Brazil: Team Neymar will get a shot at redemption after its men’s football team thrashed Honduras to set up an Olympic gold medal match against Germany.
Brazilian fans are still reeling from the 7-1 humiliation suffered at the hands of the Germans at the 2014 World Cup, the most devastating defeat in the nation’s history.
Though, Rogerio Micale, the Head coach of Brazil in Rio Olympics has immediately played down the discussion that his young team will seek revenge for the senior side’s thumping by Germany in the last FIFA World Cup when these teams will meet in the final on Saturday.
Brazil’s humiliating defeat against Germany in front of a home crowd in their 2014 FIFA World Cup semi final in Belo Horizonte has been one of the biggest humiliations in modern football history. That performance was a terrible blow not just for the team but for the entire nation and their fans are desperate for a revenge in the Maracana Stadium to help heal the wounds.
Maracana too, has not at all been a happy hunting ground for Brazil. The 1950 FIFA World Cup was a prime example of that. The team ended up losing it in the final against Uruguay at the very same venue. The fans would certainly be assuming for a better show this time as the morale of the side is extremely high after their sublime victory over Honduras in the semi final.
In front of the home crowd, Brazil’s start had been a shaky one in this Olympics as they stumbled a bit in the early part of this campaign. But the pride of being the most successful nation in the football world orchestrated their force to get better and better as the competition progresses.
Key factor: The leadership qualities of Neymar Jr has always been a plus if he is dawning the national team jersey unlike many superstars of world football. Moreover, the quickest goal in the Olympics history which he achieved in the semi final against Honduras would certainly boost his morale ahead of the big final. He is a versatile player and can shift gears when needed. His rare quality to produce wonders in the big stages could turn out to be a big bonus for the South American power house. Remember, he didn’t play the game against Germany which caused that humiliation on the pride of Brazilian Joga Bonito.
X—factor: Along with Neymar, the latest sensations like Gabriel Jesus and Luan on the upfront, Rafinha & Felipe Anderson on the heart of midfield and Marquinhos & Rodrigo Caio in the defence played outstandingly well throughout the competition. Especially, the goal-scoring abilities of Luan and special flamboyance of Gabriel Jesus will give an extra edge in front of the huge Maracana crowd.
Germany: The reigning World Champions have been thoroughly professional throughout the competition. They played with 5 different systems and all came out to be immensely effective. The Germans are probably having the most diversifying attacking force. The combination play between Arsenal’s Serge Gnabry, Leverkusen’s Julian Brandt & Schalke’s Max Meyer has indeed suggested that they could soon be poking their trade at the senior level. Germany will now aim to inflict more misery on Brazil and further aid its case to establish the fact that they now the ultimate force in world soccer.
The world champions who defeated Nigeria by a comprehensive 2-0 margin in the semi finals, appear to have placed less importance on the Olympics, at least on paper. The leading Bundesliga clubs like Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund have not been obliged to release their frontline players in the Olympics. Their three over‑age footballers have only 26 full caps as a whole, while Brazil’s three have 81.
When asked about the young and inexperienced German players in dealing with the hostility from the Brazilian fans, the Germany coach for the Olympics, Horst Hrubesch, replied: “What could be a greater experience for a young player than to be here at the Maracanã for the final of an Olympic Games, playing in front of nearly 80,000 people? We have enough experienced players who will help them.”
“It will be a great experience for them. By getting to the final we have been successful already; now we will try to win the game.”
The body language of the German players is depicting such a confident picture which can put the home team under significant pressure. Moreover, the pressure will largely be on Brazil as they will be playing in front of their home crowd and expectation to wipe out the trophy drought which has been a significant demand for the most successful football nation on earth.
Key factor: The leadership qualities of Lars Bender, Matthias Ginter and Serge Gnabry have transformed the inexperienced German side into an inexorable force. The amazing come back from Arsenal’s Serge Gnabry who had been suffering from a scratchy spell for the last few seasons in the Premier League and his loan spells owing to injuries, has come out to be a spearhead in floating the hopes of clinching the illusive Gold from the Rio Olympics.
X-Factor: Nils Petersen & Lucas Kolstarmann have appeared to be the most gifted talents in the Olympics. Kolstarmann has already shown the glimpses of serving German football for a long time. His aerial brilliance in set pieces has been a constant threat for all the teams in this competition. Another “X-Factor” has certainly been the team game. The lack of superstars could just turn out to be the “blessing in disguise” in the battle of Gold as well.
Prediction: Though both the teams are evenly matched, Team Brazil might clinch the battle with a narrow victory. But it will not be easy like they had it in the other knock-out games in this competition.