But now it must sit and watch as the U.S. Marta's team will have time to recover ahead of next year's Olympic tournament. A smash and grab that crushed the Brazilians even while delighting sporting ethicists around the globe. But then came Wambach's Wheaties box-worthy moment. was on the brink of defeat, within seconds of departing with only its dignity intact. Within seconds, she had leapt up and raced back onto the field to receive slaps on the back from her teammates and a yellow card from the referee. This stretcher was evidently gifted with the kind of miracle healing powers traditionally only seen on religious telethons. Defender Erika was suddenly struck by an injury requiring prolonged treatment and the arrival of the Brazilian stretcher. A desperate Brazil relied upon an array of amateur dramatics to run out the clock. defense, but few teammates had the energy to follow.
Her withering words about the squad's haphazard preparation and shoddy infrastructure that are "trailing a step behind teams like Germany or the United States" seem all too prophetic now.Ĭristiane bravely mounted solo expeditions deep into the thinly stretched U.S. It was a game the Brazilians were always doomed to lose.Īhead of the tournament, Marta herself had worried aloud that the team's lack of organization might prove to be its Achilles' heel. As the game dragged on, the battle became one in which fitness and preparation mattered more than talent. The U.S., meek with 11 players, became galvanized with 10. It arrived courtesy of a penalty and red card awarded by a referee displaying all the creativity needed for her day job as a graphic designer.īut Rachel Buehler's dismissal proved to be the game's turning point. With the cumbersome Wambach trundling round like a siege tower, the Brazilians were more than able to snuff out any threat and began to control the game. Unsophisticated in possession and with a midfield unable to hold on to the ball, the Americans were akin to a female Stoke City with Abby Wambach as Ricardo Fuller and the speedy Heather O'Reilly in the Jermaine Pennant role. The first - a scrappy own goal - shocked Brazil, but it also masked the truth about a lack of craft in the U.S. The United States scored two goals to bookend the game. The world's finest female soccer player transformed herself into a wrestling heel.ĭon't miss a moment of the latest soccer coverage from around the world. Neutrals in the crowd whistled her every touch.
Her performance stooped so low, she achieved a rare feat - the heckling of the Brazilian jersey. Niggling, heckling, faking injuries and flopping to run out the clock. The kind of finish the men's team so desperately needs in the Copa America.īut Marta herself led the descent into the dark side of the ugly game. An apt piece of poetry that, with victory, would have been etched into the pantheons of Brazilian soccer history.
Marta's second goal was a perfect symbol of the former: a visionary flick that outfoxed U.S. And there is Futebol de Resultados - a pragmatic approach in which victory trumps style. In Brazilian soccer, there is Futebol Arte - the elegant game of feints, fakes and extravagance. The players dragged themselves off the field two-and-a-half hours later as a shattered collective, after squandering a one-goal lead and one-player advantage and having resorted to a sordid display of gamesmanship that had been a rare feature of the tournament until today. The Brazilian women's team confidently sambaed down the tunnel before the quarterfinal game against the United States like a squad convinced of destiny.
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