He’s already showing signs of reaching it though. Starting for France and being given more of a role for Juventus at age 20 says something.
Plus he’s picking the brains of Pirlo.
Great first point. It is great to see that the player Brazilians love the most is Neymar. He’s the one who’se selling the shirts and is the face of this team rather than a very good but still a bland workhorse of a player like say Gustavo.
The second point I think is void because while other sports will start arriving like elsewhere football is so embedded in the fabric of Brazilian culture as it is worldwide that it will remain numero uno. Brazil’s immense population giving it a sufficient talent pool to produce top class players. Even if Brazil’s population went down to 10 million I suspect it would be one of the outlier nations like Croatia, Uruguay, Netherlands etc.
I agree with the ‘semi dead’ point and I think it has more to do with the coach . I bet he regrets not calling up players like Lucas Moura and Firmino and going with donkeys like Hulk, Fred and Jo.
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You could not have said it any better. All those haters moaning this Brazil is not the Brazil of the yester years need to realize that this Brazil does not have players like Ronaldo, Ronaldinhio etc.
Also, even if Brazil do get players like these again, it would be very hard to see them play joga bonito. Weaker teams now sit back, defend till death and attack on counters. Earlier they used to play openly and get thrashed.
A perfect example of this would be Holland. They were known for their flair and attacking attacking style of play before 2010, but it never got them anywhere. Bert Van Marwik used a defensive strategy in 2010 and people complained that he is so boring and that’s now how Holland plays but they reached the finals and could have won the world cup, had they had a little luck on their side.
They had awesome players in 2006 (Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Juninho, Robinho, Adriano), still no jogo bonito then.
However, to the point - why are there fewer awesome players? I am not inclined to believe “Brazil is not as passionate” reason as Brazil is still producing great CB’s, DMs, and WB’s. I think it goes back to the tactical evolution in Brazilian football - they are not looking to produce these players. How many great ball-dominant CM’s has Brazil produced in the last 10 years?
Interesting to hear it said “Joga bonito” (verb + adverb), I’d always thought of it as “Jogo bonito” (noun + adjective).
There have been moments in this WC where Jogo bonito has resurfaced, but it’s true that it’s more of a slugfest these days.
I’m still rooting for Brazil today, but I fear that the odds aren’t good against Germany. Germany is my second-favorite team, so if Brazil has to lose to someone, I am probably least sad to see them lose to Germany.
It would be ironic if Brazil lost to Germany and Argentina lost to the Netherlands, and Brazil and Argentina were stuck slugging it out for 3rd place. Brazil would collapse in tears (and possibly violence) if it got beaten by Argentina for 3rd place. I don’t want that outcome, but I could see it happening.
Joga* bonito is a Nike thing.
Brazil have some awesome players out there who haven’t been selected.
I mean:
Neymar, Moura, Oscar, Firmino and Coutinho backed by Willian and Bernard is an orgasmic frontline.
There is no way Brazil can win today—there was some chance for them had neymar played -------without silva and neymar in brazilian team-------- it would be a cakewalk for germany----iam predicting 2-0 for germany------------go germany go!!
Hulk is a joke, where the hell does this guy play anyway? Isnt he relegated to the Asian league somewhere.
I wish they would not have met at this stage. It should have been a final.
Anyways, let’s hope Brazil wins tonight. Betfair is putting the odds at 49:51 for Brazil to qualify. This can’t get any closer.
are you jabronis ready for the most anticlimatic semifinal in World Cup history?
i fear you are right. 
Wow
Scolari pioneering a new tactic; the false midfield
bump it up
I’ve been saying Netherlands - Germany in the final…I think it will happen. This game is just sad though. At least Neder keeps it tight.
I thought Germany would win, but wow.
