The humiliation of Brazil at the FIFA World Cup in their own country was hardly unexpected after their first match or two. At no point did they appear to be the dominant force of previous years and their only outstanding player was the brilliant Neymar; too many of the rest were clearly make-weights, with the likes of Fred and Joe completely out of their depths.
Inevitably, the winners were a well organised team, not without some fine players but with none of the hype attaching to the few superstars on show. Ronaldo had departed at the group stage and, although Messi made it to the final, his few flashes of genius could not make up for the general paucity of greatness in his Argentinian side. In the end, Germany, with a well drilled squad and 2 or 3 high class players, won the day, and deservedly so. That said, the tournament was generally of a low standard and few will remember much about it in a year or two, except for the drubbings handed out to the hosts by Germany and Holland.
Where all this leaves Brazil, Spain and England is a good question. As the reigning champions, Spain came to the competition with high hopes that were smashed to pieces in their first match. Thereafter, they did nothing to repair a shattered reputation and now have to rebuild. Brazil, as hosts and the world's top footballing nation, expected to win but were, instead, humiliated. England, ............... what can one say ? Expectations were deliberately played down but, even so, their performances were pretty lamentable and their much vaunted stars were shown to be men of clay.
No doubt, after much huffing and puffing, there'll be plans put in place but nothing is likely to change. Teams such as the Manchesters, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and a few others will continue to ignore home-grown players in favour of foreign superstars and the national team will continue to have a dearth of real talent. Major club competitions and money will continue to dominate and England's quest for international glory will continue with little chance of success.
Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose !
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