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Neymar.
Does the kid really need an introduction? He’s holding PELE for goodness sake.
Originally Pele was meant to hold young Neymar, but his ego was too heavy
For all those who determinedly drowned out the transfer rumors last summer, or for all those utterly distracted by the ongoing tug of war between Barcelona and Arsenal for the services of one Cesc Fabregas (which will re-ignite in some months) here’s an introduction.
The 18 year old striker at Santos was thrust under the spotlight after his performance in Brazil’s youth team in last years u-17 World Cup finals in Nigeria, and he began to attract serious interest last summer from Europe’s biggest clubs – Chelsea, Juventus, AC Milan and Barcelona were among them. Why? An enviable combination of blistering pace, trickery and skills, dribbling prowess, a lethal finish and his goal celebrations, which usually involve some sweet samba moves that fellow teammate (and European target) Ganso tries to imitate but ends up shuffling around awkwardly.
Neymar has already been called up by Menezes for the Brazilian senior squad – his exclusion from the World Cup team in South Africa caused widespread indignation in his home nation, and played a partial role in Dunga’s dismissal following a disappointing quarter finals exit for the five time world champions. So, this new ‘wonder-kid’ has certainly been causing some waves. He’s also caused a fair bit of trouble, something worth bearing in mind when we consider how he might potentially fit in at a club so lacking in ego and dressing room bust-ups.
When his Santos coach insisted another teammate take a penalty in a match in September, Neymar, the regular spot-kicker, threw a spectacular tantrum. Which might have been more acceptable had Neymar not missed every penalty thrown his way in recent games. Neymar’s sulkiness and yelling at the coach resulted in him being banned for 2 games, his being banned resulted in the Santos fans getting angry, and the fans anger resulted in the coach being fired. Following this debacle, Menezes deliberately didn’t call up Neymar for the next Brazil friendly on account of his behaviour.
Oh come, on, I hear voices say, he’s only 18, who at Barcelona hasn’t been directly involved in the firing of one of a club’s most successful coaches?
(Silence)
Ok. So we know the kid had his ego rapidly inflated by European attention and the Brazilian media pretty much proposing a statue of Neymar to be built next to Christ the Redeemer. He’s been hearing every day that he’s the Future of Brazilian Football. But his ability is in no question. (Except his penalty taking. Best leave that to Messi anyway.) At the moment Barcelona scouts are in Brazil keeping an eye on young Neymar, with Albert Valentin stating that Neymar fit the profile of a Barca player. In which the criteria is pretty much being very very very good at football.
Neymar: 'YOU were once labelled as the next Pele?!!!!' Robinho: 'Oh shut up'
The potential price of Neymar is a little murky, he could sell for anything between 20 and 40 million euros – maybe more, but Barcelona aren’t going to be prepared to pay as much as Chelsea, Manchester City or Real Madrid. This money might be better spent on another left back, or centre back. Would he fit the Barca style of play? In some ways this is difficult to address before a player comes to the club. Santos don’t play our style, neither do Brazil. Barcelona’s focus on the collective however, and lack of glory hunting in front of goal would certainly be a change for a player accustomed to individual applause.
Not to mention that the ‘star’ of Santo would be sharing a dressing room with the star of the contemporary footballing world, one Leo Messi. And would Neymar track back? Maybe if his opponent had criticized his hair… People might cite Ibra as a precedent, (rightly or wrongly) in which a player ultimately had too great an ego to truly prosper at Barcelona, and would urge Barca not to make a similar mistake. Others might point to Neymar’s outstanding talent, youth, and the sorely missed Brazilian flair up front that departed the Camp Nou with Ronaldinho. I personally would point out the potential for Neymar to become the focal point of all of Pique’s pranks, thrusting Bojan out of the picture and off to Racing on loan. As you can see below, the old cake in face remains popular at Santos:
