“Better than Pele” screamed the American hype machine as 14 year old Freddy Adu made his debut in the MLS. It is clear from that statement that much was expected of the young man from Ghana (c/o the USA) but that is nothing new for football, there is always an heir apparent waiting in the wings to be one of the best players in the world.
What is also clear is that Freddy Adu of Bahia reserves never did become the next Pele. But never mind, he was quickly forgotten in favour of whoever was the next to be touted as a future world beater. For a couple of years now, the next ‘next big thing’ has been Neymar.
Have you ever noticed that the young players who are often seen as the next superstars are never defenders? Defending is a difficult and noble trade but we need more than that to get excited for a player at a young age. We need flash, we need spectacle, and we need sheer entertainment.
We need to marvel at a young player and think to ourselves ‘if he’s this good now then how good will he become?’ The same way we felt when we heard about a young Argentinean coming through the ranks of Barcelona called Lionel Messi. Or when we first saw Manchester United’s latest import, a young Portuguese winger named Cristiano Ronaldo.
Please feel free to pause your enjoyment of this article for a moment. Instead, open YouTube in another window and type in ‘Neymar’. It could be a little while before you return to this page because there is plenty there to keep you entertained.
Are you back? Good, then I’ll continue.
It is easy to see from watching the young Brazilian what it was that grabbed everybody’s attention. He’s quick, skilled with both feet and capable of the unexpected, and it’s that unexpected element that makes football so exciting. He was everything we wanted. But this much notoriety is bound to cause criticism eventually.
“He’s too lightweight”, “he’s a flash in the pan”, “he couldn’t do it in Europe”.
Any criticism of Neymar from these shores seems a little unjust as we don’t see a lot of Brazilian football in this country. Our opinions were formed on snippets of information and nothing more. Now, we get our chance to judge as Neymar will be plying his trade in Barcelona from now on.
With the world getting smaller and smaller all the time and football coverage becoming more and more immersive we will all have our chance to see as much of Neymar as we want this coming season, leading to a World Cup in his native Brazil next summer which he will also likely play a big part in.
A lot too can probably be said about the character of Neymar from his move to Barca. I’m certain he won’t be left to starve in Catalonia but it wouldn’t surprise anyone to read that he could have lined his pockets more substantially in Madrid or the blue half of Manchester. He wasn’t short of options/offers but chose the one that benefited Neymar the player, not the business man. Commendable and even a little rare.
Neymar has tasked himself with excelling on a bigger stage and this is a huge move for him that he should be applauded for. But as always success breeds more criticism and there are those that feel that he is too similar to Barcelona’s other star, Mr Messi. It’s true that the two are of similar style and stature but this does not mean that they automatically can’t play together. Barca already house Xavi and Iniesta, two eerily similar players who arguably complement each other more than any other two in the world. There are no guarantees that Neymar and Messi will be able to do this, but why wouldn’t they? They are both capable enough.
The critics also state that Messi and Neymar could both suffer from not being the one focal point of the team. Messi is used to having everything that Barca do go through him, they will either keep this strategy at the expense of Neymar or Messi’s role will be somewhat reduced.
The counter argument to this however is that if Neymar performs as we think he can, Barcelona will now be twice as hard to stop. Some, Mourinho especially, have thwarted Barca by focusing their efforts on Messi but this may no longer be an effective option if there is an equal threat elsewhere on the pitch. And if this benefits the team as a whole then how can it not benefit the two of them as individuals?
Neymar may not be the finished article yet and this may be the scariest part as his recent destruction of a strong Spain side in the Confederations Cup lends credence to the idea that he is already a force to be reckoned with. If I had to pick a World XI today he would probably not find his way into it. The likes of Ronaldo, Messi, Cavani and Bale have proven more, but Neymar has the stage set to prove that he belongs in this illustrious group.
One thing however is certain. No matter how Neymar does or does not perform this season, he will still be more impressive than this joke I heard earlier.
A mother shouts up the stairs to her son, “Son, do you know the name of that little Brazilian striker?”
“Neymar”, replies the son.
“Don’t worry then, I’ll ask your father”.
Oh dear.