Julio Cesar may have been Brazil's hero last night, but the QPR goalkeeper says his emotions nearly got the better of him before the penalty shootout.
Cesar, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Toronto FC, was heavily criticised in the aftermath of Brazil's exit from the last World Cup in 2010 at the hands of the Netherland thanks to a mistake which led to a Dutch goal.
Since then he has endured a difficult time at club level, slipping down the pecking order since QPR's relegation from the Premier League in May 2013 to become manager Harry Redknapp's third choice keeper behind Rob Green and Brian Murphy.
The former Inter Milan number one went nine months without a game until starting Rangers 4-0 FA Cup defeat by Everton in January, while it was reported he then trained alone in a local park before heading to ply his trade in Major League Soccer a month later.
He made just seven appearances – hardly the best preparation for the biggest tournament in the world – but he has excelled back in the supportive environment of the Brazilian team.
And it was the support of those same teammates before Saturday's shootout which helped spur the 34-year-old on to make two crucial spot-kick saves from Mauricio Pinella and Alexis Sanchez.
"At that moment so many things went through my head," he said.
"Then my team-mates all came up to offer me their support and motivate me, because of everything that'd been happening in my career. I got very emotional and couldn't hold back the tears.
"Being labelled a villain after South Africa was very hard, but this proves that if you have a dream you go after it and never give up. What will crown this will be to kiss and lift the trophy."
After his 2010 nightmare, Cesar's teammates could have been forgiven for being at a loss as to what to say to the goalkeeper before the shootout.
But Barcelona defender Dani Alves says the words themselves did not matter – everyone simply made their teammate aware that they were supporting him.
"We needn't have said anything, because he knows we've got total faith in him," said Alves
"We all knew that it would soon be Julio's moment to shine. So, it didn't matter what each of us actually said to him.
"To be honest I can't remember what I did say, and I bet most of the lads are the same. It wasn't about the words, it was about making it clear he knew we believed in him."
Cesar's two saves in the shootout set up a quarter-final duel with South American neighbours Colombia, who progress thanks to two goals from the mercurial James Rodriguez.
But Brazil's own talisman, Neymar, could be a doubt for the match after picking up a knock in the win over Chile.
And Brazil boss Luiz Felipe Scolari is crossing his fingers that the Barcelona forward will recover from his thigh problem in time for Friday's match.
"We will do our best to put him on the pitch," said Scolari.
"Neymar needs to be valued for what he did [against Chile] because it was a big effort."
