That is how the front page of Rio de Janeiro's prominent daily
newspaper O Globo described Brazil's historic and "catastrophic" 7-1
semi-final defeat to Germany in Belo Horizonte.
Pictures of fans
with their faces frozen in tears after Germany plundered five goals in
29 first-half minutes were labelled with tags including "suffering",
"frustration" and "bewilderment", and the media autopsy has only just
begun.
"Nobody suffers a 7-1 rout, especially not in a World Cup semi-final, by pure fluke," wrote Allan Caldas in O Globo.
"It is difficult to find a single explanation for Tuesday's humiliation."
Thomas
Muller, Miroslav Klose and Sami Khedira all sliced through the Selecao
to score with ease and, with the South Americans seemingly helpless to
resist, Toni Kroos and substitute Andre Schurrle grabbed two goals each.
Over
in Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, delirious fans of Die Mannschaft partied
long into the night after witnessing "a victory for all eternity".
Alongside
a picture of two-goal hero Schurrle and grinning Germany boss Joachim
Low, daily tabloid Bild described the national team's triumph as "7-1
Madness. Lightning DFB team knock out Brazil.
"Unbelievable! Gigantic! Fantastic!"
Bild continued: "While we lay in each others' arms, images of crying and shocked Brazilians flickered in our living rooms.
"Sorry, Brazil. We did not want to hurt you.
"But without the injured Neymar and the suspended Thiago Silva the glorious Selecao was reduced to rubble."
Football magazine Kicker was the next publication to stick the boot into Brazil.
"What
further superlatives can we find to boast about the historic events
that took place on July 8, 2014 in Belo Horizonte?" it wrote.
"Since when did the World Cup semi-finals become training games?"
Brazilian
papers which had printed cut-out masks of star striker Neymar - ruled
out of the game with a fractured vertebra before the showdown at the
Estadio Mineirao - refused to accept that his absence had been pivotal.
They instead blamed the complete disarray in Luiz Felipe Scolari's midfield.
Those
home fans who stayed until the final whistle sarcastically cheered
Germany's every touch and pass until Oscar's late consolation strike
invited facetious cheers of mock celebration.
O Globo's Caldas
added: "There was one obvious thing, that everyone could see at the
Mineirao, but it was not the absence of Neymar.
"The problem was that the team failed to protect the middle of the pitch, where the Germans were at their strongest.
"Was Neymar sorely missed? Of course. But without their best playmaker the team needed to show collective strength.
"Throughout
the World Cup, even when Neymar was on the field, Scolari's team was
like a desert in the middle: no creativity, no strength, no union."
Such
was the impact of the "massacre" to the Brazilian psyche, the nation is
now even prepared to forget about the embarrassment of the 'Maracanazo'
- the Selecao's World Cup final defeat to Uruguay in Rio back in 1950.
Folha
de Sao Paolo ran the headline 'Historical Humiliation', writing:
"Brazil are again humiliated when trying to win a World Cup at home"
while Rio-based daily Lance described the "insignificant" Maracanazo as
"a thing of the past".
Lance went so far as to demand Scolari step
down as head coach immediately after Saturday's third-place game
against Holland or Argentina in Brasilia.
The Germany media's greatest concern?
"Bring on the Dutch."
Manchester United announced the departure of yet another veteran
defender yesterday as Patrice Evra joined Italian giants Juventus.
