Brazilian Voodoo Priest Aims to Curse Germany Ahead of 2014 World Cup Semi-Final

Germany's hopes of reaching the World Cup final have been dealt a black magic blow by Helio Sillman, a voodoo priest from Brazil.

Sillman is supporting his homeland with plans to curse Die Mannschaft ahead of their game with Brazil in Belo Horizonte.

It's a ritual that he has been performing before every Brazil game, according to AFP (via Yahoo):

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'I'll take their top player and bind his legs so he can't run on the pitch,' said Sillman, referring to the voodoo doll of an undisclosed German player that will be cursed in a ceremony before the game.

In his shop 'World of Orixas' in the northern neighbourhood of Madureira, Sillman carries out a ritual before each Selecao game.

Using a a small football pitch-shaped box as his altar, he puts inside lit candles in the colours of the opposing team and the voodoo doll of their most important player.

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If you're dubious about the arts of black magic (or German, or both), it might be worth noting that Sillman's work didn't manage to protect Neymar from suffering a back injury against Colombia.

Additionally, Sillman's target in the Colombia game, James Rodriguez, scored a goal and was one of the game's key players in the World Cup quarter-final, even if Brazil managed to pull off the victory.

[AFP, h/t Yahoo Sports]