We may not exactly see Jogo Bonito when Brazil take on Germany

Brazil have been guilty of fouling their opponents – a lot!

Joachim Löw is a concerned man. Before the first big semi-final of this year's spectacular World Cup kicks off - the concern in the German camp is misleading. Misleading, because instead of it being indicative of the superior prowess of their opponents Brazil, it is indicative of something that has changed in the way the Brazil of today play their game.

Brazil and the jogo bonito are a thing of the past. What Brazil brought to the world through the feet of Pele, Socrates, Zico, Garrincha is no more. The world has changed way too much since then and Brazil do not play the beautiful game anymore. Instead Brazil has now taken to tactical fouling.

The game in Fortaleza saw the end of Neymar's World Cup campaign. And the version that's been out in the Brazilian media is that Brazil and Neymar were hunted. Yet, the statistics point saliently to the cause of this. That this was a game that saw 54 fouls (31 of which were committed by Brazil) – more than any in this World Cup. James Rodriguez, the most notable young player of this year's tournament was fouled six times in that game - as noted by some commentators: being caught fouling the same player six times underlines a strategy.

Given that Brazil has increasingly looked weaker than their reputation, tactical fouling has become more of a necessity. The game with the second most fouls in this World Cup was the Brazil vs Chile game - a total of 51 fouls (28 by Brazil).

That this is not just a case of foul against foul - so called revenge - is apparent in the fact that Brazil has deployed tactical fouling to its advantage in the recent past on multiple occasions. The 2007 Copa America final against the talented Argentina side (young Leo Messi, Juan Veron, Juan Riqulme) was won by Brazil 3-0. The winners though had committed around 45 fouls in that game. The 2013 Confederations Cup final which saw Brazil play Spain; the Selecao won 3 - 0 yet again, and the game saw 26 fouls by the winning side against 16 fouls committed by Spain.

It can be argued alternatively that the referee is to blame. If he is lenient, both sides will foul and Colombia definitely did not come off as angels post the fouls committed by them and the challenge on Neymar. But herein also lies a flaw in the design by FIFA. Referees, seemingly, act on directives to hold back cards so that the “star attractions” don't get disqualified from playing as the tournament progresses.

The first semi-final at Belo Horizonte has all the trappings of being an ugly game. With the absence of Neymar and Thiago Silva, Brazil will definitely reach into its kitty of tactics and pick out fouling as an active measure. Additionally, the rule that scraps all yellow cards picked up till the semi-final allows players the license to foul irrespective of the referee's strictness/leniency.

What remains to be seen is how Joachim Löw prepares his team against the imminent onslaught from Brazil.