These are the five reasons behind Brazil's humiliation at the hands of the mighty Germans.
1. Thiago Silva
The Paris Saint-Germain defender was missed more than Neymar. While the back injury to the prolific Barcelona striker hogged the headlines, it was captain cool Silva who was sorely missed by the samba boys. His replacement Dante was out of place and proved a poor partner to David Luiz. Meanwhile, Luiz was unable to lead the defensive line and his tendency to go up the pitch left gaping holes in front of Cesar which Dante was not quite able to plug.
2. Midfield battle lost
The German midfield did a repeat of the master class they displayed against Portugal. Fernandinho and Gustavo were caught out by the supremely destructive pressing of Kroos, Khedira and Schweinsteiger. Adding width was Ozil and Muller and the Brazilians just couldn't get a hold of the ball. The man of the match performance by Kroos powered the Germans to a 5-0 lead within the first half hour and from there it was game over for Scolari's boys.
3. Fred
It has to be embarrassing for a striker to have his most touches around the half way line. Fred is often seen as a tactical striker whose primary task is not to score goals but to create space for Neymar and Hulk. But, with Neymar missing and Hulk pretty much ineffectual someone had to take the responsibility of scoring goals for Brazil. Fred had to do it. But he was once again missing in action.
4. Scolari's Marcelo plan flops
Instead of his normal reserved role, Scolari set up Marcelo in a more attacking plan. Gustavo was given the task of covering for him, but the plan failed miserably. Every time Marcelo charged up the pitch, Germany found itself with acres of space down the left which Muller, Khedira and Kroos ably exploited.
5. Style statement
After tiki-taka it is now time to talk of joga bonito. The beautiful game that Scolari pragmatically abandoned in the chase for glory. A chase that ended rather embarrassingly and abruptly against the fluidity and superiority of a German team that worked like a well-oiled unit. Germany is usually seen as a physical team that brushes aside its opponents like an Ogre, but this German team is different. They can play a counter attacking game, just as beautifully as their own sensational brand of passing, possession based football. Their high pressing midfield completely destroyed Brazil's passing and allowed the Mannschaft to run riot with the Brazilian defense.
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