Can we talk about Neymar? Ever since the failure of the current team and their inability to play creative football, Neymar has been the biggest name we hear (with other names trailing far behind like Casemiro, Cunha, Estivao, etc.).
He is, without a doubt, still our most valuable and creative player. But with that out of the way, let us talk about the frustrating and negative aspects of Neymar, which we seem to conveniently forget:
• Neymar was injured when he came into the 2022 World Cup, only to pick up another injury, and then another serious injury recently. So, that is 2-3 serious injuries in 2 years, on top of his major injuries and surgeries from the last decade. How good will he really be? What form will he be in, especially considering his age of 32.5 years? Yes, I know we have much older players still playing at a high level, but we all know each player is different. How serious is Neymar about working hard to regain top form? We have seen videos of him working hard on his rehab, but we have also seen other videos and pictures contradicting that.
• Neymar the genius can give you a moment of magic and change the game, as he did many times with Barcelona and against Croatia. But we have also known him, increasingly more so of late, as a player who hogs the ball, tries to dribble past many, only to lose it, if not just slow things down to a frustrating level. Are you ready for that Neymar? Did we all forget how frustrating he was and how he would often impact the team negatively?
The optimist in me looks at Messi and how he tried and failed so many times, only to come back at age 35-36 and win what he couldn’t with Argentina in the previous 15 years. But even then, and even if we assume the two are equal in talent and experience, Messi is a lot healthier and doesn’t have a fraction of the injuries Neymar has suffered in the last 10 years. Messi at 35 is like Neymar at 25.
I am not saying I don’t want him back, but I am cautious about what to expect. Not to mention, by wanting Neymar back, after all the talk of the many young superstars we have, we are simply delaying the inevitable. The most we can expect from him is another World Cup at 34. It would be amazing if he could come back at 36 and play one final Copa America (the way Messi is currently playing his at 36/37 years of age).
He is, without a doubt, still our most valuable and creative player. But with that out of the way, let us talk about the frustrating and negative aspects of Neymar, which we seem to conveniently forget:
• Neymar was injured when he came into the 2022 World Cup, only to pick up another injury, and then another serious injury recently. So, that is 2-3 serious injuries in 2 years, on top of his major injuries and surgeries from the last decade. How good will he really be? What form will he be in, especially considering his age of 32.5 years? Yes, I know we have much older players still playing at a high level, but we all know each player is different. How serious is Neymar about working hard to regain top form? We have seen videos of him working hard on his rehab, but we have also seen other videos and pictures contradicting that.
• Neymar the genius can give you a moment of magic and change the game, as he did many times with Barcelona and against Croatia. But we have also known him, increasingly more so of late, as a player who hogs the ball, tries to dribble past many, only to lose it, if not just slow things down to a frustrating level. Are you ready for that Neymar? Did we all forget how frustrating he was and how he would often impact the team negatively?
The optimist in me looks at Messi and how he tried and failed so many times, only to come back at age 35-36 and win what he couldn’t with Argentina in the previous 15 years. But even then, and even if we assume the two are equal in talent and experience, Messi is a lot healthier and doesn’t have a fraction of the injuries Neymar has suffered in the last 10 years. Messi at 35 is like Neymar at 25.
I am not saying I don’t want him back, but I am cautious about what to expect. Not to mention, by wanting Neymar back, after all the talk of the many young superstars we have, we are simply delaying the inevitable. The most we can expect from him is another World Cup at 34. It would be amazing if he could come back at 36 and play one final Copa America (the way Messi is currently playing his at 36/37 years of age).