Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo didn't exactly have the greatest World Cup experience. The disappointment of Brazil's quarterfinal crash out of the tournament was dumped almost entirely on him alone after he was originally credited with an own goal (that was eventually given to Wesley Sneijder) and was later sent off in their loss to the Netherlands. After a few days in hiding from angry fans once he returned home, he's decided to stand up for himself. Says Melo via Football Italia:

“I will not be a scapegoat in any way: it's seems that everything I have done has been negative.

“We are forgetting the good things like the assist I gave to Robinho and the good performances in the other games."

I don't think Brazil fans heard any of that over their attempts to set his house on fire, but do go on, Felipe.

“I know that I share part of the blame for the defeat against Holland, but I know that I gave my best.”

“Julio Cesar called for the ball, but with the vuvuzelas it was difficult to hear."

This is actually a genius (and, in this case, reasonable) excuse. It could also be the start of a trend. "Why did you steal that television?" I couldn't hear them tell me to pay for it over the vuvuzelas. "Why did you shove that small child?" I was disoriented by the vuvuzelas. "Why did you have an affair with my sister?" The vuvuzelas told me to.

So with that World Cup business all settled, Felipe Melo is now looking ahead:

“Now my only objective is that of returning to Juventus and doing a good job.”

Ah yes, the place where you won an award for being the worst player in the league last season. For Felipe Melo's sake, I hope the Italian fans adopt the vuvuzelas and give him a built-in excuse just in case he has another horrible year.

From Yahoo Sports Canada