Jogo Feio: David Luiz leads Brazil to escape amidst ‘air of anarchy’

Brazil beat Colombia on Friday, but it wasn't beautiful. The win was ugly - and at times suspect. But no matter, writes Richard Jolly, 'The important thing is they are 180 minutes away from glory'.

David Luiz celebrates after Brazil beat Colombia 2-1 on Friday at the 2014 World Cup quarter-finals in Fortaleza, Brazil. Robert Cianflone / Getty Images / July 4, 2014

Forget samba-style football, set-pieces have sent Brazil to the semi-finals. There is something seemingly prosaic in that, fitting Luiz Felipe Scolari’s pragmatic ethos and what is, Neymar apart, a flair-free side.

Yet there are extremes that fall within the bracket of set-pieces. There are corners, bundled in at the far post by David Luiz against Chile and Thiago Silva versus Colombia. And then there is the free kick, seemingly as exuberant and outsized as David Luiz himself, which the centre-back arced into the Colombia net, sidefooting it with surprising power.

It was the finest of its kind in this tournament. It was also the product of the sort of fortune which seems to have favoured Brazil this World Cup. Scolari’s plan to stop James Rodriguez appeared unsubtle at best and brutal at worst. Colombia’s delicate, delightful talent was targeted, Fernandinho spending 90 minutes as the butcher of Fortaleza.

Then Rodriguez made his first challenge. Hulk seemed to hurdle him, but a free kick was given. Ludicrously, an otherwise lenient referee Carlos Velasco Carballo cautioned the Colombian. Then David Luiz dispatched the resulting free kick, brilliantly.

The sense it was not Colombia’s night was exacerbated when Julio Cesar brought down Carlos Bacca. The goalkeeper somehow escaped a red card and, though Rodriguez converted the penalty – becoming the first non-striker in 40 years to record six goals in a World Cup – the Colombian comeback took place against 11 men.

By the end, they didn’t include Neymar. There is something fitting that the sole link to Brazil’s creative past has proved himself a deceptively reliable corner-taker in this side. The national icon worried millions when he required treatment in the opening minutes against Chile. They had rather more to concern themselves in the closing stages when he was stretchered off following a knee in the back.

Brazil know they will contest a semi-final without their captain, Thiago Silva, who was incurred a suspension – Carballo’s erratic officiating striking again – and now attention will turn to the prodigy’s medical bulletins.

Neymar departed for a defender, Henrique coming on in a sign of the pressure Brazil were under. It was fraught and frantic at the end. Silva apart, Brazil’s defending scarcely inspired confidence. There was something agricultural in some of his colleagues’ contributions. There was an air of anarchy about proceedings; it was certainly apparent in the Brazilian rearguard.

At least Brazil were more vibrant at the start, a sign criticism has stung. If Brazil are still not playing like World Cup winners, at least they attacked with rather greater verve. Yet they sacrificed the feeling of control, something that could not be explained simply by the absence of the banned defensive midfielder Luiz Gustavo.

The temptation is to say Brazil will have to be better against Germany and, if Neymar joins Silva on the sidelines, the rest of the side will have to improve exponentially. The truth is they were scarcely superior to Colombia, yet they overcame perhaps the outstanding side of the tournament so far. Plenty of eliminated sides would like to have Brazil’s problems, unbeaten and in the semi-finals without having found top gear. They are proof that set-pieces, whether efficient or extraordinary, win games at any levels. Since the group stages, Brazil have advanced via corners, a free kick and a penalty shootout. The important thing is they are 180 minutes away from glory.

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