In defense of the national team

The overdose of opinions about "The" defeat seems to have practically exhausted the subject, even due to a pathetic uniformity of opinion stemming from the fear of disagreeing and the psychotic "need" of a large part of Brazilians to self-flagellate with refined cruelty.

Since last year, many have discovered that the official censorship of the "years of lead" has been replaced by a different censorious impulse, the worst effect of which is the self-censorship of those who fear damage to their own image if they diverge from the momentary consensus established on various issues.

That's what happened during the June 2013 protests. I can assure the reader that many of those who knew that the movement would only serve to undermine Dilma Rousseff – and nothing more – did more than remain silent in an ignoble way: they joined what they believed to be wrong.

How do I know this? Many friends advised me not to question what, at the time, enjoyed almost unanimous support in the country – about 80% of Brazilians even supported it. They made numerous points to me about "imaginary suicide".

Today, for those who remained silent about that mass movement, it has become as easy to criticize it as it has become difficult for those who defended it irreversibly to backtrack and acknowledge their misjudgment.

However, this does not change the fact that the vast majority realized that the movement resulted in nothing, if one disregards the harm done to a single political party.

It is therefore my duty to swim against the current once again, saying what I think of the "shame" of the National Team and – for those who have replaced their inferiority complex with that of an amoeba – "of Brazil." Here, I will defend the National Team.

But first, I'll make a few other points.

The sheer amount of nonsense we've read and heard in recent days must exceed the number of stars on a clear night sky. The worst of these absurdities was comparing Brazil and Germany as societies. The second worst was attributing the "shameful" defeat to Dilma's government.

Let's start with the second: if the performance of a national football team is a merit or demerit of governments, then the best of all Brazilian governments must have been that of dictator Emílio Garrastazu Médici, during which Brazil won three World Cups with magnificent football.

But the comparison between the social well-being of the Germanic people and the Brazilian people is much worse. Germanic history dates back some 4 years. Need I say more?

They even compared healthcare, education, and the number of Nobel Prizes the German people have won. Why? Because of football…

If football were a measure of social development, the five-time champions should be the Germans, not the Brazilians. Our hegemony in this sport throughout the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century – with the conquest of the fifth title in 2002 – stems, in part, from our underdevelopment.

The lack of appreciation for football in Brazil is one of the country's liabilities. This writer doesn't support any football team and has always been amazed by the sheer frenzy this sport unleashes in the people.

However, my opinion has always been that hosting a World Cup here has nothing to do with the excessive time, attention, and resources that Brazilians spend on a simple sport.

The 2014 World Cup is our great opportunity to show the world that Brazil is an excellent tourist destination and, moreover, that we are capable of brilliantly hosting a major international event.

That's without even mentioning the mountain of money the country is making from the World Cup, at a level of profitability that far exceeds the costs.

So, let's defend the national team. It doesn't take much brainpower to understand why the sporting "disaster" occurred. And this wasn't solely due to none of the Brazilian players on the field, with the exception of the goalkeeper, having played in a World Cup.

It was clearly an extremely bold gamble for Felipão to call up a team that had never played in a World Cup, but the Confederations Cup suggested that this team could shine again in another international competition.

But of course, that wasn't all – in fact, the lack of experience in World Cups could have been overcome.

The youth and inexperience of the players, however, were exacerbated by other factors, or rather, by the literal sabotage that the national team suffered at the hands of the Brazilian media and political groups.

Some self-proclaimed prophets of events are now boasting that they were "right" when they criticized the national team and, as "proof" of this, they rub the resounding defeat in the faces of those who refused to join a veritable pack of wolves that sought to demotivate those young people.

It would be normal to have criticism against the national team, but the uproar from the violent protests, the apathy of the fans, the initial coldness of the population towards the World Cup, all of this put emotional pressure on an immature team.

Imagine, reader, how many nights those boys dreamed… Or rather, imagine how many nightmares they had about the disaster that materialized. They knew very well that they would have to win over the Brazilian people, unprecedentedly averse to the sport they love.

Even seeing the problems – especially the inexperience and emotional state of the team – those who didn't want the outcome that occurred had an OBLIGATION to combat the defeatism and psychological pressure mercilessly unleashed against those frightened boys.

Throughout the competition, the team most criticized by the media was, by far, ours. It's ridiculous that anyone would boast about having "warned" us. Come on, who didn't "warn" us? The media as a whole "warned" us. All the time. Non-stop. Day and night.

Questionable refereeing decisions and the absence of two crucial players destroyed what little emotional balance remained.

It's obvious that a team with players so highly valued in the global football market shouldn't have suffered that defeat, with that level of resounding success. What happened has nothing to do with Brazilian football, which had shone in the Confederations Cup a year earlier.

In fact, the media predicted success on the field and a disaster off the field, due to the organization of the event. The opposite occurred.

After the national team's first game in this year's World Cup, there were complaints about the coaching staff taking steps to address the emotional problems that were already evident in that game, with Marcelo's own goal. Okay, but they didn't say how to do it.

Does anyone know how to calm down kids who have never competed in a competition like this and who have spent the last 12 months witnessing the war-like atmosphere in the country against the World Cup, not to mention the avalanche of disqualifications?

If anyone is to blame, it's Felipão. Unfortunately, that's the truth.

Fielding a completely inexperienced team – goalkeeper Júlio Cezar doesn't mitigate this deficit – was reckless. Even more so knowing how many political interests were at play in ensuring failure both on and off the field.

And finally, since stupidity entered the field so blatantly, that idiotic argument about how much players earn soon appears – as if only Brazilian stars were well paid, as if stars all over the world didn't earn fortunes.

Look, our well-paid players don't steal from anyone. They earn a lot because they generate a lot of profit. It's that simple. And they deserve to earn, because the competition to get where they are is immense, immeasurable.

All of this leads me to a single conclusion: they couldn't sabotage the organization of the World Cup, but they could sabotage the national team. Who sabotaged it? The political parties and media groups that were counting on this defeat on the field to achieve a victory at the polls.

Will they get along?