I feel incredibly sorry for Neymar ... he was the one player in their side that evoked memories of those wonderful Brazilian footballers of my youth .. far less sympathy for the bleating Scolari and his accusations of the opposition targeting Neymar ... his team last night systematically hacked at James Rodriguez at every available opportunity ... then the clueless ref went and booked Rodriguez for a misjudged but certainly not malicious stretch for the ball ... Fernandinho in particular committed enough cynical fouls to have been sent off twice ... ... the ref all but ruined the game as a spectacle because of what appeared to be fear of incurring the wrath of the Brazilian nation ... FIFA need to review their selection process - that needed a very strong ref.
No one's really looked like really standing out- as I write this Argentina again get another uninspiring 1-0 win, but then again Spain won the tournament last time around by winning all their games 1-0. It's how you win tournaments, unfortunately. Brazil vs Argentina final for me, with Argentina to win it.
Can't quite see how a Brazil without Neymar and Thiago Silva can beat the Germans ... but we'll see in due course ...
We´ll see what Brazil are made of now minus Njnr & TS. Does anyone else think that Juniga should get atleast the same ban as Suarez if not longer ?
... personally no ... Zuniga may have been a bit wayward with that challenge but I don't believe there was intent to seriously injure ... in fact, and as I said above, I blame the ref for what happened - he could have clamped down on the rough stuff early on and if he had I don't think Zuniga would have made that challenge ... for me it was payback for the treatment being continually dished out to Columbia's own young 'golden boy' number 10 ... earlier on Fernandinho made a ridiculously late challenge where he went through on Rodriguez with his knee - admittedly on the thigh but nevertheless very painful and with malicious intent ... for me Zuniga was making a statement of equal intent ... which, unfortunately has left one of the stars of the competition sidelined ...
Similar punishment - no. It was a sending off offence though, as it was a deliberate knee in the back.
Just been listening to TalkSport on the way into work - their football correspondent in South America, Tim Vickery, takes it beyond the refs and blames FIFA for an apparent directive to go very easy on cards which has backfired ... it was meant to ensure the participation of stars by reducing suspensions but iinstead has created havoc ... he mentioned Fernandinho in particular, first against Chile when he scythed through a Chilean in the first few minutes but wasn't booked ... that set a precedent for the game and the Chileans took retribution on Neymar leaving him an injury doubt for the Columbia game .. according to Tim V FIFA shuld have been well aware of the havoc this would cause where two South American teams play each other ... so as a direct result we now get the joy of watching Fernandinho instead of Neymar ... there were 54 fouls in the Brazil Columbia game, the hosts making 31 and Fernandinho in particular guilty of 4 or 5 each of which could (and perhaps should) have warranted a yellow card in their own right ... instead the ref ended up booking Thiago Silva (for running across the Columbian goalie as he attempted to kick the ball out - and he now misses the semi) and James Rodriguez for a minor foul (in comparison) when the poor lad had been the target of half a dozen virtual assaults by Brazilians ...
If FIFA have told refs to hold back "for the greater good", then you can pretty much guarantee that hardly any cards will come out in the semi finals, as it would impact on the "quality" of the final. Expect the Brazil Germany match to get messy (not Messi).
This World Cup has produced some surprises but the semi final has been astonishing . I knew this Brazil team wasn't great but they were just annihilated.
Wow no words for that I wouldnt even say Germany played aswell as they could have. It was like a training match
I bet all we going to hear from Brazil is if Neymar played it would have been a different story. They think the sun shines out his arse
It was a training match for Mr Cesar to prepare for whats to come next year in the Prem.. He said if Neymar had played......
The most telling statistic from last night's game? ... that Germany scored more goals in total last night that England have managed in our last two World Cup campaigns ...
Couldn't believe what I was watching last night, absolutely crazy. David Luiz is an absolute liability, Mourinho must be laughing all the way to the bank with the £50m they got for him! This is the worst Brazil team I have ever seen, I don't even think Neymar is that special IMHO, he's no Ronaldo/Ronaldinho/Rivaldo by any stretch of the imagination.
Can't blame the absence of Neymar and Silva for that whitewash, they still would have got hammered. I know the english media over critisize David Luiz, but lets be fair, he deserves all the criticism hes going to get over the next few weeks. Not taking credit away from Germany though, thorough and accurate in front of goal, much credit to them for demolishing a thoroughly poor Brazil side. I think those that predicted a Brazil Argentina final obviously hadn't seen any of Brazils previous games, they have been shockingly average throughout.
Have to disagree on a couple of points there Jack - Luiz is OK if he has a good and more disciplined presence beside him ... John Terry has also experienced being severely embarrassed by a German team at a World Cup ... in isolation that doesn't make you rubbish ... i think the emotion coupled with the responsibility got to David Luiz last night and he crumbled under the pressure ... It is arguably the worst Brazil side I've seen in my lifetime BUT ... I disagree with you on Neymar .. at 22 he is an incredible talent and will be at his peak at the next World Cup ...
Exactly my point, Luiz is "okay", IF he has a VERY good commanding centre back beside him. When he doesn't, well, look at last night... He was absolutely all over the place. Perhaps part you could put down to the occasion, but I've seen him play like that many a time before. He COULD be a great CB, but obviously Mourinho can't even be bothered to spend the time to teach him, not when you can get £50m for him anyway... I guess Neymar is only 22, and he does have a good goal-scoring record for Brazil. I'm just not sure, he's never "wowed" me like Ronaldo or Messi have... Perhaps he would look better if he was surrounded by Ronaldinho and Rivaldo, as opposed to Hulk and Fred (who I also think were shocking based on last night!). I actually agree with Barton (, take me to the doctors!), that Neymar is just a bit of a show pony.
Wouldnt mind him at Leicester for £30k a week. Luiz and Marcello thought they were midfield players last night. Also think that Neymar would take the piss out of Barton on a football pitch. He is a class act and has shown that at club and international level. Compared to Pele and Jairzhinio, has some way to go - but so does Messi, James Rodriguez et al.
