Brazil vs Honduras: 6 Things We Learned from Olympic Quarterfinal

Charlie Melman@@charliemelmanX.com LogoCorrespondent IIAugust 4, 2012

Brazil vs Honduras: 6 Things We Learned from Olympic Quarterfinal

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    It was far from a convincing performance, but Brazil outlasted Honduras to move on to the semifinals of the soccer tournament of the Olympics.

    The Brazilians were helped by Wilmer Cristanto's early second yellow card and recovered from a 1-0 deficit shortly thereafter to make it 1-1 before halftime.

    After the break, the game descended into chaos. Honduras briefly made it 2-1 before Neymar's penalty kick two minutes later leveled the scores once again. Ten minutes later, Leandro Damiao put the Brazilians up for good.

    If you like high-scoring football, this was your game. Here are six things we learned from it.

Good Refereeing Is a Real Treat

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    What could have been a better game was unfortunately marred by poor officiating, as by my count, 10 yellow cards were issued during the course of the match.

    And those cards were not given because the two teams were playing a rugby match. Often, fairly innocuous fouls triggered a sprint from the German referee and a quick motion toward his pocket.

    That stringent refereeing encouraged the Brazilians' shameful diving and created a snowball effect of flops and nervousness on the parts of the attackers and defenders respectively.

    Here's hoping we get much smoother games from here on out.

Neymar Is One of the Dirtiest Players Around

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    I don't get to see Neymar play regularly, as I'm not a big follower of Brazilian football, and the international matches that he features in are relatively few and far between.

    After seeing him for a full 90 minutes, I have to say that I'm glad that I don't have to watch him often.

    Sure, he has a ton of natural talent and can slice open any defence in a few seconds, but I have never seen another player dive as often or as dramatically as Neymar does; and he was extremely lucky to not get booked for simulation.

    His flops are not merely exaggerations. Based on his flair for the melodramatic, he will surely find a career in Hollywood after his footballing days are over.

    It's that kind of play that gives football a truly bad reputation among people who haven't seen its good side.

Honduras Have a Bright Future

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    They may be eliminated, but Honduras can travel home knowing that they have the potential to make an impact on world football in the future.

    After all, they almost took down the two best teams in the tournament, Brazil and Spain, and Honduras played the same way in both matches. Cautious going forward, a poacher's finish netted them an early opener, and they defended resolutely throughout.

    Even down to 10 men, Honduras did not give up. In fact, before a mistake gave Neymar the opportunity to equalize, they took the lead again and briefly turned the match on its head.

    If they bring this attitude to their senior matches, this generation of players cold flourish as the underdog.

Brazil's Biggest Weakness Lies at Goalkeeper

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    There's no disputing that Brazil have a very strong team, and their entire lineup is packed with world-class players at nearly every position.

    The key word there is "nearly." There is one massive Achilles heel in this team, and it stands uneasily between the goalposts.

    No matter who starts in goal, be it Neto or today's Gabriel, the goalkeeping play has been thoroughly terrible in every match, and today it might have been at its worst.

    On routine crosses and relatively easy shots, Gabriel looked frightened of making a mistake; and every catch or parry seemed to be much too tough a task.

    If Brazil don't end up winning the gold, I'll bet it's because of a blunder by one of their goalkeepers.

When Oscar Plays Well, So Does Brazil

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    As the games go by, it becomes more and more apparent that Oscar is the oil in Brazil's engine, and he must play well for his team to operate efficiently.

    When the Chelsea man is at his best, he is almost unplayable in his attacking midfield position, threading through-balls through the opposition's defence and using his arsenal of tricks to start moves that few others can.

    At times, Oscar did not look fully focused on the match, and Brazil suffered when Hulk was forced to do the bulk of the creative work, but they got much more incisive and threatening when the burden was placed on the right man.

Brazil Must Work Better as a Team

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    A common criticism of teams like Brazil that are loaded with stars is that each man plays for his own glory, rather than that of the team as a whole.

    Far too often Hulk, Oscar, Leandro Damiao or especially Neymar would attempt long, winding runs and then foolishly take on a defender by himself in a poor position when a simple pass would have sufficed.

    That took the air out of countless attacks that, with the embarrassment of riches that was on the pitch for Brazil, could easily have resulted in goals. In short, the scoreline was much more fair than it needed to be.

    Against better teams, Brazil won't have the margin for error that a poorer side playing with 10 men afforded them, and everyone will have to put their egos aside for the next two matches, if they make it that far. If the Brazilians do, as they showed a few times against Honduras, they are capable of great things.

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