海角大神

鈥淚ncredible,鈥� headlined the French sports daily L鈥橢quipe.

鈥淗istoric German slaughter of Brazil,鈥� wrote Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet.听

The Heute tabloid in Austria: 鈥淗istoric! Germany humble Brazil 7:1.鈥澨�

If this were foreign policy 鈥� the to a German military intervention or a victory in the halls of Brussels 鈥� Germans would be squirming from the praise and attention lavished on it from across Europe. But it鈥檚 soccer, so they know how to revel听听鈥� to a point.

The German team鈥檚 historic 7-1 rout of the Brazilians in the World Cup semi-finals last night was nothing short of stunning, with five goals scored within the first 30 minutes of the game, four of them in a six-minute span. The , donning a black t-shirt that read Deutschland, her hand covering her eyes in disbelief in front of a television set airing the game, sums up the incredulity in living rooms, bars, and city plazas across the world. It鈥檚 been called the most surprising game in World Cup history.

Germany, is of course, rejoicing. 鈥淲ithout Words,鈥� wrote Germany鈥檚 daily Bild.听听The daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, piped in with 鈥淪even One 鈥� is that really true?鈥�

But typical of Germans, who are the first to call themselves modest and restrained, there is also some discomfort.

Haunted by the crimes of World War II, German leaders have continuously shied away from hegemony in any form. They鈥檝e angered allies when they back out of military intervention. They say it is only with hesitance that they鈥檝e taken the lead role, as the sole economic powerhouse of the European Union, in the bloc鈥檚 debt crisis.

As one woman at a pub in Berlin :听鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to overdo it.鈥�

Yet overdo it they did, leading Brazilian coach听Luiz Felipe Scolari to declare after the match, 鈥渢hat it was the worst day of my life.鈥�

The game goes down as Brazil鈥檚 biggest defeat in World Cup finals history. Now Germany claims the title of highest scoring team in any World Cup, reaching 223 goals last night. When German striker Miroslav Klose scored in the 23rd minute, he also became the competition鈥檚 record individual scorer 鈥� surpassing Brazilian player Ronaldo. And all of this on Brazil鈥檚 home turf. Fans broke into tears.

A听German friend in Cologne described the mood on the other side of the Atlantic last night, among friends watching the game. She said there was celebration, of course, but no small dose of uneasiness. 鈥淚nstead of celebrating success we, especially women, were embarrassed about how badly Brazil lost. I felt sorry for them more than I was proud of the good football the German team played,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 think it is right that Germans are modest and restrained.鈥�

The German 鈥渟laughter鈥� of Brazil brought with it the predictable bad (and often tasteless) jokes across social media, with caricatures of Hitler and references to World War II. , in reference to the Nazis who sought refuge in Brazil, went viral:听"This won't be the first time that thousands of Germans will have to lie low in Brazil for a while for their own safety.鈥�

But when it comes to soccer, Brazil is the global hegemon, and many soccer fans across the world today are reveling in their defeat. In fact, it鈥檚 probably the Germans who are most willing to show the Brazilians the most compassion today.