In the immediate aftermath of Neymar/Brazil beating Germany on penalties in the men’s Olympic final, Robert Bauer held up seven fingers as he walked off the pitch in reference to Germany’s 7-1 win against Brazil at the 2014 World Cup. Naturally, the Brazilian crowd did not appreciate this reminder of the national shame that their first ever Olympic gold in football can’t make up for, but it wasn’t Germany’s only reference to it, either.
Given Brazil’s many footballing embarrassments in recent years, they really, really needed to win their first ever Olympic gold in the sport at the Olympics they are hosting. Neymar was held out of the Copa America Centenario earlier this summer just so he could be fresh for the Olympics and right about now that decision is looking like a good one.
The U.S. women’s team lost to Sweden and former coach Pia Sundhage in the Olympic quarterfinals, marking the team’s worst ever tournament finish and the first time they have failed to medal at the Olympics. After losing the decisive shootout 4-3 on unlikely misses from Alex Morgan and Christen Press, goalkeeper Hope Solo decided the best course of action was to insult Sweden by calling them cowards.
Uma imagem vale mais que mil palavras! (Foto: @prodoutor) #saineymarENTRAMARTA pic.twitter.com/K9Ucl9AXtv
— Hession Dayan (@hessiondayan) August 8, 2016
The continued crappiness of the Brazilian men’s team has prompted the people of Brazil to finally recognize the brilliance of Marta, with one young fan even going so far as to cross out Neymar’s name from the back of his replica shirt and write in Marta’s.
Following a 0-0 draw with a 10-man South Africa in their first match of the Rio Olympics, Brazil has officially declared that the nation does not care about football.
The U.S. women’s team opened their Olympic campaign with a 2-0 win against New Zealand that gave the locals a chance to voice their displeasure with Hope Solo.
Pele recently spent a few days in intensive care following complications from a urinary tract infection that afflicted him after surgery to remove kidney stones (interesting fact: Pele had one of his kidneys removed near the end of his playing career). The 74-year-old Brazilian legend has since been released from the hospital and took the opportunity to reassure the public of his health. And declare his availability for the 2016 Olympic team.
