“In Brazil, football is not just a game but king of all sports and the players are not just men but giants.
With that, and the visual of a foot cushioning the ball after gently knocking it up, began, “Giants Of Brazil.”
At the Metlife last July, Brazil were anything but kings. Also, the power axis has shifted since Brazil’s last World Cup title which was also the first in Asia. Panama were a few levels higher but for Khalid Jamil’s India, Brazil and Uruguay will be different beasts. Can they deal with the intensity of playing two tough matches in three days? How will India manage with significantly less time on the ball? The federation, having taken the burden of organising and raising funds for these games, has a lot to lose. Full story here.
In six editions since 2002, they have made the World Cup semi-final only once and no Brazilian has happy memories of a 1-7 defeat. Ryan Williams has spoken of the confidence drawn from the 1-1 in Bengaluru and India will need all of that and more. Its credibility for a start if the overall cost of around ₹ 85 crore cannot be recovered. India is not ready for such games, a former Bayern Munich official had said in 2022. Tickets will be expensive, said Bhaswar Goswami of Celebrity Management Group, the Kolkata-based company which had arranged the Argentina-Venezuela friendly in Kolkata in 2011.
In the four decades since, I have seen “Mineirazo” from the media tribune, reported on three more World Cup finals hoping to see Brazil win a sixth and learnt that football is the most important of the least important things in that country. “I think against Brazil, you will need to be concentrated 1000 %,” Jay Gupta has said.
One goal and an assist in the come-from-behind win against Australia does not compensate for one goal in eight matches in all competitions this term. Ancelotti has asked for time. If he can, no one will be happier than Vinicius Jr, FIFA Player of the Year in 2024.
The first steps towards a World Cup final were taken by Argentina at Salt Lake stadium in 2011, Alejandro Sabella had said at Maracana three years later. Like with Tite, Brazil did not change coaches after another disappointing World Cup. Will it be the same for Carlo Ancelotti? Will Raphinha’s absence mean a start for Endrick? Can Brazil’s first full-time foreign head coach work his Real Madrid magic? Yet at the World Cup, the two-time champions Uruguay were the highest ranked team, 19th, to exit from the group stage. The Nations League has robbed South American teams of the chance to play teams from Europe. India have benefited. Can Uruguay?
