Autor: Norman | Publicado: 2012-06-16T10:10:00-07:00



NEYMAR
UNDER THE LOUPE

I will consider
a few of the latest issues being brought to the discussion forum regarding
Neymar Jr.

The first,
that Neymar should not have been called for the friendly games in the United
States. This comment is a reaction to&nbsp;
the harm it has caused to Santos, who is his employer and should be
entitled to his services. After four games, two of which Neymar played&nbsp; very well, the young player was mentally and
physically exhausted. He carries all hopes of the Brazilian fans on his
shoulders, and is attacked by a hoard of non-Santos fans when things don't turn
out well. To make things worse, the loss against Messi's Argentina.

My
considerations: I would have asked him to play only a couple of games, giving a
chance to Pato and other players. The results are not important at this stage,
though they do have a psychological impact on players. The main objective, at
this point, is an Olympic gold medal, a title Brazil has yet to conquer. In
terms of Santos' objectives, we are playing the semi-finals of the Libertadores
tournament against Corinthians. Santos played very poorly against a solid
defense-only Corinthians tactic. With a tired and stressed Neymar, Santos was
unable to effectively penetrate this wall. When it did, Cassio, the goalkeeper,
took care of business. So Santos did suffer the consequences of a poor planning
and the lack of consideration by planners for its own objectives.

The second
issue is the statement by LAOR, the president of Santos, suggesting that
Corinthians is being favored by not having any of its players called for the
friendlies. Whether or not this is true, it has happened in the past when
Corinthians had important games, for instance against Internacional RS, and
there is always a suspicion against shenanigans favoring the so called opossums. 

My
considerations: For Santos, the Libertadores is more important than any game of
the national team. The chance to try for a team world title again comes before
even a Brazilian World Cup win. I may be exaggerating,&nbsp; though not much. This should be taken into
consideration in the preparation games and players, such as Neymar, should be
allowed to represent their own teams in their best conditions.

The third
and final issue is one that I have already addressed. Since Neymar has hit the
world sports press as one of the best players in the world, people of lesser
mental facilities will try to put him down, comparing him to Messi. 

My
considerations: Although I believe that Neymar may reach and even surpass Messi
in many respects, even Neymar does not question the absolute fact that Messi is
presently untouchable. Messi has demonstrated this again and again. What we fail
to consider, is that we are comparing Neymar to Messi today. How would this be
if they were the same age, playing under the same conditions, etc. Another
consideration is, in view of the first consideration, that by comparing Neymar
to Messi, we are not putting him down at all. Only the very best players are
seriously compared to Messi. This is the best of compliments, if you ask me.
Franlkly, although these discussions may be fun AND endless, I prefer to appreciate
each player for his own talents. The best is only one, and how many great
players with different characteristics are there? Neymar does not have the same
characteristics, body structure or even background as Messi, Pelé or Maradona.
Neymar is Neymar, and any team in the world would be lucky to have him on their
squad. Only one team has this privilege.

Now, I hope
that Neymar has the time to get his act together for the second game against
Corinthians in the Libertadores semi-finals. Let's hope that luck is not ALL on
Corinthians side, as it was in the first game. Let's hope that Santos plays
with intelligence, avoiding the incessant lobs into the Corinthians' area --
easy saves for an almost 2m-tall goalkeeper. Let's hope that they pass the ball
quickly and accurately and, above all, that they score quickly. If they don't
manage an early lead, let's hope they maintain their psychological edge and
avoid unnecessary turnovers.
Run them over, Santos!