Germany feels bad for Brazilians after ruining their World Cup title hopes

.

Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger, right, consoles Brazil's Dante after the World Cup semifinal soccer match between Brazil and Germany at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Tuesday, July 8, 2014. Germany won the match 7-1.

After the game, countless German players made their way to Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari to offer their condolences for a host nation's dream that they had just killed. Bastian Schweinsteiger put an arm on Scolari's shoulder and shook his head. It looked like he was saying sorry although there were no words that could make any Brazilian feel better.
At least four Germans headed to Brazil defender Dante, who plays his club soccer with Bayern Munich in Germany, to offer hugs and kind gestures. Estadio Mineirao had the atmosphere of a funeral and the victors knew better than to gloat.
"Of course," said Germany midfielder Toni Kroos, the Man of the Match, when asked if he felt pity for the Brazilians.
"Normally the difference is not that big as it was today. They have great players and they had the higher pressure on their shoulders. We didn't allow them to become dangerous. We took all the balls from them."
They took more than that. Joachim Loew's Germany grabbed Brazil's pride and its spirit and its ultimate goal of lifting the World Cup trophy for the sixth time.
The words uttered between combatants in the moments following a contest on the biggest stage of all usually remain private, but this time there was no need for secrecy. The theme of the conversations was obvious. The Germans had smashed Brazil out of sight, and the Brazilians were borderline embarrassed by how completely one-sided the game had become.
"I think we lost a match to a great team and I think not even they believed it," said Scolari, who took the blame and apologized to the home fans. "The chats we had, they said they don't know how this happened. They have five [early] chances and scored five goals. They have great skills and we respect that."
How could they not? Germany was given a large helping hand by the defensive ineptitude of Scolari's team, summed up by captain David Luiz's missed assignment in the 11th minute when he should have been clinging to goal-scorer Thomas Mueller like Lycra.
But even then the Germans' performance was clinical enough to already look like champions and to make you wonder how anyone – Lionel Messi, Arjen Robben or even Clark Kent – can find a way to outwork and outthink them over 90 or 120 minutes.