WC: 1-7 debacle might do to Brazil what 9/11 had done to USA

July 8, 2014, will be the one of the darkest days in

's history. It was on this day that the most successful

team in the world was humiliated by a clinical German team by

on their home soil in the semifinal of the 2014

.

The figure 7-1 has rewritten an entire set of statistics in the game but the impact of the annihilation could be more than what the physical senses perceive.

Will football superpower Brazil be the same again after this catastrophe?

When the biggest pride is hit, it hurts badly

When the biggest pride of any sensitive being gets hit, it hurts very, very badly. Brazil is known for its rich footballing legacy and it takes great pride in whatever it does in this game. But when this pride is defeated profoundly and left bruised and bleeding, then the psyche of the entire nation bears the brunt.

Is 1-7 Brazil's 9/11?

An analogy can be drawn with the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States. The devastating attacks on the twin towers did not allow America, a country which was known to have an isolated security for a long time, to remain the same.

The superpower had hit back at the perpetrators of the attacks militarily at several places, declared an official war on terror but never again could it breathe with ease. The more the US tried to put the post-9/11 world in order, the more it found itself getting trapped in problems world over. Its economy suffered resulting in severe domestic repercussions and the uncertainty that emerged in the post-Iraq debacle made even an ‘optimist' Barack Obama look clueless.

The USA's pride of being a superpower was badly bruised by the 9/11 attacks, to say in a nutshell.

Brazil wanted to erase the 1950 memory but...

For Brazil it is not a military or economic might but a national identity which has been threatened. The country was eagerly looking forward to bury the ghosts of 1950 when Uruguay took the trophy from a teary-eyed Maracana.

For the football-sensitive Brazil, the 1-2 loss to their South American neighbours remained a spectre even after 64 years and the nation was desperate to see its heroes erase that memory on July 13 at the same Maracana. But this time, Brazil conceded not only five goals more, it also failed to make the final and its former striker Ronaldo lost his crown as the highest scorer in the World Cup finals.

Even Prez Rousseff could face a defeat in the October polls because of the loss

Optimists may still say that Brazil had won three of the next five World Cups after the 1950 tragedy and the same can happen from 2018 onwards. Well, there lies the football giant's test of character. It may surely happen. But as of now, the Brazilian sun looks to have set.

A trophy would have united riot-hit Brazil

What makes the tragedy looks more ominous is that Brazil had to manage a lot of off-the-ground threats to stage its second World Cup football. Protests and riots in the run-up to the football carnival had seriously threatened to derail it but yet the authorities carried on with the show. President Dilma Rousseff had proudly announced that the "pessimists" had been defeated and that Brazil would march along to stage the tournament.

Post-semifinal violence already reported, will Rio Games bear the brunt of this WC?

Football was the only panacea for all ills and the national integrity could have been attained had the men in yellow reclaimed the trophy after 12 years. But with that dream crashing, Brazil could be witnessing more domestic trouble, the president's call to back the optimists notwithstanding. Already there were reports of post-match violence in various parts of Brazil on Tuesday.

What if they escalate? The country is set to host the next Olympic Games in another two years. Will the World Cup experience impact the preparations for that mega event?

Brazil have not just a game on the ground. Off it too, its position is precariously positioned.