Both of these historic World Cup losses took place on Brazilian soil.
1950’s “Maracanazo” loss to hated neighbor Uruguay 2-1 in the final game of a round robin is considered a National Humiliation that transcends sports, a game Brazil basically walked into all but assuming they would win the World Cup, and a humiliation they waited 64 years to avenge, despite winning like 5 World Cups abroad.
Then, on their way 64 years later to surely make up for this national disaster, they get humiliated in front of 5 billion people watching 7-1 to Germany in the 2014 semifinals. At home. The scenes of Brazilian fans crying as their heroes were already losing something like 4 or to nothing just minutes into the game are ones I won’t soon forget.
Which is the more devastating loss for Brazilian soccer? You could still say Maracanazo because it was not avenged and it was a loss against its neighbor. After all in hindsight, maybe the 2014 Brazil squad was a bit overrated, and Germany was an unstoppable machine that all but cut down all enemies in its way, maybe one of the greatest soccer squads assembled, ever.
But with the ghost of Maracanazo hanging over your country, a chance to erase it once and for all . . . . OK, you lose to the great German team, you lose . . . but 5 GOALS in the first few minutes??? Maracanazo might have been “The Great Blow” but at least it was a 2-1 loss . . . . what we saw last year was a complete emasculation of a country.
And perhaps a Gold Medal at next year Olympics will ease the pain?
Now that said, protests before the World Cup suggest that maybe soccer . . . isn’t quite the lifeblood of Brazil that maybe it was in the 1950s when it was a potential world superpower. Maybe its time for Brazil with its economy, crime, other problems to realize there are more things important to soccer.
But 7-1 . . . .
What do you think soccer fans? Which was more devastating to Brazil? Maracanazo or GermanykicksBrazils-ass-casnazo?