There must
have been a moment when even those watching in white shirts inside
Estadio Mineirao wished it would end. Germans are only human, after all.
Admittedly,
the 11 on the pitch seemed to be transcending that state at times, but
those looking on, the mortals – they must have felt it like the rest of
us.
It
was simply too much. Too brutal, Too excruciating. Too painful to
watch. The crowd did not go quiet, but they stopped singing. There was a
rumble, of chatter, of conversation, people trying to make sense of
what they had seen. Six minutes of football that would live in the
memory as long as the famous Maracanazo. From Brazil 0 Germany 1, to
Brazil 0 Germany 5. In six minutes. Six minutes. It needed repeating,
digesting. There has never been a World Cup semi-final like this.
Opener: Thomas Muller scores Germany's first to set Joachim Low's men on their way to a 7-1 victory
Back of the net! Goalkeeper Julio Cesar is powerless to stop Thomas Muller's effort as David Luiz watches on
Too easy! Eight Brazilians stand in the box as Muller finds space to guide the ball goalwards
Record-breaker: Miroslav Klose celebrates after becoming the top scorer in World Cup history
On his knees: Klose broke Brazil legend Ronaldo's goalscoring record as he doubled Germany's advantage
Lethal finisher! Klose guides the ball into the net as Brazil midfielder Fernandinho watches on
Deadly duo: Muller and Klose congratulate each other as Germany continued to score
The
first goal, 11 minutes in, was uncomplicated enough, a Toni Kroos
corner that found Thomas Muller inexplicably unmarked eight yards out,
Dante and David Luiz both drawn away by decoy runs, like small children
distracted by a shiny thing. The finish looked easy, but wasn’t, Muller
needing to take the ball on the volley, but with enough calm to keep it
on target. He did everything right. He often does.
In
the meantime, at the other end, Philipp Lahm made the tackle of the
night on a marauding Marcelo, just to show it wasn’t all about the
forwards, and then it began – the wholesale destruction of a nation’s
footballers and its football philosophy. Six minutes of shock, awe and
heartbreak.
It
began with a crossfield pass by Muller that Fernandinho should have cut
out, but didn’t. There followed a superb interchange of passes between
Kroos, Miroslav Klose and Muller again, that ended with Klose forcing a
save from Julio Cesar. The ball rebounded to his feet and he made no
mistake second time – to become, with 16 goals, the World Cup’s top
scorer unopposed, moving one ahead of Brazil’s Ronaldo. It would have
served as an omen, had Brazil been given time to consider one.
Little and large: Germany defender Jerome Boateng towers over Brazil left back Marcelo
Midfield battle: Germany's Sami Khedira races forward away from Brazil's Luis Gustavo
A
minute later, Lahm surged down the right crossed and when Muller missed
his kick – a rare aberration – Kroos struck his shot straight as an
arrow leaving Cesar no chance. An uneasy quiet settled on the arena. The
game was gone now, and dignity was clinging by its fingertips.
Not
for long, almost from the restart Fernandinho lost possession, and
Kroos and Khedira advanced on goal, unselfishly swopping passes almost
as if they were reluctant to apply the final thrust of the sword. In the
end, it fell to Kroos to administer the blow. He did what he had to do.
Those
that play the FIFA computer game may have experienced the accidental
setting of the controls to ‘amateur’ standard. Watching Brazil’s defence
now felt like that. They were in disarray, disorganised, clueless,
lost. Mesut Ozil cut the ball back to Khedira for the fifth on 29
minutes and the stadium audibly gasped.
Quiet evening: Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer gets down low to deny Brazil frontman Oscar
Devastated: David Luiz is comforted by fellow defender Thiago Silva who was suspended for the clash
Cameras
that usually focus on happy, smiling - invariably white - Brazilian
faces, now found only tears. Green and yellow paint was smeared, the
default national characteristic - a broad beam - was absent. It wasn’t
just the game that was lost, a piece of Brazil’s soul appeared to have
disappeared with it too.
When
Uruguay won in the Maracana in 1950, the commentator kept repeating the
phrase ‘gol do Uruguay’ over and over again, as if unable to comprehend
it. It was similar here. All around the ground. ‘Cinco...cinco...’
'The
sixth is coming,' says the slogan on Brazil’s team bus. It refers to
World Cup victories, but here took on a new meaning. Andre Schurrle
delivered it, from a neat square pass by Lahm, in the 69th minute. The
same player chipped the hopeless, hapless Cesar for the seventh ten
minutes later. It officially became the worst night of football in
Brazil’s history. Oscar scored in injury time, although by then everyone
had seen quite enough.
Nightmare: Two Brazil fans watch on in horror as their country completely capitulated against the Germans
Amazed: Supporters in Berlin are all smiles following Germany's epic first half performance
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