Good to see keepers taking centrestage
I’m still waiting for Brazil. That is not as mysterious as it sounds. The hosts who are supposed to have the most are yet to hit form, in my opinion, and until they put up a proper performance, we’ll have to wait for the real Brazil.
It happens sometimes that in a tournament of this length, some teams start slow and pick up pace as they progress. And the enormous pressure on Brazil to deliver the goods must have been a factor in their performance thus far. However, they ought to now realise that they are in the quarters, and the pressure ought to have eased a little, which means they now need to get their act together and play like the Brazil we know.
Of course, it also bears repeating that of the 14 times that Brazil and Colombia have met before, Colombia have won just once, probably in 1991. So, if they hit form, Brazil are favourites, but only if they raise their game. The last four games have all ended in draws, with three of them goalless.
So, in Colombia, Brazil have probably come up against their toughest opponents in the tournament thus far. Colombian striker James Rodriguez is a star in the making, no doubt, and how Neymar and team handle him will go a long way in deciding the winner of this encounter.
So saying, I have, perhaps reflexively, subscribed to the cult of the individual footballer that we are seeing so much of.
More than Argentina, or Brazil, or Colombia, or Germany, people seem to be thinking in terms of Messi, Neymar, Rodriguez, or Klose. Much of that probably has to do with the way these players have been presented in the media, and while that kind of fame creates its own burden, I can’t complain when the same happens to goalkeepers.
I’ve watched with glee as goalkeepers have taken centrestage in this tournament, more than any other previous edition, perhaps owing to the brand of attacking, open, entertaining football that we have seen this time. The kind of attention that Ochoa or Enyeama or Tim Howard has received is usually reserved for strikers only, and it has been an interesting experience to watch the neglected breed negotiate the spotlight.
SONY SIX / GAMEPLAN The writer is a former England
goalkeeper