(BBC Sport) Greatest moments of the decade: Brazil 1-7 Germany, World Cup semi-final

regenhuber · Dec 28, 2019

To the Americans (for scale):

That 7:1 translates to a 75:7 win in a Conference championship game, where the road QB breaks the all time TD record with the record holder (a former home team QB) in the stands.

Now imagine the NFL Playoffs only take place every 4 years and you only get a home game every 30-40 years.

Deleted member 1086 · Dec 28, 2019

pretty funny in a thread about an international media organization recognizing a feat from an international sport someone has to come in and whine that a primarily American sporting event isn't being acknowledged. Like save it for when ESPN names their greatest sports moment of the decade hm?

Empress of ice cream · Dec 28, 2019

I watched this with a bunch of friends at a bar. The entire city of Berlin was a madhouse at halftime.

cursed knowledge · Dec 28, 2019

as a brazilian, i'll be honest: our self-esteem dropped A LOT after this. i'd argue that 7-1 helped Bolsonaro and the far-right. i cried so much lol

SirMossyBloke · Dec 28, 2019

Dishwalla said:
pretty funny in a thread about an international media organization recognizing a feat from an international sport someone has to come in and whine that a primarily American sporting event isn't being acknowledged. Like save it for when ESPN names their greatest sports moment of the decade hm?

It's basically equivalent to the FA Cup anyway lol

regenhuber · Dec 28, 2019

Dishwalla said:
pretty funny in a thread about an international media organization recognizing a feat from an international sport someone has to come in and whine that a primarily American sporting event isn't being acknowledged. Like save it for when ESPN names their greatest sports moment of the decade hm?

Not an American but I think it's tough for non football viewers to appreciate how "once in a lifetime" this was.

Sounds like "blowout in a semifinal" at first glance unless you know the backstory.

Kleefeld · Dec 28, 2019

As a German I started to feel bad for Brazil after the 4th goal.
Will never forget it but of couse Götze's goal against Argentina in the final is bigger for me.

regenhuber · Dec 28, 2019

Kleefeld said:
As a German I started to feel bad for Brazil after the 4th goal.
Will never forget it but of couse Götze's goal against Argentina in the final is bigger for me.

Ja. Same here.
If you ask a random German about 2014, the 1-0 in the final will first come up.

Deleted member 10234 · Dec 28, 2019

Watching this live and chatting with my Brazil-supporting friends was hilarious.

Regulus Tera · Dec 28, 2019

I'd argue this is the biggest moment in international football since the Maracanaço in 1950

Vulcano's Assistant · Dec 28, 2019

It is one of those WC moments that transcend the sport and become international news like if the Pope was shot or something.

Tugatrix · Dec 28, 2019

Yeah I agree, the monent stop they already dead of the real life

SDBurton · Dec 28, 2019

Game was absolutely legendary. My friend and I were popping off so hard. LOL

Knightywing · Dec 28, 2019

Watching it all unfold live was an incredible moment.

Also, seeing David Luiz humiliate himself during the biggest game of his career, at home, will never not be funny.

Astandahl · Dec 28, 2019

Knightywing said:
Watching it all unfold live was an incredible moment.

Also, seeing David Luiz humiliate himself during the biggest game of his career, at home, will never not be funny.

When you think about the fact that Luiz was in the main Brazil team you really start realizing the immense decline of Brazil National team itself and football in general.

Raijinto · Dec 28, 2019

It was the occasion that got to the players and which the article references well, which is mostly what makes it all the more memorable. Brazil were playing every game that tournament like their national pride was at stake (not seen William so inconsolable as he was when he missed his pen in the shootout for example), what with Neymar living up to the pre-tournament hype and the crowd being the expected 'twelfth man' but the loss of both Neymar and Tiago Silva in the QF (the former being somewhat understandably aggrieved) but as I said it all became too much. Maybe as a neutral I just didn't get it all but the Neymar shirts and such drama felt really over the top, the incredibly boisterous anthem was enough I felt.

But regardless when 30 minutes later from the kick-off resulted in what it did I was speechless. I've seen teams in big games collapse to 3 or 4 goals down before HT since but 5 nil well before HT was just next level capitulation. The aforementioned occasion as well as the long unbeaten home record were all important to that. Credit to Germany, they took the goals very well.

Also what is often forgotten about is that Ozil went clean through in the last minute at 0-7 and really should have made it 8, and that was seconds before the actual final goal by Oscar. Amazing to think that it only should have been worse really for Brazil.

So yeah I agree.

Akela · Dec 28, 2019

RavFiveFour said:
I know but the casual sports fan is likely to know NFL, international sports on paper is really great but its one of the worst, soft marketing, you can tell me its the biggest and I'll agree with you. There's plenty of sports that should be propelled into mainstream but my argument is this is the first time I'm hearing about this and you're telling me its the greatest moment ever? I don't believe that.

The average casual sports fan doesn't live in America.

giancarlo123x · Dec 28, 2019

I remember starting to watch the game at home and decided to go to my friends girlfriends job to finish it. On the drive there I looked at the score and yelled what the fuck when it was like 3-1. It only got worse (better) by the time we arrived. Lol

PCfromNYC · Dec 28, 2019

When the draw happened, I predicted that the finals would be Germany over Argentina. When this game was set, a lot of people were telling me that my prediction was coming to an end. I laughed in delight as this was happening.

Personally my top sports moment of the decade would be the end of the 2013 Iron Bowl.

Unaha-Closp · Dec 28, 2019

Shit was wild. I don't like Sport in general nevermind Football but this was incredible to watch. Fucking Brazil, in Brazil, getting humped by Germany was quite the thing.

duxstar · Dec 28, 2019

I think the issue is with the word greatest .... Like the greatest game of all time is a 7 - 1 drubbing of another team.

In my mind it sounds like if the Patriots had lost to the Giants 70 - 0 the year they were undefeated, sure it would be memorable, historic even but no one would be like "that was one of the greatest sports memories of all time"

When I think great sports memories it's a last second catch like Minneapolis Miracle , or a last second shot by Christian Latner , or a 3 - 1 comeback by the Red Sox against the rival yankees.

I wasn't there though , and have no clue the social ramifications, I know alot of Americans consider the Miracle on Ice the greatest sports moment of all time.

Deleted member 10629 · Dec 28, 2019

Per Wikipedia

The game marked several tournament records. Germany's win marked the largest margin of victory in a FIFA World Cup semi-final. The game saw Germany overtake Brazil as the highest scoring team in World Cup tournament history and become the first team to reach eight World Cup Finals. Miroslav Klose scored his 16th career World Cup goal and surpassed Brazil's own Ronaldo as the tournament's all-time record goalscorer. Brazil's loss broke their 62-match unbeaten streak at home in competitive matches, going back to the 1975 Copa América (where they lost 3–1 to Peru), equalled their biggest ever margin of defeat in a match alongside a 6–0 loss to Uruguay in 1920, and broke the record for the most goals ever conceded by Brazil in an international match. Ultimately, the match was described as a national humiliation.

So yes, it was a big deal.

SirMossyBloke · Dec 28, 2019

duxstar said:
I think the issue is....

There is no issue. Some Americans just cant deal with something that doesnt involve their own sports.

Deleted member 2254 · Dec 28, 2019

To this day it's unbelieveable. To be fair Brazil was lucky to even reach the semifinals, they were not playing well at all and losing Thiago Silva and Neymar made it likely it was the end of the line for them. But 5-0 in the first half hour was beyond anybody's wildest expectations. It was insane to witness live, and the social consequences of that match are heard to this day.

Lol @ people legitimately suggesting some NFL match was more relevant when 99.99% of the people outside of the USA can not name 3 NFL teams correctly.

Astandahl · Dec 28, 2019

FairyEmpire said:
To this day it's unbelieveable. To be fair Brazil was lucky to even reach the semifinals, they were not playing well at all and losing Thiago Silva and Neymar made it likely it was the end of the line for them. But 5-0 in the first half hour was beyond anybody's wildest expectations. It was insane to witness live, and the social consequences of that match are heard to this day.

Lol @ people legitimately suggesting some NFL match was more relevant when 99.99% of the people outside of the USA can not name 3 NFL teams correctly.

I don't even know what the NFL is actually.

Eoin · Dec 28, 2019

duxstar said:
I think the issue is with the word greatest .... Like the greatest game of all time is a 7 - 1 drubbing of another team.

This is one of a series of articles about the greatest sporting moments of the decade, so it isn't saying that it's the "greatest game of all time", it's saying that this moment was one of the greatest moments of the past decade.

(The other moments in the series so far are Andy Murray winning Wimbledon and some day during the 2012 Olympics - so this is the first article describing a moment that people outside the UK might agree belongs on the list).

Trying to compare this with US sports, or understand it by thinking up US sports equivalents, is going to give you a false picture of the scale. This was a planetary event, not a local one.

Deleted member 35204 · Dec 28, 2019

Watching it live was so much fun

Mudkip Xbox Series X · Dec 28, 2019

We watched this at work in the break room, was fucking insane...

Keikaku · Dec 28, 2019

It was great but can't match the GOAT Zidane headbutt.

Snack12367 · Dec 28, 2019

This game was shocking. While I didn't follow the teams, even I know these are two of the best teams in football. Then to see Germany utterly decimate Brazil, so completely. I was in Germany at the time and Germans were shocked. They weren't even cheering after the 5th goal. I saw two Brazilian fans crying.

Macca · Dec 28, 2019

Keikaku said:
It was great but can't match the GOAT Zidane headbutt.

Not this decade though.

.exe · Dec 28, 2019

McMoneyman said:
Not this decade though.

😐

Oh god was it really that long ago?

Soupman Prime · Dec 28, 2019

I wonder how my dad and his friends reacted. For some reasons Haitians love Brazil, never asked why but that's basically their team. So it must have been terrible to witness a mauling like that.

Deleted member 35740 · Dec 28, 2019

SirMossyBloke said:
Imagine thinking that because you hadn't heard of something, it couldn't possibly be famous lol

In this case, it's very much a you problem.

Macca · Dec 28, 2019

daxy said:
😐

Oh god was it really that long ago?

It's scary to think but yes. 2006, soon to be 14 years ago... jesus.

ReplacementPelican · Dec 28, 2019

duxstar said:
I think the issue is with the word greatest .... Like the greatest game of all time is a 7 - 1 drubbing of another team.

In my mind it sounds like if the Patriots had lost to the Giants 70 - 0 the year they were undefeated, sure it would be memorable, historic even but no one would be like "that was one of the greatest sports memories of all time"

When I think great sports memories it's a last second catch like Minneapolis Miracle , or a last second shot by Christian Latner , or a 3 - 1 comeback by the Red Sox against the rival yankees.

I wasn't there though , and have no clue the social ramifications, I know alot of Americans consider the Miracle on Ice the greatest sports moment of all time.

I mean, your last paragraph is the only one you needed. You just don't really get it. Missing the context of the game is the biggest points of why it was amazing. Football is the most popular sport in the world and there's history to it, it's not just two random teams in an American League with one getting a big win.

Mivey · Dec 28, 2019

Working yet? said:
Soccer is biggest sport in the world and, according to whatever list, the NFL doesn't even make the top 10. Which is not to say that it wouldn't have some 'greatest moments', only that it would fail to register for the most of the world, since only a small percentage (comparatively) watches it or, otherwise, is subjected to it.

For the record, New Zealand's loss to England in the semifinal was pretty 'big' as far as I am concerned, and it would definitely be a significant moment to the countries involved, but for the majority of the planet? I doubt they even knew there was a rugby world cup.

Anyways, I had heard about the 1-7 game, but only a few years later, as I never really pay attention to soccer. Makes sense that it would be a massive moment, regardless, given Brazil's history with the sport.

Where is this "world" you keep talking about, which state?

Heshinsi · Dec 28, 2019

Sheepinator said:
That Germany-Brazil first half was unbelievable.

Also, Netherlands 5-1 dismantling of Spain and Van Persie's flying header goal in 2014.

Leicester City winning the league, at initial odds of 5,000-1 and one of if not the greatest upset in major sports history ever.

I rewatch that game once a year at the least. Love this gif lol

Watching Casillas being turned inside out and crawling around before Robben slotted the goal in, is a moment that just rejuvenates me every time I see it.

🤣

I have to thank Brazil for showing how to defeat Spain during the finals of the Continentals Cup the year before 🙏

fertygo · Dec 28, 2019

duxstar said:
I think the issue is with the word greatest .... Like the greatest game of all time is a 7 - 1 drubbing of another team.

In my mind it sounds like if the Patriots had lost to the Giants 70 - 0 the year they were undefeated, sure it would be memorable, historic even but no one would be like "that was one of the greatest sports memories of all time"

When I think great sports memories it's a last second catch like Minneapolis Miracle , or a last second shot by Christian Latner , or a 3 - 1 comeback by the Red Sox against the rival yankees.

I wasn't there though , and have no clue the social ramifications, I know alot of Americans consider the Miracle on Ice the greatest sports moment of all time.

Billios of people watching this game live, even if you assume the entire of USA watching the superbowl its not even came close.

ZeldaGalaxy94 · Dec 28, 2019

Is the only full game except for my country (sweden) that I saw from football that year
Where so SURPRISED of what happen and reading online comment live made it even better

Big Boy · Dec 28, 2019

To be fair to Americans, completely misrepresenting American only things as being of greater importance than globally impacting events is about as American as you can get.

This was a match where even my football hating missus could not take her eyes off it. It was an unprecedented 90 minutes of football that will likely never be matched.

Deleted member 2840 · Dec 28, 2019

RavFiveFour said:
I know but the casual sports fan is likely to know NFL, international sports on paper is really great but its one of the worst, soft marketing, you can tell me its the biggest and I'll agree with you. There's plenty of sports that should be propelled into mainstream but my argument is this is the first time I'm hearing about this and you're telling me its the greatest moment ever? I don't believe that.

Man, the American bubble is hard to pop huh

Marossi · Dec 28, 2019

Soupman Prime said:
I wonder how my dad and his friends reacted. For some reasons Haitians love Brazil, never asked why but that's basically their team. So it must have been terrible to witness a mauling like that.

Basically really good relations between Brazil and Haiti, not sure about nowadays because of Bolsonaro in power.

Brazil · Dec 28, 2019

*Groans*

NinjaScooter · Dec 28, 2019

I know this wasn't the strongest Brazilian side, but it was still incredible to watch. Germany beating Brazil isn't a shocker, but for Brazil to get destroyed like this on the largest stage, at home, was incredible. It just felt like it wouldn't stop, goal after goal, fan reaction shot after fan reaction shot.

Keekon · Dec 28, 2019

Incredible game. I was shocked and deliriously laughing throughout. As others have mentioned the crowd reactions were priceless.

People trying to compare this to any NFL game...jeez

Marossi · Dec 28, 2019

As a Brazilian I remember this day really well, my entire family gathered to watch this and everybody had that unease feeling before the match because we knew Germany was just way stronger, but we never expected a loss like that.

I was near a crowded avenue which was full of bars, shit was mindblowing, some were crying really bad, others started laughing, fights broke out, people honking their cars for several minutes, people went mad.

Also I remember the memes and jokes from that
"I don't want go to my kitchen, I'm scared."
"Scared of what?"
"Scared that my German Shepherd in my backyard will start laughing once he sees me."

Truly something once in a lifetime.

Matsukaze · Dec 28, 2019

Watching this game live was incredible. There could have been an explosion outside my place and my eyes would have remained glued to the tv. This was downright legendary.

Azuran · Dec 28, 2019

Man with Knife said:
Agree. Easily the most memorable.

lmao how did I miss this for over 5 years?

lmao

I Wanna Be The Guy · Dec 28, 2019

It was a special game that just kept getting better and better. I'll never forget watching this live. The crowd reactions were amazing. The old man clutching his world cup is a sight that will never be forgotten.

(BBC Sport) Greatest moments of the decade: Brazil 1-7 Germany, World Cup semi-final

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