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Rio de Janeiro • A late-arriving reporter finally plopped into his white chair on the top row of the media area at The Maracanã Wednesday afternoon.
The Brazilian exhaled, took a long chug from his water bottle and took a minute to celebrate battling through the madness of getting to the storied soccer stadium to watch favorites Brazil vie for a spot in the Olympic gold-medal match.
He was nine minutes late. He took another sip of water, wiped the sweat from his forehead and unpacked his laptop. He turned to the woman to his left and jokingly asked in Portuguese, "What's the score?"
The response initially caused a chuckle. He asked the same question. He got the same response. Brazil scored 15 seconds into its eventual 6-0 romp over Honduras in the Olympic semifinal meeting to secure a chance to go for gold. In his scurry to get inside, find a seat and properly take in Brazil's first match at The Maracanã during these Games, he forgot to check the scoreline on the number of TV's he passed.
He took a longer exhale this time, leaned back in that white chair knowing that the hosts, a country embroiled in struggles and conflicts that venture well beyond the pitch, was just a few days away from possibly righting the ship of Brazilian soccer.
These recent years haven't been kind to a country that is usually a world powerhouse. Two summers have gone by since superstar Neymar suffered a broken bone in his back, forcing him to miss the World Cup semifinal match against Germany. Around here, and around the soccer world, what transpired is simply known as 7-1.
The Germans scored five goals in 18 minutes in Belo Horizonte, making an infinite stamp on international soccer in its stunning domination of the host Brazilians. Just this summer in the Copa America Centenario, Brazil failed to escape group play, losing to Peru in a must-win match.
Forced by club FC Barcelona to choose between representing his national team at either the Copa America — played in the U.S. — or captaining Brazil at home in the Olympics, a tournament in which Brazil has never won gold, Neymar took the riskier bet. There are so few countries around the world where it's trophy-or-bust, and Brazil essentially tops that list every major tournament.
These Olympics began forgettably. Brazil couldn't manage a goal against South Africa in the opener or Iraq in its second match in Brazil. Nerves were temporarily eased when Brazil thumped Denmark, 4-0. Since being shutout in its first two outings to start these Rio Olympics, Brazil has outscored its opponents 12-0. Inside The Maracanã Wednesday, the cheers from the national anthem had yet to die down before Neymar pounced on a mistake by the Honduras back line, putting Brazil in cruise control.
"This is what we wanted," said Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus. "We are fighting to conquer this [tournament]. Everything is in our favor as we are at home in Brazil."
Awaiting the hosts is a mental hurdle that will need clearing early on in the final Saturday evening. Ironic, cruel, whatever you want to call it, Brazil has drawn — who else — but Germany in search of its first gold. Only two players from the two World Cup squads in 2014 remain. Neymar is one. Mostly composed of U-23 athletes, each nation team is allowed just three players over the age of 23 to include on their Olympic rosters.
No future score line will ever eradicate the everlasting pain of 7-1. Not even a gold medal. But it'd be a step in the right direction for the Brazilians still in search of the imposing swagger they once possessed.
Long before he was asked to comment on the risks of Rio's crime or the Zika virus or falling aerial cams at the Olympic Park or about an American swimmer who fabricated an alleged robbery, Rio spokesman Mario Andrada was asked if Brazil had learned any lessons from hosting the World Cup two years ago.
"If you have no Neymar," he said, "you play defensive."
Brazil won't have to. Not on Saturday night. Not against Germany.
Twitter: @chriskamrani —
Olympic men's soccer
Gold-medal match, Saturday 2:30 MDT
Brazil vs. Germany