LUIZ FELIPE SCOLARI and his players booed by the home fans, a 3-0 defeat by Holland in the third-place play-off on the back of the 7-1 mauling by Germany, and unwanted records piling up with each setback - it was a wretched final four days for Brazil at their own World Cup.
Gilberto Silva, a World Cup winner with Brazil in 2002, said this kind of calamity has been a long time coming, and may take even longer to rectify.
It is the first time since 1940 Brazil have lost consecutive home games and the first time since 1978 they failed to score in two games in a tournament.
Striker Hulk said after the defeat to Holland: "To concede 10 goals in two games is inexplicable. We will work hard and get back to bringing joy to Brazilians once more."
Gilberto is not so sure it will be that straightforward, even for a country with a record five World Cup wins.
He believes the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) needs to work closer with the government, club sides and ex-professionals to improve football at every level in the country.
And he reckons the problems are much deeper than the current crop of players simply not measuring up to their predecessors.
"It is not all about the national team, it is about what is happening in Brazilian football," he told BBC Radio 5Live's Sportsweek.
"The way people administrate and run football in this country, they must work better on coaching schools and academies.
"Everyone expected us to win as a solution for the problems in our country but I hope people pay attention and try to work better to find a solution."
Everyone expected us to win as a solution for the problems in our country
The former Arsenal midfielder revealed he had teamed up with a number of former internationals to raise concerns about the running of the Brazilian game 12 months ago but they were ignored.
"There are group of players who have good sense, I'm involved with them and we are trying for better solutions on the football side and I hope from now on that people pay attention to what we are asking for," he said.
"Now people are starting to pay attention about what we asked, sometimes they don't pay wages for the players and are not very good at administration there are a lot of problems and they can't solve that.
"At some point the crack comes and today isn't the factor for what has happened now in the World Cup it has come from the last 10 years.
"Year by year there is something wrong and at some point you feel the pain - slowly and slowly it has come to this point. People think it is just because we lost but it has been happening a long time."
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