AGONY FOR THE BIG BOYS
Electric football is given a serious jolt by unfancied Swiss
The Brazil fans are wearing T- shirts which proclaim that ‘Tite is better than Guardiola’. And for 45 minutes last night their team seemed to have brought a new dimension to the World Cup, demonstrating that the relentless press of these times is not necessary when you have players who can wait their moment and then propel the ball around like bolts of electricity.
But an idea of who might emerge as the tournament’s threat remains elusive. After a Switzerland equaliser which asked uncomfortable questions about the Brazil defence, the europeans were allowed to bully the five-time winners out of the game. There were bitter recriminations from the Brazilians, who suggested Miranda had been shoved in the back as Steven Zuber manoeuvred to head in an equaliser and that Manuel Akanji had his hands on Gabriel Jesus in the penalty area 16 minutes from time. Both incidents escaped the scrutiny of VAR.
But centre halves are supposed to be built to withstand physical forwards. Miranda was oblivious to Zuber and poorly positioned when the goal went in. The unvarnished truth is that Tite’s players went far too easily to ground and could not maintain the rhythm and control which made their opening 45 minutes of the tournament seem such a statement of intent. Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic called it right about the goal. ‘Their players weren’t very well positioned.’
Brazil should have been out of sight, rendering all their bellyaching unnecessary, but the more revealing aspect of Tite’s discussion was his suggestion that Brazil had been affected by nerves. ‘It’s this kind of anxiety that in your first game you want to win, you really want to do it,’ he said. ‘There’s this pressure.’
It’s hard to avoid the sense that they are seeking redemption for what they still call ‘la fantasma’ — ‘the ghost’ of Belo horizonte, where Germany beat them 7-1. They had put 1,440 days between themselves and that catastrophe but it still casts its shadow.
They held nothing back. Tite had said on Saturday that Neymar was ‘not 100 per cent right’ but even if there was any truth in that, the manager who has rebuilt this team had no intention of acting on it. he threw him into the fray.
There were clear minds all around Neymar in that first period. Brazil were prepared to give Switzerland half the field to play in. The ball was generally into their own half before they
went in active pursuit of it. And once it belonged to them, they shipped it around with the kind of intuition which hinted at the potential for something fearsome in the weeks ahead. Extremely early days, but there was something of the 1970 side about this imperturbable quality when they were out of possession.
Almost from the start, Neymar and Philippe Coutinho were the most dangerous combination in the left-hand channel, latter feeding former in the game’s 11th minute, when Fabian Schaer found the ball under his feed in a nightmare moment and could only half clear the ball to Paulinho, who shot wide.
But the opening goal, on 20 minutes, delivered a message for which there was no immediate answer. Neymar and Coutinho exchanged passes in the lefthand channel again and shipped it out for Marcelo, whose cross was headed by Zuber to Coutinho’s feet. The trajectory of his strike, bending from a foot outside the post to strike the inside of the upright on its way in, was his trademark.
The Swiss equaliser on 50 minutes went against the grain, though it presaged a frailty in Brazil. Neymar so often wanted to claim infringements. It was put to Tite last night that the Swiss had committed 19 fouls, 10 against Neymar, though the Europeans were no more than tough and certainly not cynical.
Brazil missed their chances, too. Coutinho chested a Neymar pass to a comfortable shooting distance but sliced wide. Neymar hit the side netting, briefly hobbling on the right foot he had broken. He ran it off but was limping as he left the stadium.
On a weekend when some mighty giants have been slain, the outcome demonstrated that the team which lifts this trophy will need more than the stardust quality. Guile, steadfastness and physicality are all requirements.
We wait to see whether Brazil really are equipped to put the past behind them.