Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterFour Four TwoGet the FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.You are now subscribedYour newsletter sign-up was successfulWant to add more newsletters?Five times a weekFourFourTwo DailyFantastic football content straight to your inbox! From the latest transfer news, quizzes, videos, features and interviews with the biggest names in the game, plus lots more.Signup +Once a week...And its LIVE!Sign up to our FREE live football newsletter, tracking all of the biggest games available to watch on the device of your choice. Never miss a kick-off!Signup +Join the clubGet full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in.Subscribe to our newsletterRarely has a single football match left such a scar on a countrys collective consciousness.When Brazil took on Germany on home soil in the semi-final of the 2014 World Cup, an expectant nation was ready to cheer their side into the final, only to witness perhaps the most shocking World Cup knockout game that has ever been played.Not even half an hour was on the clock when Germany scored their fifth goal, as they rampaged to a 7-1 shellacking as Brazil suffered their heaviest defeat for 94 years.Article continues below You may like 'Id gone from sleeping in a room with 40 kids to sharing with just one team-mate, with a television and meals whenever I wanted. I knew I couldnt waste the chance' World Cup winner Denilson recalls humble beginnings When Ronaldo went off, we thought, Weve lost our best player, whats going to happen now? But at the same time it also gave us strength Nani on Portugals historic Euro 2016 win 'Belgium could have won the World Cup with me' Marcelo on Germanys 7-1 thrashing of BrazilFormer Real Madrid star Marcelo was playing at left-back in Belo Horizonte that evening and admits that it was one of his lowest points on a football pitch.It was a horrible feeling, the worst that I experienced in my entire career, the Brazilian tells FourFourTwo. To lose that way was a disgrace.Brazil was hosting the World Cup for the first time since the 1950 edition, a tournament which saw them lose the de facto final to Uruguay despite being overwhelming favourites. Again, this tournament ended in humiliation.Playing a World Cup in your own country, defending your national colours, with all your people around you, and then losing 7-1 was indescribably painful, Marcelo continues.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.It was madness no-one could believe it. The fans were sad, but so were we in the dressing room.However, I rose from that. I told myself I didnt want to be left with that bitter taste. Sometimes in life, a defeat serves as a push to improve.I think from that night against Germany, I came out stronger. Maybe if wed reached the final and won the World Cup, my mind might have said, Enough, and I would have said goodbye to football.Luckily, I never lost my motivation.Indeed, Marcelos Brazil career would last for another four years and total 58 caps, but the defender would never win a major honour with his country.Brazil, meanwhile, have not been able to get past the quarter-final stage since, ahead of this summers tournament in North America.TOPICSBrazilWorld Cup 2014Joe MewisSocial Links NavigationFor more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.With contributions fromDani Gil
