Before Germany buried Brazil in their semi-final, Brazilian captain Thiago Silva was confident his team would hold up under pressure because they had top sports psychologist Regina Brandão helping them relax. Brandão has a degree in sports psychology, as well as a PhD in sports science, from Unicamp in São Paulo. The important thing, said Silva repeatedly, was to put the players at ease. “If we are not at ease, things won’t happen the way we want them to.” Even star player Neymar had expressed his confidence in Brandão and felt her methods would benefit the rest of us. “It is not only us in football who are surrounded by emotion every day and need psychologists. I think it could do every person good, to make one more relaxed.” Each player was apparently given a battery of psychological tests to evaluate their emotional reactions in different situations. They were presented with different stimuli, such as smiley faces or frowns, and their reactions were analysed and manipulated. The aim was to harmonise their responses, to put them “at ease on the pitch”. Brazil came out tranquil enough. Samba bands celebrated every glossy Brazilian pass, as the partisan crowd cheered them on…