"Brazilians Always Cry", Says Ex-Captain of Germany

07/14/2014 - 11h16

Former player for Germany Lothar Matthäus, the German captain of the world champion in 1990, criticized the fact that the Brazilian players cry on the field and said they need to show that they are "men and strong."

"I do not understand why a football player cries, Brazilians always cry. Playing the national anthem, they cry; eliminate Chile, they cry; lose to Germany, they cry. They have to show that they are men and they are strong. I have never seen anything so damaging as the body language of this team", Matthaus said in an interview to the French newspaper "Le journal du Dimanche".

The German also said that the team should have overcome the Neymar's injury, who suffered a fracture to the third lumbar vertebra in the game against Colombia, in the quarterfinals, and sat out Brazil's games against Germany and Holland.

"They were afraid. What is this with the jersey of Neymar? France lost Ribéry and we did not hear anything. Same with Falcao García in Colombia and Reus in Germany. Instead of whining, the Brazilians had to show they could achieve without him", he said.

For Matthäus, the team should have worried less about Neymar's absence. "The absence of Neymar was the only concern before the semifinal. I was surprised. Neymar is not dead, as far as I know. He was injured in an ugly way and I'm sorry, but a team has to be stronger than one player", he added.

The German also said that the emotional pressure on the players fumbled their performance in the tournament.

"There was a real psychological danger to the Brazilians, an overload of emotions and they paid for it. It didn't do well for any match in the World Cup, save for the 30 minutes against Colombia", he analyzed.

Translated by STEVE HUGHES

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