Brazil dance to victory after scoring each goal against hapless South Korea in Round of 16 match at FIFA World Cup, Japan lose
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Richarlison scoring for Brazil
Images mirror emotions, more so when they are caught on television. At the FIFA World Cup on Monday night, two scenes caught the eye. The first, was when Japan was mauled by Croatia in the Round of 16, and the second was when Brazil whacked South Korea 4-1 to enter the quarter-finals. Rarely does a losing team’s manager grab headlines. It had to be Japan’s manager Hajime Moriyasu, who was dignified, and decent, showing decorum throughout the match.
The icing on the cake, if it could be said so, was when he showed his gratitude to fans, bowing in true Japanese style. For the footballers from the Land Of The Rising Sun, it was sunset in the World Cup. There was now wailing or show of sadness, so to say. To top it, Moriyasu won the hearts of billions with his graceful act, bowing with reverence to fans who had traveled from Japan as well as all other spectators who had shown up inside the arena.
Football is a volatile sport. Quite often, teams can turn ugly when they lose or are victims of bad “calls” from the referees. Had it not been for the yellow and red cards that refs are armed with, you would be seeing more remonstrations from the players. Perhaps, the act of being tough with the players is most needed and has led to good control over the proceedings.
Japan is a side with grace and behavior which borders on being just too nice. Some other manager may have just thrown his jacket on the chair or burst into tongue-lashing with the players, or, in front of the TV mikes. What Moriyasu produced at the Al Janoub Stadium, a bow in reverence has gone on viral. They say, one picture captures a million words. Moriyasu’s image will linger, of a man so humble, as if asking for forgiveness that his team lost.
To be sure, Japs, as they are called in slang, are the epitome of good manners. It is part of their DNA, to bow, even if it be in front of unknown people. Even those belonging to the royal fraternity bow, even as the rest of the world does a high five, shake hands, or offers a mild hug. To define an image of Moriyasu bowing may be so natural for the Japanese. He did a decent job with the team, though the exit from the Round of 16 was painful.
You can interpret the manager’s act as one of dignity even in calamity. Football rarely sees such emotions on display, which is why Moriyasu has become the most loved man on earth today. He touches his heart, then bows, his torso arching forward, almost parallel to the ground. This is an emotional snap that will haunt us for a long time as to how sport can teach the world humility and reverence.
Related: Brazil pays tribute to Pele after beating South Korea in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Round of 16
Brazil celebrated in style after their victory against South Korea
At the other end of the spectrum, football fans watched Brazil show the body language they are known for. Celebrate, do a jig, and shake their hips, almost mocking the rivals, South Korea. Nobody expects an eerie silence after a team scores a goal. More so, if it is Brazil, a side craving to win the World Cup. At a time when legend Pele battles for life in a hospital in Sao Paulo the faith of Brazilians has not to be shaken. Pele is God, they light candles for him.
They want to see Pele’s heart flicker, though it appears dim, speaking medically. Pele means the world to Brazilians, for he won them three World Cups and has built such a legacy, far more than Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The “Do It For Pele” chant has caught on like fire, though some feel Brazilians celebrating, Tite included, have come in for flak. Englishmen, yes, the stiff upper lip experts, are castigating Brazil for celebrating each goal.
Watching Vinicius Junior, Neymar Junior, Lucas Paqueta and Richardson behave as if in a party zone on the sidelines of the football pitch after scoring goals and celebrating have again gone viral. The Brits think it lacked etiquette! None sees what the Brazilians indulged in as emotions on display. To be remembering Pele and to be overcoming an injury scare to Neymar has not been easy. Neymar’s ankle was swollen and images of the bulge looked scary. It was in the match against Serbia. A few more niggles for the Brazilian team were worrying.
So, when the team was in full flow on Monday night, it reflected a state of mind. Pumping in goals, as if at practice, was a pattern. So was the celebration on the pitch and the sidelines. Even Tite succumbed and did a jig. Heck, were the Brits thinking the Samba flavor would be missing and the Brazilians would be emotionless? They have been through highs and lows in this campaign in Qatar, so only a person who can relate to their stress will understand how this emphatic win mattered.
There is no point in talking about each goal, for it has been replayed over and over again. One young man who continues to hold fans in thrall in La Liga and now the national team is 22-year-old Vinicius Junior. He is the rising star, someone Brazil needs so badly. Talk of celebrations, how do you forget when the West Indies dominated cricket in the 80s under captain Clive Lloyd, celebrating the fall of each wicket was so different. The fast bowlers were menacing — Late Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Patrick Patterson, Joel Garner, and the potent Andy Roberts. These bowlers had no hesitation in using the “Parfuuum ball maan…:” where the red cherry would whizz past a batsman’s nose.
Some bowlers loved it when a batsman’s face was bruised or battered and blood spilled onto the pitch. That was acceptable. Few exceptions are there, like how Sunny Gavaskar handled these Bajan fast bowlers with his technique. Do you complain about a boxer being bloodied in a heavyweight contest mismatch? No. Likewise, for Brazil’s football team to celebrate goals against South Korea was not vulgar. It was their emotions and they will stay there!
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S Kannan
(382 Articles Published)