Brazil are back and so is the Beautiful Game

One of the joys of football is watching Brazil play without any inhibitions. The passing, movement, trickery, celebrations and callous disregard for the opposition is a thing of beauty. In short Jogo Bonito, or the Beautiful Game as it is known, is goosebumps-inducing given how mechanical and technical much of modern football has become.

Millennials, who get to see that only on archival footage, got a taste of what Brazilians are capable of when the handbrakes are taken off and are allowed to play with gay abandon.

Neymar, Richarlison, Vinicius Jr, Rapinha, Lucas Paqueta, Casemiro, Marquinhos and Thiago Silva are no Pele, Tastao, Jairzinho, Carlos Alberto Torres, Gerson, Rivelino and Garrincha but the jaw-dropping and tantalising football they displayed for the first 40 minutes of their South Korea demolition in the last-16 bout on Monday night was straight out of the 1950s-70s era.

Vinicius, just 22 but already a star in Real Madrid, the reigning European champions, showed his lethal finishing skills when he calmly slotted home as early as in the seventh minute. Having got the early lead, Brazil then pressed ahead with full steam to completely knock down a befuddled South Korea.

Vinicius, Neymar, Richarlison, Paqueta and Rapinha kept moving the ball with such speed and zip, even the normally fleet-footed South Koreans were left breathless. The constant interchanges, intricate passes, slipping balls between defenders, Brazil were simply schooling a bewildered South Korea. While it was punishing for Koreans, for Brazilians and the neutrals, it was the football that one had been waiting to see from the Selecao for a long time.

One of those lightening-quick exchanges is what led to Richarlison being tripped inside the box and earning a penalty which Neymar, with his trademark start-stop run, coolly slotted in to give Brazil a 2-0 lead.

The third goal was balletic. Richarlison, who had already scored a sensational scissor-kick goal in the opening game against Serbia, juggled the ball on his head and shoulder with a defender right next to him before indulging in a give-and-go and then rifling home the sphere. Such was the beauty of the goal, the commentator aptly screamed with delight “That is Brazil in a nutshell.”

The Brazilians weren’t content. They wanted to have more fun at the expense of their dumbstruck rivals. Paqueta and Vinicius combined nicely, the former finishing with an incisive shot. He then broke into a jig and the rest of his team-mates joined, turning the pitch into a dance floor. They loved it, the fans at the Stadium 974 loved it and millions watching at home loved it too. It was the brand of football everyone wanted Brazil to play which they have been doing only sporadically since Tite took over in June 2016.

Despite the wealth of attacking talent at his disposal, Tite prefers to play defensive football, fearful of being opened up by supremely organised European teams. Remember Germany’s 7-1 hammering of Brazil in the 2014 World Cup at home under Dunga. Tite’s side also lost in the quarterfinals of the previous World Cup in Russia with fans and pundits condemning the conservative approach.

In a welcome change of strategy, Tite packed the Brazil side in Qatar with nine strikers and attack-minded midfielders with veteran Casemiro being the defensive bedrock in the engine room. And that ploy seems to be paying dividends as Brazil have thrust forward with purpose. Barring the flat show against Cameroon, they’ve constantly attacked, searching always for possibilities of unlocking defences. Also, they’ve refused to sit back after scoring, the young attackers constantly fighting to get their names on the score-sheet.

Having said that, Brazil’s real test will come in the quarterfinals against Croatia, who are superbly organised, can defend deep for long periods and possess the counter-punch that can take down champion sides. For fans of Jogo Bonito though, they’ll be hoping the samba music keeps playing with the delectable interludes.