Home
Neymar.
(Associated Press)
[Central News Agency] Brazilian football star Neymar (Neymar) arrived in Qatar from a 22-year-old boy to a 30-year-old mature man. Facing the third World Cup in his life, Neymar once again became the protagonist of the national team while shouldering the burden of Responsibility to lead young teammates.
In 2014, with the retirement of famous generals such as Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos and the decline of performance of players such as Adriano and Ronaldinho, the The responsibility of leading the Brazil team in the World Cup fell on Neymar, who was only 22 years old at the time.
Please read on...
Now, in a group full of youngsters and 16 first-time World Cup players, Neymar said he hopes to be at their back to make up for the support he didn't get in his early years in the national team.
Since the start of the Qatar World Cup in 2022, some of Neymar's actions have shown that he takes great care of his young teammates.
For example, after Brazil lost to Cameroon in the final game of the group stage, Neymar, who was still injured at the time, walked onto the pitch and hugged Rodrygo, one of the youngest players, only 21 years old.
Later, Neymar posted a photo recording the moment on Instagram, writing "craque" to cheer up his young teammates.
Then in the next game against South Korea, Neymar also imparted some skills to striker Raphinha after returning to the locker room at the end of the first half.
In an interview with the Brazilian sports news website ge at the end of November, Rafael, who is currently playing for Barcelona, has already emphasized the importance of Neymar to his rapid adaptation to the national team.
Neymar told Rafael to be himself, show his personality, do his best in the national team, and even if he loses, he can step out of the court with his head held high.
Rafael has always kept Neymar's words in mind, saying that Neymar is an amazing person, passionate, and he does his best to take care of the younger players in the national team.
Brazil coach Tite (Tite) not only emphasized Neymar's skillful playing skills at the press conference, but also repeatedly mentioned Neymar's moral role in recent years.
In the 2018 World Cup in Russia, after Neymar was criticized for his performance below expectations, Tate made Neymar the captain of the national team and assigned Neymar more responsibilities to highlight his importance.
But after Neymar assaulted a fan in the French Cup final in mid-2019, Tate gave the captain's armband directly to Daniel Alves.
Although not the captain, Neymar still tries to lead the team in his own way, such as conveying confidence, reassuring young teammates; and leading by example, as he did during his recovery from an ankle injury, he has physical therapy from morning to night almost every day to speed up the return to the court.
Brazilian defender Thiago Silva said that Neymar's leadership influence on the team is self-evident. All players, especially young players, will imitate his actions. This is the idol effect.
In addition to leading young players and bringing morale to the team, Neymar's greatest contribution to the national team is the honor of winning six championships in the World Cup in Qatar.
There are still three steps left. The first step is to play against Croatia at 12:00 noon on the 9th Brazil time (11:00 p.m. Taiwan time on the 9th) and strive to enter the semi-finals.
related news