I feel SO sorry for Brazil. And what’s even worse, they historically had so little, that when they lose in World Cups, some Brazilians actually kill themselves. I PRAY that does NOT happen. BUT I DO want this to serve as a wake up call to chill out on the arrogance. Thank God, Brazil has been changing and becoming a GREAT country with more to offer than just soccer, and this changed a lot of the attitudes of bragging Brazilians always had with soccer. They became more humble. BUT STILL…for the month right before this World Cup, I saw TWO different commercials from Brazil making fun of Roberto Baggio missing that famous penalty in the 1994 World Cup Final (yeah, that’s 20 years ago). Brazil, like France, are the BIGGEST SORE WINNERS. That’s right, even when they win, they are nasty about it. That 1994 World Cup hurt all of us Italian fans, but should have really hurt anybody who cares about fairness.
Roberto Baggio was injured and was not supposed to play that game. Zola, who was as good as the World Footballer of the Year Baggio, was not played. And the coach also refused to play Signori, another player among the World’s best at the time. AND Franco Baresi, one of History’s best defenders, came back for the final after a miraculous few weeks recovery from a knee operation!! AND WITH ALL THAT Brazil STILL could not beat Italy. The game finished 0-0 and the ONLY hope they had was for an Italian player to make a mistake. Roberto Baggio is a known Buddhist, and one of the most humble men anywhere. When I met him, I FELT his peaceful energy. He preaches Love and Peace. AND HE is the one who gets made fun of?? EXPLAIN THAT! JUSTIFY THAT! Brazilians do NOT celebrate Brazil winning that World Cup, which they did not deserve to win. They celebrate someone else making a mistake. AGAIN…THAT’S why I call them sore winners.
Germany would have destroyed Brazil in the 2014 Semi Final, even if Neymar and Thiago SIlva had played. So please, no excuses. Brazilians THEMSELVES, not just upset about hosting the World Cup that drained money from the poor to the corrupt, complained about how MEDIOCRE the Brazilian team’s performance was. So no excuses.
Brazil should thank God they lost to the Germans and not to ….say…the Brazilians. The Germans displayed humility in their victory. Besides being a lesson in Soccer, Brazil can learn from this a lot about behavior, class, and culture.
After the 2002 World Cup, which let’s be honest, was THE most fixed tournament ever, saw the host nation KOREA, of all teams, cheat with the help of FIFA referees beat Italy, Spain, AND Portugal in VERY obvious, cheating/corrupt ways AND reach the Semi-Finals, Brazil was CLEARLY favored and helped out repeatedly by the referees. Brazil won that Cup and added another World Cup title, totaling 5. TWO of those were not deserved.
Growing up around so many different people, I know AND respect different cultures. But I call out people’s bullshit and hypocrisy when I see it. A good chunk of Central and South Americans LOVE to hate on Europeans and accuse them of being “girls”, ballerinas, fakers, cheaters, divers, and cry babies when it comes to Soccer. AND YET that is EXACTLY what they do. Its the biggest one-way rivalry ever. And it’s such insecurity and jealousy. When a fan of, say, Mexico watches his/her team lose, they AUTOMATICALLY root for the next closest country in their continent. The ONLY time they will root for a European team is either Spain or Portugal, and that’s ONLY because of the language and/or possible relation to them. THAT is how basic and backwards some can be.
I, and other people of European background, could NEVER even THINK of rooting for a team JUST because they are from the same Continent. Actually, for us, it’s the EXACT OPPOSITE. Italians would NEVER root for the French, for instance. And many Europeans love Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, etc. We admire them, not hate them out of insecurity and jealousy. It’s a waste of time to make fun of people.
Read people’s comments on the Internet. When ANY Central or South American team won, they went on and on about CONCACAF and CONMEBOL and how much they HATE UEFA. WHY? WHO CARES???? Why do they view things like “us vs. them”. That’s so closed minded, racist, and prejudiced. I hate to expose this because I love the sport and all teams and all the countries but their childlike rooting has been exposed.
Please, let’s appreciate the SPORT and not be arrogant. It is amazing that a country like Brazil who has a BIG hatred for gays and transvestites has one of the biggest populations of both in the world. It’s all based on an insecurity of what some think it means to be a “man”. And now we see the irony in soccer too. I feel terrible for the children crying over this. But, hopefully, they will learn to be great soccer players and win fair and square, like the great Pele’ did. After watching his country lose in Brazil in 1950 in the Finals against neighboring rival Uruguay, Pele’ cried and swore to win a World Cup for his father and his Brazil. AND HE DID. He serves as an example of what Brazilians and ALL people should be like. ESPECIALLY when it comes to Soccer.
Nice commentary, Gianluca! yeah, its always the most insecure that yap the loudest…like the “christian” anti-gay politicians who end up getting busted for soliciting gay sex in an airport mens room!
lol those are the worst. they take a message of love and use it as a shield and weapon