Maracaibazo?

Brazil and Uruguay play tonight for the Copa America semifinal, in Maracaibo, Venezuela. The Brazilians are favourites, but not by a large margin - due mostly to the poor efforts the team has shown recently than any brilliance of the opponents in the last few matches.

True, both teams are coming from good victories in the quarterfinals (6-1 for Brazil against Chile and 4-1 for Uruguay over the hosts Venezuela). However, the oldest international tournament at the continental level has failed to create too much of a buzz yet again this year. After all, if the tournament was taken seriously, how could one explain the fact that two of the top players in the world, Ronaldinho Gaucho and Kaka, simply asked to be left out of the Brazilian squad? It's unimaginable to have something similar happen to a top European player asking to be left out of the finals of an European Championship.

Still, Uruguay is planning to surprise the favourites once again, just like they did 57 years ago, in the memorable 'Maracanazo' episode. In the 1950 World Cup final match, the Brazilians were as heavy a favourite as there can be in the match against their southern neighbours. Playing at home, the team was coming off excellent performances in which it simply toyed away with the opposition, defeating Spain 6-1 and Sweden 7-1. Uruguay, on the other hand, had barely beaten the Swedes 3-2 and tied the Spaniards 2-2. Brazil needed a simple tie in the final game, and fans had been celebrating the title even before the match had begun. When Brazil opened the score in the first minute of the second half, nobody would think the team could still lose the title. But that's just what happened, after Uruguay scored twice - at the 66th and 80th minutes - to win the game and the title. Nearly 200,000 fans left the stadium stunned and in silence, while the Uruguayans celebrated their greatest football achievement of all time.

So, will we have a new 'Maracanazo' in Maracaibo? A 'Maracaibazo'? Even if the Uruguayans win 3-0, it will hardly be as surprising as that win 57 years ago was. Brazil is still the favourite tonight, but not by that large a margin.