The mighty have fallen and villains have become heroes, as the epic World Cup drama unfolds.
In the later stages of the competition there are no draws, just winners and the losers who were built up to be knocked down.
This was summed up most succinctly by Freddie Mercury, of Queen, in a song that is often played after big games, while confetti rains down on the victorious and the defeated lie prostrate.
PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES
We are the champions, my friend
And we'll keep on fighting, till the end
We are the champions, we are the champions
No time for losers, cause we are the champions ...
Of the world.
Brazil and England were the latest quarter-final teams to exit stage right and left, following Argentina and Ukraine.
The whipping boys were Ronaldinho, Cafu, Wayne Rooney and David Beckham. They went to Germany as conquering heroes but left with tails between their legs.
For Brazil, its world player of the year Ronaldinho was panned back home for his ineffectiveness after the 1-0 loss against France.
Coming into the tournament Ronaldinho's grin was one of the iconic images of the Cup, boosted by Nike advertisements of him playing as a kid and adult.
Another video on www.youtube.com showed him hitting the crossbar three times in a row with volleys after juggling the ball across the pitch.
Yet Ronaldinho's free-kick late in the match against France sailed over the bar. It's a thin line between victory and defeat. One kick can make the difference and the smile was wiped off Ronaldinho's face.
The weight of expectation was too much and the backlash can be horrific.
Brazilian captain Cafu has played for Brazil more than 140 times, a record. And he has won two World Cups. But at 36 the opinion of critics and fans after Brazil's quarter-final loss was that he's too old and should have given way to a younger man.
Brazilian fans camped outside their team's hotel and screamed insults after their elimination.
Thirty-four-year-old Zinedine Zidane, on the other hand, made the goal against Brazil and was once again crowned king of France after everyone had written him off as being past it. This World Cup has now become Zizou's swan song.
As for England, once again its star player was sent off at a crucial stage in a Cup match. It happened once before when David Beckham got an early bath against Argentina in 1998.
There's a pattern here of pampered players unable to take the pressure, with the hopes of a nation resting on their expensive shoulders.
This time it was Wayne Rooney who saw red, after stamping on a Portuguese player's groin and pushing Cristiano Ronaldo.
But instead of vilifying Rooney (as it did Beckham after he was sent off in France), England's best-selling tabloid the Sun has attacked Ronaldo.
It came up with a human dart board of the "Portuguese nancy boy," adding: "Here's every England fan's chance to get revenge on the world's biggest winker."
The bulls-eye was a Photoshop-enhanced picture of Ronaldo winking after Wayne Rooney got sent off.
Rooney is now threatening to "split" Ronaldo "in two," which will not help deflect criticism that he has a suspect temperament.
Ronaldo was made the scapegoat for England's loss and has now simultaneously become the most famous and infamous man in soccer.
In the Portuguese-speaking world he joins Ricardo as a savior. The goalkeeper saved three penalties, while Ronaldo hit the winner.
David Beckham limped off without making much of an impact but managed to avoid a media lynching, partly because he played the pity card.
He cried after being substituted and then metaphorically fell on his own sword when he gave up the England captaincy.
If Germany goes on to win the Cup, Argentina can point to the penalty it should have been given two minutes from the end of time.
Maxi Rodriguez broke into the box and was tripped by Philipp Lahm. In another dimension of space and time, Lahm would have been the villain and Rodriguez the hero. Yet the referee gave the Argentine a yellow card for diving and the Germans won on penalties after extra time.
As for the final whistle on July 9, we will only care for the champions. There will be no time for losers.
But the truth is there's a fine line between the two.
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