HOSTS LUMBER INTO QUARTERS!

Story by Patrick Kamanga (pgkamanga73@gmail.com)

HOSTS LUMBER INTO QUARTERS

Brazil counting on divine intervention

The World cup hosts Brazil limped into the quarter finals after winning a tense post-match penalty shootout against a well organized and determined Chile. The disjointed Selecao produced a show that can accurately be described as “agricultural” at best and seemed to hang by the skin of their nails at times especially towards the end of regular time and extra time, overcoming moments of intense pressure. 

Julio Cesar's penalty saving heroics saved Brazil

Chile’s pressing game completely disoriented the Brazilians giving them absolutely no time and space from which to build up their game which then forced their back line to resort to some very unsavory long balls punted prospectively towards their forward line 

Chile will rue a missed opportunity, coming into this game with a dismal historical record, with a rare opportunity at righting matters but they let it slip through their fingers after having the Brazilians on the ropes for lengthy periods of the game.

 

If Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar was the hero then their striker Hulk was surely the villain, representing everything that is wrong with the Brazilian team.

Hulk like his fellow forwards was incredibly bereft of ideas on how to break down the resolute Chilean defense and resorted to diving and gesturing at the match officials expecting lenient favours. 

Hulk celebrates an attempted "hand of God" moment

To worsen his case, he was guilty of the silly blunder that gifted the Chileans the equalizer when he lazily played the ball back to Marcello from a throw in deep within their half, allowing Eduardo Vargas the chance to sneak in and quickly thread the ball to Alexis Sanchez in the Brazilian box. Thiago Silva and David Luiz were also culpable for not holding a tight line, Sanchez then utilized the acres of space and ample time given to pick a spot, lobbing the ball past a helpless Cesar in goal. 

Chile's equalizer, Hulk's handy work

To cap this poor show, Hulk who has the menacing facial looks and muscular build of a Samoan rugby winger, then used his massive right bicep to control the ball then sliced it with the outside of his left boot on to the bottom right corner of the net for his disallowed goal in the second half.  

His “hand of God moment” was not to be as the hawked eyed referee; Englishman Howard Webb was not fooled as he’d spotted the infringement and duly rewarded Hulk with a yellow card. He then withstood remonstrations and pressure from the Brazilian players and coaching staff, plus the deafening boos from the crowd. 
Howard Webb deserves a lot of credit for the way he handled himself and the game because any average referee would have definitely succumbed and caved in to the constant and desperate demands and coercion from the home team, which would have unfairly influenced the outcome of the match.

Contrasting post match reactions

One endearing image from this game was of players from both teams hunched over after the penalty shootout, emotional and in tears, with Neymar in particular shedding tears of relief from the shear pressure that he and this teammates are under and the Chileans clearly inconsolable from the finality of having being eliminated.

To cut a long story short, Brazil barely survived their first real test and fans everywhere are wondering whether they will hold up against a world class opponent. 
It is most neutrals’ wish that they get as far as possible for the tournament’s sake but there’s only so far they can push their luck.

To be fair to Brazil, they are just but victims of their own success and therefore their supporters at home and football fans around the world are merely expecting them to live up to their lofty reputation which the current team simply isn’t cut out for. 
A major upset of seismic proportions is therefore ominously looming.

If Chile’s offense caused Brazil problems, then they definitely must be scratching their scalps trying to figure out how they'll stop the Los Cafeteros whose dynamic midfield and lethal finishing has proven unstoppable thus far. 

Colombian team, the Los Cafeteros will test Brazil's mettle

Brazil’s quarter final opponent Colombia demonstrated how serious they are with a sublime performance against a subdued Uruguayan outfit. 
Their midfield trio of Teofilo Gutierrez, Juan Cuardardo and wonder kid James Rodriguez has so far steamrolled past all opposition and boast a treasure trove of 11 goals between them.

Rodriguez is the revelation of the tournament so far and is clearly charging towards a Golden Boot award or Young Player of the tournament award at the very least. He leads the score charts with a total haul of 5 goals heading to the quarter finals. 
This young player has exhibited maturity way beyond his years. The manner with which he scored Colombia’s opening goal was breath taking to say the least. 

Rodriguez's goal of the tournament

Sandwiched between two walls of Uruguayan players totaling seven, he chested a headed pass from Aguilar, demonstrating great spatial awareness and technique and smashed an audacious 20 meter volley that grazed a helpless Muslera’s finger tips before kissing the underside of the crossbar for the goal of tournament candidate! James (pronounced Hames) was not done yet; as he again got on to the right end of another headed pass this time from Cuardardo to stab a brace past the confused Uruguayan defense in the 65^th minute.

Colombia’s game is three dimensional as they’ve also exhibited compactness in defense and a workman like team ethic that has proven difficult to break, conceding a miserly 3 goals against a tally of 11 goals scored.

Well, Brazil better pray harder, this time they may not get off the hook!