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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 7 MAY 2014 Sport 22 WORLD CUP SPECIAL Brazil 2014, the most significant World Cup in decades Brazil 2014 can be summed up in one sentence: it is set to be the most significant football World Cup in decades BY SEBASTIAN FEST (DPA) BRAZIL 2014 can be summed up in one sentence: it is set to be the most significant football World Cup in dec- ades. That can also be explained in great- er detail: whatever happens from June 12 and, particularly, in the final on July 13 at the legendary Maracana sta- dium is one of those stories that are expected to mark football-loving im- aginations for generations to come. Will Brazil 2014 be a "landmark World Cup," like Mexico 1970 was with Pele, like Germany 1974 was with Franz Beckenbauer, and like Mexico 1986 was with Diego Maradona? Will the final feature a clash between Brazil, in their effort to increase their record to six World Cup titles, and Argentine Lionel Messi, the man who wants to match the World Cup feats of Pele and Maradona so that no one will ever again doubt that he is on a par with them, or even better? There is arguably no better setting for a World Cup. If the ball were alive – which it is to some extent – and it were looking for peace, calm and hap- piness, Rio de Janeiro and its beaches on Copacabana or Ipanema would be a great place for it. People there always treat it well, and it could settle down well. The ball is also well-loved at the Aterro do Flamengo, a site by the sea that is the epicentre of Rio's amateur football matches involving the poor, the rich and the middle classes alike. The Aterro is barely 6 kilometres away from Maracana, which still lies at the site where it was on the final of the 1950 World Cup, even though it is far from being the same stadium. It no longer holds 200,000 spectators but just over 60,000, and it is now a "five- star" venue with all the pros and cons that implies in modern football. Any Brazilian would say that today's Maracana has "less of a soul" than it did in 1950, when it broke the heart of the whole nation and increased the self-esteem of their little Uruguayan neighbours to levels that remain un- precedented in the history of sport. That title is one of two or three key moments in the emergence of Uru- guayan identity and, at the same time, one of the greatest frustrations in the history of Brazil, which continues to talk about the "Maracanazo" 64 years later. "I don't mean to exaggerate, but for Uruguayans that was the best mo- ment in their 20th century history," former Brazilian deputy foreign min- ister Marcos de Azambuja, who at- tended the match, told dpa. Times have now changed. The World Cup is no longer broadcast black and White, it is no longer dis- tant, it is no longer exotic. TV screens, computers, tablets and smartphones are set to reflect even its most minute details, which will also be tirelessly debated on social networks like Fa- cebook and Twitter, fascinate half the planet and exhaust the other half. The candid audience of the mid-20- th century is long gone, and a World Cup title no longer consolidates a na- tion. Brazil 2014 is set to be extraordinary, but that will be for different reasons. "This World Cup will be very tough because all world champions are set to play in Brazil," Bebeto told dpa in an interview, to highlight the presence of Uruguay, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Eng- land, Argentina, France and Spain as participants. "For me, it will be the toughest of all time," said the former Brazil striker, who won the USA 1994 World Cup. Even though such teams guarantee a competitive tournament and pre- sumably also good play, the involve- ment of the eight former champions is hardly the most relevant element in this tournament. Neither is the fact that the 64 matches are set to be played in 12 venues and as many host cities, with both cold temperatures and stifling heat, which is set to hap- pen for the first time in history. Even the use of technology to help referees, perhaps an end to decades of "ghost goals," is not the tournament's most groundbreaking aspect. No. The real story lies elsewhere: the key to this World Cup lies in the hands of one country and one player. Between those, there are major can- didates to lift the trophy, such as de- fending champions Spain, Germany or Italy, but the really important story, the latent debate in the minds of mil- lions of football lovers, is this: Brazil vs. Messi, one step up from even the classic Brazil vs. Argentina. Everything is set to happen in a country that is a continent rather than a nation, a vast space that is in fact a scale version of the world: people of German descent in the south, people whose ancestors were African slaves in the north-east, Asian communities in Sao Paulo. Far inland, there is the Amazon rainforest, the world's lungs. In all those places around Brazil there are set to be World Cup matches, in- cluding an England-Italy game that will focus global attention on Man- aus. This is set to be a particularly dif- ficult World Cup for European coun- tries. Some rivals see Spain as rather "bourgeois," others doubt that the powerful Germany can adapt to the heat and the pressure of Brazil- ian fans. It also remains to be seen whether the Italy led by coach Cesare Prandelli can bring together their new feature, since they now play well, and their tradition of success. There is the always talented and always troubled France, the historic Uru- guay, an England team that is always doubtful and – outside the group of former champions - the Portugal of FIFA World Player of the Year 2013 Cristiano Ronaldo. All of these, and other teams includ- ing the Netherlands, have more or less good reason to dream on. However, Brazil, the country whose residents describe it as "the world's greatest country," is now also the country with the greatest dreams. This is no longer about being a South American giant, because Bra- zil has worked hard for two decades to consolidate its global position. The country remains inefficient in many ways and unequal to extremes, but it is less so than it used to be, and it has long been moving in the right direc- tion. If the country works, despite the protests that shook it in June 2013 and which will probably re-emerge during the World Cup, how could its great- est symbol, the national football team coached by Luiz Felipe Scolari and led on the pitch by the up-and-coming Neymar, not deliver? If they fail to deliver, the main expla- nation could lie in the massive pres- sure that rests on the "verdeamarela," of whom fans demand that it win the longed-for sixth world championship title and forever bury the memories of the 1950 Maracanazo. "Germany finished third and their fans were waiting for them at the air- port," Jose Ferreira Neto, one of the historic goalscorers of the Brazilian championship, told dpa. "Not here. If they finish second peo- ple might even kill those guys, which is a big mistake, a sign of rudeness," he said. In such an excessive, passionate at- mosphere, the danger for the hosts lies on a player that some dismiss as cold, even boring outside the pitch, but who brushes off such criticism and amazes the world with every goal he scores, either at Barcelona or in Ar- gentina's blue-and-white shirt. If Brazilians' sometimes naïve joy and Argentines' sometimes twisted strength come head to head, it will definitely have been Messi's fault. And if that clash happens at 4 pm on July 13, the final of Brazil 2014 will be mythical – whatever the result. Any Brazilian would say that today's Maracana has "less of a soul" than it did in 1950, when it broke the heart of the whole nation. Credit: picture alliance / GES-Sportfoto If the ball were alive – which it is to some extent – and it were looking for peace, calm and happiness, Rio de Janeiro and its beaches on Copacabana or Ipanema would be a great place for it. Credit: KUNZ / Augenklick