It seemed as if the ghost of 1950 came back to haunt Brazil in their World Cup semifinal against Germany at the Estadio Mineiro in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday... and it was seven times spookier.
A listless Brazilian side was endlessly humiliated as the marauding Germans hammered them out of shape in the last four clash.
And Almost immediately after the savage 7-1 disposal at the hands of Germany at Mineiro, the rout was somewhat cruelly dubbed 'Mineirazo' - a word derived from 'Maracanazo', the name for the 1950 World Cup loss to Uruguay at Maracana.
This massive defeat even threatens to have an impact on President Dilma Rouseff's electoral campaign in October, according to Reuters. She even tweeted an apology, reported The National.
"Like every Brazilian, I am very, very sad about this defeat. I am immensely sorry for all of us. fans and our players," she tweeted.
This mauling was far worse than the 1950 World Cup loss to Uruguay. Brazil, who were largely expected to triumph in that game, ended up losing 2-1 after taking the lead. To this day, they look back with trepidation and sorrow at that game, even though 64 years have passed and they won five World Cups in that period.
The 1950 side suffered the consequences of the loss for decades. Zinzinho, a member of the team, used to disconnect his phone on the anniversary of the defeat, as callers would query him why they had lost. Perhaps the worst-affected was goalkeeper Barbossa, who held the view that he was made to suffer for more than 30 years, which incidentally is the maximum sentence for a criminal in Brazil.
After yesterday's humiliation, hordes of Brazilians were seen pouring their eyes out in grief. Some were pictured exiting the ground after the first half itself, according to Reuters.
The fact that on both occasions Brazil as hosts failed to win the World Cup has not gone down well with the people of the country. The loss drew stinging criticism from some players.
"It will be difficult to recover. Some players I don't think will be back to wear the Brazilian shirt. It is wrong now to criticise the players. On the field, Germany taught us how to play football. We have to learn from that," The Jamaica Observer quoted Juninho Paulista.
Meanwhile, the one Brazilian who thought that Brazil should not wallow in their misery and move forward was none other than the great Pele. Even at such a hard time, he tweeted that Brazil will bring home the cup in 2018, reported Hindustan Times.
"We'll get the sixth title in Russia. Congratulations to Germany.I always said that football is a box of surprises. Nobody in this world expected this result," Pele stated.
The Germans were nothing short of delirious as not even they expected to thump the Brazilians 7-1.
"What was that? Hard to believe" tweeted Franz Beckenbauer, World Cup-winning captain and coach, reported The News Observer.
World Cup winner and former coach Jurgen Klinnsman (currently with USA) also tweeted about his joy at the now famous triumph.
"The best German performance ever in a World Cup!! Simply fantastic!! Now get the Cup JOGI and TEAM!!"
