Eight months ago, Neymar scored one of the greatest solo goals in football history. Right before halftime of extra time in the quarter-final match between Brazil and Croatia in the 2022 World Cup, when the score was 0-0 and neither side had created a clear chance, Neymar had the ball in the context of nearly every player. Croatia is in front of you.
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After assessing the situation, Neymar passed the Croatian midfield with a one-two combination, beat the Croatian defense with a similar combination, before dribbling past the goalkeeper and scoring into an empty net.
It was an extraordinary goal. After only 7 seconds and 5 touches of the ball, Neymar surpassed the entire Croatian team. It’s not easy for you to find such masterpieces in modern times. The high-class solo plays at the World Cup mainly come from the old days, with 144p quality footage with motionless defenders, instead of against scientific defense in HD mode.
However, few people mention the miracle of this goal. Its legacy was overshadowed by the fact that Brazil then let Croatia equalize and were eliminated on penalties.
It seems that what Neymar did did not get the recognition it deserved. For many people, the Brazilian is an annoying name on the field and for many different reasons, it is difficult to get that thought out of your mind.
But Neymar deserves more recognition than that, especially when he surpassed Pele’s record of 77 goals for Brazil on Friday. Specifically, Neymar scored 2 goals in the 5-1 victory over Bolivia, bringing his total number of goals for the national team to 79.
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Neymar should be considered one of the greatest players. That can be a controversial opinion, especially when he decides to “retire” in Saudi Arabia. He is often considered an unrealized talent, partly because what he showed during his days playing for Santos was so impressive.
But perhaps we have overlooked the statistics. In addition to the scoring record for the Brazilian national team, Neymar is one of 13 players to win both the Copa Libertadores and the Champions League and he is the only one of these to score in both finals.
As for Neymar’s career in Europe, although not perfect, it is still enough to make all other strikers from his country jealous. Let’s try to compare with Neymar’s predecessors. Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka are four Brazilian superstars in the 21st century. But none of them can maintain their level in Europe as long as Neymar.
All criticism directed at “fat” Ronaldo is considered harsh, partly because he often suffers from terrible injuries. But this is a player who has won only one national championship in 14 years of playing football in Europe. Ronaldo has also only reached one Champions League semi-final and has never reached the final. His best season at club level (Barcelona, 96/97) ended with fans just wanting him to leave.
Rivaldo’s top European career lasted just five years, with Deportivo and then Barcelona. He played below his strength in his final season at Camp Nou, and was overweight during an unremarkable time in Milan. Rivaldo continued to play football at a lower level until the age of 40, but did not reach world class until the age of 31.
Meanwhile, Ronaldinho’s career has almost ended at the age of 28 after half a decade of brilliance, although he deserves recognition for his great performance for Atletico Mineiro at the age of 32, helping them won the Copa Libertadores in 2013.
Finally, there is Kaka, the player who won the European Golden Ball. But when he moved to Real Madrid at the age of 27, he struggled to find his place in the team and eventually had to join MLS five years later.
That’s why Neymar’s 10 years in Europe are really impressive compared to the players mentioned above. Even though it took him a while to adapt at Barcelona, and his years at PSG were often marred by injuries, Neymar always showed consistently high performance.
His performance in Barcelona’s miraculous 6-1 victory over PSG after losing 4-0 in the first leg is a prime example. He increased the score to 4-1 from a free kick, calmly took the penalty to increase the score to 5-1, before assisting Sergi Roberto to set the score 6-1.
Players born in 1992 have never declined as seriously as the four Brazilian players mentioned above. Neymar also did not lose form like some players who won the Golden Ball encountered, such as Zinedine Zidane 18 months after the 1998 World Cup, Andriy Shevchenko after moving to Chelsea for a record amount of money or Michael Owen in half of his career. the rest of me.
Journalist specializing in South American football, Tim Vickery once commented that Brazilian players tend to only care deeply about two things: their first club and the national team. For them, club football in Europe is about proving themselves at the highest level and making money. Their mentality is mainly directed towards preparing for major international tournaments.
And at World Cups, Neymar is always there at the right time. He responded brilliantly to the immense pressure placed on him at home in 2014. We all remember how Brazil destroyed themselves without him in the semi-final against Germany. Neymar’s absence is not his fault. People forget that the Brazilian star had to leave the tournament after a knee foul by Colombia defender Juan Zuniga.
In 2018, Neymar was more silent in regulating Brazil’s playing style. In return, he created decisive moments, such as when he almost single-handedly brought home the victory in the round of 16 against Mexico, with the opening goal and then an assist for Roberto Firmino.
Brazil were eliminated in the quarter-finals after a narrow 2-1 defeat to Belgium in an exciting match. Thibaut Courtois’s flying save from Neymar’s curling shot from the edge of the penalty area in stoppage time deserves to be considered the Save of the Tournament.
In 2022, despite being affected by injury when the tournament just started, Neymar had an excellent moment against Croatia before packing his suitcase and returning home. The player born in 1992 later announced that it would be his last World Cup. Neymar’s failure to win the World Cup will haunt him for the rest of his life. But like Zico, Neymar is not the reason why Brazil cannot win the World Cup.
Furthermore, Neymar has tasted success at home as captain, when he scored the decisive goal to help Brazil win its first Olympic title in 2016. He also scored in the quarter-finals and semi-finals. conclusion and final. For European observers, the Olympic soccer tournament is not taken too seriously, but Brazil’s failure to win the tournament was once considered a big story in South America.
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Neymar’s deal to PSG in 2017 is said to be the time he made a mistake. But although this was a step towards a smaller league, Barcelona then gradually became chaotic, and Neymar moved to the most ambitious club in Europe to become a mainstay – something that happened right before Kylian Mbappe went to PSG. It is a better opportunity to become number 1 at a top team, instead of continuing to hide behind Messi at Barcelona.
PSG under Neymar struggled a bit at first, gradually succeeded and only narrowly failed. PSG lost 1-0 to Bayern in the 2020 Champions League final, but they were the better team until Kingsley Coman scored. Before that was Manuel Neuer’s amazing save with his feet to prevent Neymar from opening points for PSG.
After Messi arrived, the PSG team became extremely unbalanced. Their strikers’ lack of defensive discipline has become a constant joke (despite their frequent pauses on the field). But among the three, Neymar is the one who works hardest to defend compared to Messi or Mbappe.
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Neymar’s biggest problem is “being” anointed as the next superstar after the era of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. That is an unfair comparison. Not only is their peak at another level, their career longevity is also astonishing.
They are completely superior to most other great players in history, including the four Brazilian strikers mentioned above. Guess what, Neymar had two third-place finishes behind this duo in the race for the Golden Ball title in 2015 and 2017.
Comparisons between Neymar and others of his generation also do not appear appropriate. Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema reached their peak in their 30s, while Neymar’s career was coming to an end in Saudi Arabia.
In addition, Neymar also revealed himself earlier: He won the Copa Libertadores and held the title of Best Player in South America when he was only 19 years old. At the same age, Lewandowski was still playing in the Polish second division.
Of course, everyone will have their own opinion about Neymar’s career and perhaps he could have done better. However, when you compare Neymar’s career with Ganso, who emerged from Santos at the same time, you realize the magnitude of what Neymar has achieved. Ganso only had 8 caps for the national team and played 30 matches in Europe. Ganso, not Neymar, is the player who makes us use the word “if”.
But the idea that Neymar is wasting his talent is extremely unfair. Some of that criticism symbolizes triumphalism – a competition to see who has a higher standard of what makes a truly great player.
Because clearly Neymar, Brazil’s all-time top scorer and the only person to score in both the Champions League and Copa Libertadores finals, should be remembered as one of the best players in football. ever produced.
Summary of translation of the article “Neymar deserves to be considered one of football’s true greats” by Michael Cox (The Athletic)
