A light hearted post

The media continue to publicize heartbreaking images of Brazilian fans after their gobsmacking loss. Quietly and in as understated a manner as you can imagine (and I mean it literally), their bitter rivals Argentina sneaked past Netherlands courtesy of a penalty shootout to book a place in the final against the rampant Germans.

It so happens that for the first time in history the Catholic Church has two living popes. And fittingly, here on the most populous catholic country in the world, in the city with the most iconic Christ statue, the final is played out between the two nations where these two living popes hail from. 

Photo from blogs.cnn.com

I have no doubt though that they are praying for far more profound and permanent improvements to the state of mankind

"Wahnsinn! Unglaublich! Unfassbar!", or "Madness! Unbelievable! Unbelievable!"

... Is how one German media headlined the news of their national team beating the host. You can only imagine the heartbreak of the other side. I thought Brazil would show courage and strength in adversity. Next time, maybe. As aptly quoted by Malcolm X:

There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.

I had hoped, sentimentally, for Brazil to best Germany, and make it to the finals of the World Cup at home. Even better if they can meet their bitter rival and neighbour Argnetina. It would be a fitting finale to a great tournament which had been dogged by construction delays and public protests before it started, and then went on to break nearly every meaningful record, including 3 this morning: more goals scored in the finals since 2002, a new individual record holder in Klose scoring more World Cup final goals, and the scoreline itself, 7-1, is unprecedented in a semifinal, not to mention a semifinal involving Brazil who has won the cup more times than any other nation. 

Maybe Neymar was indeed more talismanic than everyone thought. Surely, Thiago's leadership on the pitch more missed than they can imagine. In the end, while many are saying this is not that as good a team of players (bar two: the injured and the suspended), I think they were undone by mental rather than physical weakness. The players were taken aback by the easy first goal in the 11th minute, but when the second went in 10 minutes later, they reeled from it and in 6 minutes thereafter let in 3 more goals as players seem to not know what to do. To Germany's credit, they never let up and kept at it, looking for the 3rd, the 4th and eventually, the 7th!

I do feel for the Brazilian fans, especially this boy who must now be the emblem of how brutal this defeat is.

But this pain shall pass. In the meantime more significant events are taking place in the world. Indonesia is electing it's next President. India just did. Thailand's military have firmly taken control of the country for the umpteenth time. Malaysia's transformation program has yet to take effect. Singaporeans are no longer politically apathetic and are asking for support (which incidentally if unmitigated could erode Singapore's competitiveness). 

This once in 4 year sporting extravaganza takes the mind of the nation of these events for awhile but at the end of the day, it's about living well AND happily. The latter is of course much improved (albeit momentarily) when your team wins :)

Strength in the face of adversity

We are all now familiar with this picture. Marcelo screaming for help from the physios after being told by Neymar he can't feel his legs, having just been kneed in the back by a Colombian midfielder.

Photo from Telegraph.co.uk

Both their faces say it all. And as Rohit Brijnath put it: 

"Neymar da Silva Santos Junior is not to be confused with a footballer when in fact he is a Brazilian talisman. He is a man turned into a national charm. He is the equivalent of Lionel Messi and a version of Kiwi rugby star Richie McCaw. To appreciate what they mean is to consider a clever headline from India when their greatest cricketer was about to be turned into a comic book: "We don't need Superman - we have Tendulkar!"

The football talisman is more than a goal-scorer. In his presence lies reassurance, in his every move lies faith. He is saviour and magician. To play against him is apparently unnerving, to play alongside him is akin to wearing a protective amulet. Only the great are stalked by myths. Now, the talisman has fallen, and for Brazil it feels as if confidence has collapsed. If they rise from this to win the Cup it will be an escape so astonishing that even Harry Houdini might applaud...

At the 1980 Winter Olympics, with his unfancied US ice-hockey team about to confront the dominant Soviets, coach Herb Brooks countered stress with inspiration and told them: "You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours."

This is what coaches do. Take adversity and spin it into a cause. Take misfortune and paint on a silver lining. Take Brazil's favourite tag and twist it slyly into underdog status. Take a nation's renewed passion and surf on it.... Perhaps Scolari will flirt with that theme and get Neymar to address the team - even via video link - before their semi-final. Lost skill, after all, can sometimes be compensated for by emotion: You play for yourself, team, nation and also Neymar.

One man's absence is also another man's chance. Widely summoned is the memory of the 1962 Cup, when Pele tore a thigh muscle and Amarildo took his place, scoring a goal in the final while setting up another. Yet that was a team of Garrincha and Vava, this of Fred and Jo. Still Scolari must stroke egos - you are great, you are the one - and out of Neymar's shadow someone must step up to become his nation's timely son.

As Brazil walk into the unknown, this is football at its most fascinating. And yet most tragic. The exceptional athlete can live with defeat; it is not being able to at least chase victory which is unbearable for Neymar. And also us."

Thus far, I have not bothered to wake up for the 4am matches; instead, for the weekend matches, I studiously avoid all forms of media when I wake up and head straight to the TV for the repeat telecast, which is as good as 'live' for me. But I think I will do so next morning. Even J is going to catch it with his friends, on a school night! We are grandly permitting it. He's 17 after all and at this age I was already living on my own here with a bunch of ASEAN scholars at a 4-room HDB flat in Jurong. In fact, we were watching the movie Grease (for the umpteenth time for me) when J lamented that his experience of school and now junior college is nothing like the rocking good times in Rydell High. 

Actually he's been so busy in school, especially in secondary school, he's not kept up with watching professional football. The last time we watched the same match, in separate locations, was when our team, Manchester United won the Champions League for the third time back in 2008 (in Moscow, beating Roman Abrahamovic's Chelsea on penalties). Maybe there will be such dramatics tonight. That Germany is their opponent truly makes this a worthy contest for the Germans are always consistent big game tournament performers. As D said earlier tonight, "the head is with Germany but the heart is with Brazil". I am wearing the Brazil jersey we bought in Rio when we were there and and hoping they show fortitude under adversity. 

Krul wins it for the Dutch, so Cruel for the Costa Ricans

It's the most brutal way to settle a match, but when a match must be won, it's been the only way.

Both teams had thought about this moment, when 120 minutes cannot separate the sides, they would have to resort to a penalty shootout. When the final whistle was blown after extra time in Salvador (a venue that has seen most the best matches of the tournament so far), the Costa Rican coach punched his dust into the air knowing his team has done well to earn this. The Dutch too was prepared. Louis van Gaal, a master tactician, brought on a substitute goalkeeper, one whom he fancies is better at saving penalties. I can well imagine it must have been devastating for the #1 goalie (who played well and could become the hero) but it's about the team winning and they stood a better chance with Krul in goal. And he did it, saving two penalties, including one from the inspirational Costa Rican captain, Bryan Ruiz. 

Photo from NYtimes

To me, the Dutch victory underlines the importance of teaming, especially sacrificing for the team. More significantly, it speaks to the courage of a coach who is willing to make these tough decisions. Of putting a better/younger/stronger/older/bigger/faster (chose one) on the field when the job demanded it. Of the tactics employed today, Van Gaal with his HR management for the team won.

Speaking of coaches there was this compilation of their salaries:

In all, 19 coaches earn at least $1 million per year. Out of the top 10 coaches, only 5 of their teams have qualified for the knockout stages. 

Miguel Herrera, arguably the most passionate coach at the World Cup, earns a paltry $209K per year according to the Daily Mail. In other words, Capello earns more than 50 times what Herrera earns in a year! To be fair, the business world (with all it's economic and management theories) hasn't really been able to get executive compensation right so we can't expect the sporting world to do so, no? But given the state today, I'd say van Gaal is worth the money and as a United fan, I look forward with hope!

SALARIES OF COACHES AT THE 2014 WORLD CUP

#	COUNTRY	COACH	SALARY PER YEAR
1	Russia	Fabio Capello	$11.4m
2	England	Roy Hodgson	$5.9m
3	Italy	Cesare Prandelli	$4.4m
4	Brazil (Q)	Luiz Felipe Scolari	$3.9m
5	Switzerland (Q)	Ottmar Hitzfeld	$3.7m
6	Germany (Q)	Joachim Low	$3.6m
7	Spain	Vicente Del Bosque	$3.3m
8	Netherlands (Q)	Louis Van Gaal	$2.73m
9	Japan	Alberto Zaccheroni	$2.72m
10	USA (Q)	Juergen Klinsmann	$2.6m
11	France (Q)	Didier Deschamps	$2.16m
12	Portugal	Paulo Bento	$2.16m
13	Iran	Carlos Quieroz	$2.09m
14	Chile (Q)	Jorge Sampaoli	$1.7m
15	Colombia (Q)	Jose Pekerman	$1.6m
16	Australia	Ange Postecoglou	$1.29m
17	Uruguay (Q)	Oscar Tabarez	$1.25m
18	Ivory Coast	Sabri Lamouchi	$1.03m
19	Algeria (Q)	Vahid Halihodzic	$1m
20	Belgium (Q)	Marc Wilmots	$864K
	Greece (Q)	Fernando Santos	$864K
22	Argentina (Q)	Alejandro Sabella	$818K
23	South Korea	Hong Myung-Bo	$795K
24	Honduras	Luis Fernando Suarez	$629K
25	Ecuador	Renaldo Rueda	$566K
26	Costa Rica (Q)	Jorge Luis Pinto	$440K
27	Cameroon	Volker Finke	$394K
28	Nigeria (Q)	Stephen Keshi	$392K
29	Bosnia & Herzegovina	Safet Susic	$352K
30	Croatia	Niko Kovac	$271K
31	Ghana	James Kwesi Appiah	$251K
32	Mexico (Q)	Miguel Herrera	$209K

10 vs 10 = 20/20

With 58 of the 64 games played now in this very exciting tournament, I can safely say I've just watched one of the best games: Brazil vs Colombia in the quarter finals. 

The match has been billed as the battle of No. 10s, Neymar Jr and Rodriguez. Both are their team' stop scorers. Both are young, at 22 years exactly. And both are stars. 

I thought Rodriguez came out on top today. He was a marked man from the beginning but still found space to play in and scored a penalty against Brazil's penalty shootout hero of their keeper, Julio Cesar... Making him 2 goals clear at the top of the Golden Boot chase. But as once said, a player can win you a match, but you need a team to win you the tournament. And Brazil played (finally I must say) as a team today and even with a subdued and eventually injured Neymar Jr, their team won with goals scored by two other players. 

Back to James Rodriguez, I haven't heard of him before but am rather impressed with him, not just for his footballing talents but for his team contribution and ready acknowledgment whenever he scores to the teammate provide the telling assist. So much so, that I had used this analogy at the opening of my recent executive board meeting, hoping to inspire my colleagues to work even better together and appreciate one another.

Photo from conmebol.com

In a knock-out match like this, only one team won, and. Brazil did. That said, Colombia did not lose. They played their heart out in a fast, fully committed end-to-end match. They did credit to the memory of Escobar, the brutally murdered footballer who 20 years ago scored an unfortunate own goal. The have their star, and they played like a team. It's just that. Brazil was a better team today, and they will meet Germany next and I'm sure they are shuddering in their boots. The Germans are in the 4th consecutive World Cup semi-finals. It's a team, almost a machine, who knows how to play in big tournaments and consistently play well. It's representative of their national ethos of systematic discipline.