatic saves from the marauding Samba Boys who looked to save face. It can be said the second half needed Neymar, but with all due credit, the Germans had their foot off the gas pedal for a moment.

There was time for Brazil to save face despite the ‘boo’s from the tearful followers and fans. A long ball from the back by Marcelo found Oscar who raced the entire half with the ball into the penalty box. He took the ball by his left foot to his right past a defender and set himself for a shot. He pulled the trigger, hammered a right-footed shot past a desperately diving Neuer.

Schurle got his goal courtesy of poor marking on the right flank. Lahm received the ball in the box and layed it on for the Chelsea player. His first time shot nestled in the net. Minutes later, the ball came from the midfield on the left. Muller touched it on for the substitute to take two touches and beat Cesar for the last time on the night. Oscar’s insignificant goal should have come, and it did, and it attained the title of ‘the most useless world cup goal’ as given by commentators and pundits.

It ended Brazil 1 Germany 7. Germany await Argentina or The Netherlands who meet 24 hours later.   

Brazil, Netherlands, Chile and Mexico, two of these will not win the Fifa World Cup

Brazil will seek to eliminate Chile in their quest for glory. The Netherlands will want to represent non-South Americans and gun for the elusive title when they date Mexico who are maturing and getting better with each match in the tournament in Brazil.

The four have now set a date for second round encounters, a date that sets to send a pair home. For the sake of the progress and success of the Brazil Fifa World Cup, Brazil need to up their game in defence if they are to be in shape to deal with the marauding attacks of the Chileans.

Brazil has issues with the pair Thiago Silva and David Luiz playing too far apart, poor in marking and losing their men and positions easily. As if that Achillies’ heel is not enough, their central striking position is a worry for the hosts. Even though Fred scored, his threat has been so insignificant that he may be a liability in future matches.

Given their men in camp, they should consider using Neymar in that position, as a false number 9. That will necessitate the swap in the set-up, with Hulk resting and Fedinandinho coming in to tighten things up. This will provide cover in front of the defence. The interceptions in midfield will mean more control of the match from that department going forward. It will facilitate the ball supply to Neymar.

The other option would to utilise Ramirez from the onset, but the Chelsea workhorse is sitting on a yellow card at this point on time. Further down the line of options would be the involvement of Dante in that central midfield position and have David Luiz push in front of Thiago and Dante.

Permutations and combinations aside, the technical team has work to do. So far, they have been buoyed by the home crowd and they are yet to face stern tests. Are they ready for the pace and skills of the world ‘s top strikers? Time will tell.  

Brazil beat Cameroon 4-1 as Africans put in a good shift

Neymar scored twice in the first 45 minutes of their encounter with Cameroon. The African team that turned up for this encounter surprised all by their spirit for go forward without giving any respect to the 5-time Fifa World Cup champions. So were they, that they were denied by the post before scoring what many could term a miracle goal, but it was such quality.

Both teams wasted early chances and stretched each other’s defences to the limit. The Cameroon backline limit was reached when Brazil kept a cool tempo and breached it with a lot of easy. After starting at a high pace with less control of the proceedings, Cameroon lost the ball very easily on their right in midfield. Moukandjo was dispossessed and the ball fell to Luis Gustavo who found Neymar with a pass inside the penalty area. The Brazilian talisman scored with a passing shot.

Besides the poor midfield play, Cameroon central defence played too far apart. They let Neymar have all the space he needed. The covering was inadequate and they paid the price. Going forward, Cameroon kept paving the way and utilising the available spaces in the middle of the field. They tried to attack through the wings and crossed the balls that troubled the Brazilian central defence. They won a few corner kicks in succession. The first was headed against the corner of the right upright and the cross bar after a slight deflection. The resultant kick from the right was cleared to the left where it was played back to Moukandjo who roasted Dani Alves twice and squared the ball to Matip to tap in.

The suspect Brazilian defence could not clear the ball away, just as they were guilty of conceding too many easy corner kicks. Dani Alves was set on his bums by the Cameroonian winger and the entire backline remained static as the ball travelled to Matip. However, Cameroon lost concentration in midfield again, and gave away another cheap goal. Neymar received a ball from Marcelo and scored from the edge of the box with a directed shot.

The beginning of the second half started just as interesting and entertaining. After conceding a corner kick, Cameroon failed to clear their lines. The ball went wide but not long enough. It was played to the wing to Marcelo who crossed and found a reasonably offside Fred to head home from close range to increase the score line to 3-1.

Each of the Cameroonians who took to the pitch were value for money as they put in a good shift. Their overzealous tendency to bid farewell the 2014 Brazil Fifa World Cup undid the otherwise respectable job done on the night. It was their over-confidence that handed the Brazilians the fourth goal. A poorly taken free-kick outside the box by the Cameroon defence backfired as that haste turned out to be a goal for the hosts. The ball was intercepted by Oscar, and then played to Fred who returned it to Oscar. Oscar set up Ferdinandinho who toe-poke the ball into the net to close the show at 4-1.

After their crazy antics of the fixture against Croatia, the Africans made amends despite a large score-line. They gained much respect in the absence of Samuel Eto’o and Alex Song.

Brazil draw 0-0 with Mexico in the 2014 Fifa World Cup

Is Brazil over-rated? Do they have what it takes to be champions or other teams are encouraged by their struggles in these two matches played so far? Mexico locked the midfield and denied Oscar and Neymar any influence in attack. Brazil’s Luis Gustavo, Paulinho and Ramires were very effective defensively, creating a titanic battle for control of the match. The Mexican left side had a few spaces saw Neymar get sight of the goal on a few occasions. Their defence had to be impeccable to deny clear-cut chances, and the few times Brazil had full sight at goal, Ochoa made what may be most famous save of our lifetime.

While restricting access to Neymar and Oscar, Mexico began to make inroads at the defence of the hosts with Peralta and Giovani Dos Santos complimenting Herrera’s efforts in midfield. Initially, the duo were subdued by the brutal force of the Brazilian trio in the middle of the park. Mexico changed from donating possession cheaply to using the width effectively by stretching the midfield wall of Gustavo, Paulinho and Ramires to access the central defence and create a real threat to Brazil.

Brazil tried to mark all the players tight at the starting positions forcing long balls from the goalkeeper and defenders. It was a match that needed a one big player moment. In fact, it turned out that the Mexico goalkeeper was responsible for the goalless first have with a couple of out-of-this-world saves. The match turned from being a combative midfield warfare to a Ping-Pong of attacks around the 23^rd minute, as both teams provided a box to box action of top quality.

There was more offensive action in the second half, Mexico employing a shoot at sight policy, shooting to kill. They had better midfield exchanges and a better attacking plan through the middle. It seemed the half-time removal of Ramires shifted the initiative to Mexico. Filipe Scolari needed a full complement of personnel committed to the combative requirements of the duel. The Chelsea man would have been a liability after picking a first-half yellow card. The benefit pf his replacement, Bernard, were never felt as the midfield lost grip of the preparation zone. Willian or Fernandinho could have been better options.

The five-time Fifa World Cup champions introduced Joe in place of the ineffective Fred. They turned on the screw a little around the 65^th minute and began to have a say in the goings on of the fixture. Mexico began to panic and backtracked. They showed cracks and were caught in sixes and sevens all of a sudden. Brazil played long diagonal ball, which the Mexicans were not comfortable with. Oscar played in a more central role and became far more effective.

The was going to be a great moment of the match, probably of the tournament, the Ochoa save from a brilliant free header after a free kick from Neymar. It was cheaply given away when Thiago Silva was doubled upon at the left-flank when he seemed to be going no way; the kind of free kick you do not give away at that position of the pitch at that point of the match when you  have that kind of result and you play that kind of team, especially with that kind of result.

The delivery was perfect, but the Mexican marking was almost tragic as they let a Thiago free header. To their credit, they reacted first to the second ball after the reflex save from the goalkeeper. They quickly launched a counter-attack that produced Julio Cesar’s best save of the tournament so far.

Brazil played such an unconvincing game pouring water on the hopes of their faithful followers and the neutrals who now question their invincibility. That big moment player did not turn up and maybe Brazil without Neymar are as good as any other in their group, or was it the incredible Mexican execution of tactics? Could it be they are over-rated?

The 2014 Fifa World Cup Brazil welcomes you.

After years of waiting, the 2014 Fifa World Cup kicked off between hosts, Brazil, and Croatia in Sao Paulo. It was inevitable a Brazilian was going to be first on the score sheet, albeit on the wrong side. Real Madrid’s Marcelo swept in a low cross from the left within the early minutes of play. The second scorer was a Brazilian in Neymar after some hassling and tussling by Oscar.

How did the goals occur? The normal Samba way is to attack strong and in numbers. This exposed the defence as both wing defenders scamper down the flanks. Many players get ahead of the ball and the central defenders played wide apart. After winning the ball in their defending third, Croatia quickly played wide and crossed a hard and low ball that touched a few feet and that fatal one from Marcelo.

A series of errors occurred. At the centre line, Paulinho was supposed to stand his ground, not dive in and then delay the attack. As the pace of the Croatian was high, the body shape would be to show the ball carrier inside where there is already traffic. This did not happen. The ball went to the wing. At that point, the delivery of the cross must be denied. Unfortunately, the cross came, and the first man was supposed to deal with that cross and he did not. Neither did the third man. Marcelo was the fourth man and he touched the ball home.

Given the first two steps after losing the ball were wrong or bad decisions, it is immaterial that the defenders played that phase of the game facing their goal. Delaying the man on the ball would allow recovery runs to get players between the ball and the goal, and gain territorial advantage where the defenders have their back to their goalkeeper.

Croatia were guilty of letting Oscar’s confidence overflow. The Chelsea midfielder won two ball in succession, the first while on the ground. His first touch was woeful, but he was left to recover, beat a few players, fall and pass the ball to a team-mate who lost it, steal it and play it to Neymar. Two defenders were supposed to stop the Barcelona talisman. They failed and the goalkeeper could not do much despite the poorly executed shot. There was more direction in the shot that power in that effort, and just about enough accuracy to escape the fingertips and to touch the upright.

Both sides employed 1-4-2-3-1, with Brazil employing a very patient but usual approach and Croatia naturally counter-attacking. The first few minutes saw Brazil pressing up-field, trying to win the ball where they had lost it. The transition from attack to defence as well as defence to attack slowed down drastically leading to that opening goal. The Europeans were a little urgent and much more efficient, producing very clear-cut scoring opportunities. Their direct play produce sight at goal several times before Brazil could settle.

A settled game grew a little tactical and boring for spectators until a soft touch on Fred led to the penalty that Neymar converted for his brace. It was not that the big striker was a threat as he had his back to the goal. Letting the ball get there in the first place was bad defending. The home side played much better with less pressure but their vulnerability was obvious. They exhibited nervousness in counter attacks as their opponents threw kitchen sinks and all at them.

They utilised one counter attack of their own after a toe-poke by man-of-the-match Oscar who picked a long clearance from David Luiz. Goalkeeper Julio Cesar had a few long-range saves before that moment. That final goal followed one wicked block in injury time when Luka Modric’s troops were probably smelling blood and sensing an equaliser. They got exposed by a single long clearance and the attacking pace that ended with a crowning of that man of the match performance by 22-year old Chelsea man. It was a case of nerves and keeping check on the temperament in the final stages of the show that would be enjoyed by the hosts for the days to come.  

Brazil beats Mexico but there is louder message in Italy blasting Japan

Neymar is pure class and very much immature. He has a lot to learn and some distance to cover to the levels of Lionel Messi. That is as far as the over game is concerned but his technique is exquisite. Tactically he will surely mature and be a better player, hopefully. He reminds one of the young 'Iron' Mike Tyson, Raw and Uncut.

It is sometimes too early for these youngsters to get then hype and then they live under the shadow of expectation under-delivering yet being idolised like Wayne Rooney, whose roof was never reached and he stagnated in growth but we keep singing praises for his glimpses of a what might have been.

Brazil beat Mexico despite a spirited performance of one of my favourite players in the world today (well since 2009), Giovanni Dos Santos. It was that pure class of the 21 year old Neymar that was hugely the difference. Dani Alves received a pass after some fancy footwork on the right, delivered a cross that was deflected high.
Now, this is the coaching point part.

Neymar had to orient himself to locate the goal, and his bearing changed every second as his target had a barrier, the goalkeeper. There was men attending to him and hungering for the same ball. The Brazilian had to make his run, simultaneously keeping his eyes on the ball whose trajectory was not completely defined. Despite physical contact that could put him off, he gained his balance, arms wide, making a good selection of the controlling surface, shepherding the ball into space with his chest, planting the non-kicking football slightly behind the possible dropping point of the ball, curling his body over to lean forward and hitting that ball hard midway through its centre at the top half. His angle and power had to be right and the rest is history.

That goal can be crudely mirror-imaged with the first of the tournament, where that came from his left, but was chested by a team-mate onto his path. He cannoned the ball, then with his right foot. The technique of striking the ball was wholly similar. Hi move to Barcelona has made people start talking about his combination with Messi but bot because of the goals.

Neymar received the ball on the left and quickly left a defender by his first positive touch, sweeping past the other two by his acceleration before his sudden change of pace and direction in the box left two more defenders for dead. He laid the ball across for Jo to finish. That was class. That was the match in brief. It is the speed and finish that is frightening and with Messi, that will be more than a job and a half to contain an attack.     

Many people did not see Japan beating Italy. That changed with the first penalty of the match converted by Honda and the spectacular Kagawa special. Frankly, it was not the goals that swayed the votes, but the gusty performance that was full of self belief and zeal to win. The Italians were themselves more than surprised. They were afraid, very afraid. With half-time approaching, anyone stopping Pirlo and Mario Balotelli could be excused for celebrating but that was a little too much too early.

Pirlo sent in a corner kick that was converted by the head. From there on, thing were never going to be the same for the Asians. Some players thought they could do it while others thought, maybe not. Even from the same positive players, the doubts start to fly in the head and that is exactly what the Europeans thrive on.
The penalty converted by Balotelli and the own goal wrote the beginning of the end of a Cinderella story in the making. That winner was always coming after that and it was more than a win but a statement to say Italy mean business. For many, they were dead and burried, and maybe so, but if they can rise to see another day be very afraid.

It was value for money to see so many goals but the Neymar strike, priceless!

Brazil's 3-0 win over Japan is total fluke

Brazil may as well be on course to win this year’s Confederation Cup and Fifa World Cup double. This is in sharp contrast with their fluke 3-0 win over Japan last night. Let me say first why that win was a fluke and then the reason why they may win both trophies.

The victory was courtesy of total naivety of the Asians, and nothing to do with the prowess of the Confed Cup holding gladiators. All the goals were scored in the concentration-lapse windows of minutes after and before restarts. In any case, it was within the parameters of the match being played and all goals count. On another day and at another time, the same goals, all three, could have been easily scored by anyone or by the same token, avoided.

That is not what one expects from Brazil. The Celestiao are known to push the ball around and dominate their matches until they subdue their foes tactically - exactly what did not happen. The South Americans depended on the stage fright of the Japanese for that victory.

Japan walked in there hoping to take matters easy and then compete when the match was ripe. They did not live to see that moment. Before half the team had touched the ball, there was a goal. It was a super goal by Neymar, given the inexperience of the youngster and accuracy of the strike, but how it came by was shocking.

A case of easy loss of possession by Japan and a poor ‘chest’ control by Fred, probably a handball, led the ball to drop in the path of a charging Barcelona-bound Neymar who took a volley in his stride, connecting well to unleash a slightly curled shot to the far post from outside the box.

Let me spare you the details. The thing is, it was just 3 minutes after kick-off. There was sterility in terms of goals and performance until half-time. Again, within 3 minutes of the restart, Japan were still sleeping and Brazil pounced. Without duplicating myself, there was sterility in terms of goals and performance until full-time, the 90^th minute. Again, Japan slumbered and Brazil, again pounced in almost 3 minutes of injury time.

Both sets of coaching stuff will not be happy. Fillipe Scolari of Brazil will be wondering; what if the visitors stayed awake from start to finish. The visitors’ mentor will curse his theory of playing a waiting game. He had hoped to match Brazil’s play in the middle of the park but the ball was played on the periphery of the Garrencha Stadium pitch.

Just for a picture, the ball came from the right, the position of Dani Alves, to Julio Ceaser and/or David Luiz, to Marcelo on the left and then Neymar to Fred at the front and then to Oscar on the left and Dani Alves again, leaving a void in the middle. That sequence would reverse itself once in a while all night, eliminating Honda and Kagawa's performance, Japan’s most influential players.

That fact makes Brazilians very dangerous. They are not blessed with an array of talent and many of their current squad players are over-rated, save for Marcelo, Alves and David Luiz. I know you think Oscar is top-notch but I don’t buy that; not yet. Julio Ceaser plays for a relegated team in the English Premiership and that is not a world-class performer. Therefore, what makes them an item?

It is the composition of their technical team. Scolari has decades of national team and international football experience in his time with the same team, Portugal and Chelsea. He has a Fifa World Cup medal around his neck. What he did was exceptionally clever and courageous, to romp up an even more experienced mentor in Carlos Alberto Parreira. For the sake of his status, they changed his title to Technical Coordinator and not Assistant coach. Parriera is the most experienced coach in the world at this level, having more Fifa World Cup appearances than any coach and a winners’ medal too.

Besides the accolades and the decorated CVs, these guys are shrewd. They are the world’s best. Not that they can make cows play football, but with the average players they have, Brazil is genuine contenders for the historic double. They become the last team anyone would choose to play. It would be a bonus if Neymar comes to the party as he almost did last night. There are good signs he will.

Besides the home soil advantage with their fans’ support, the carnival atmosphere and celebrations, the familiar playing grounds, family and friends and language, the pride, the status, players like Neymar trying to prove a point, that technical team of Scolari and Parreira with the richcombined experiences and World Cup appearances and victories, the Brazil brand is one to bank on.

This is besides the crazy statistical data of Fifa World Cups, Confed, and regional championships, nor the over 10000 professionals playing overseas, 6000 football teams and over 16 million registered players they can choose from their starting eleven. There is over 160 million Brazilians anyway but that is just numbers too.

When 'non-racist' is very racist

The weekend qualifier matches and friendlies have been overshadowing a big talking point and there seems to be further efforts to thwart the news. The Scottish Football Association is at pains to explain that Brazil star Neymar was racially abused by the Tartan Army at the Emirates Stadium.

I guess they are actually rtying to say no one was racially abused. At this point, they say there has been consultation between the Metropolitan Police and Arsenal Football Club who want us to believe that a German teenage tourist threw a banana onto the pitch during the Brazil v Scotland International Friendly at Emirates Stadium on Sunday, but did not mean any racial harm.

At 19 years of age is not young. "The youngster was sitting in the North Bank of Emirates Stadium, an area of the stadium which was occupied by the official allocation of tickets to Brazil supporters, when he threw the banana onto the pitch during the second half of the match. Neymar said he did not see the banana being thrown, but saw it on the ground next to him as he was near the touchline.

How is a racist banana differ from a non racist banana? Why did it have to be by a German and not Brazilian? Why did it decide to fall next to a black Brazilian player? Did not black people in the stadium have bananas to throw at white players, or have the energy to propel the fruit to the Scottish? Can anybody confirms there were no chancts heard? Questions can be asked but answers will be few. At the end of the day, to say that the banana throwing was not racist is extremely racist, to be polite.